Physical education teacher training in fundamental movement skills makes a difference to instruction and assessment practices

The purpose of this study was to investigate instruction and assessment of fundamental movement skills (FMSs) by Physical Education (PE) teachers of Year 7 girls. Of 168 secondary school PE teachers, many had received little FMSs professional development, and although most assessed student FMSs proficiency, the quality of assessment was variable. Neither years of experience nor confidence influenced the quality of assessment tools used; however, greater FMSs training improved assessment practice regularity. Teachers more recently out of preservice were more confident in demonstrating FMSs. The results suggest that FMSs education for teachers should be a priority inclusion in both the training of preservice teachers and the ongoing professional development of in-service teachers.

Community music making and philanthropy: with One Voice choirs

Across the globe there are numerous philanthropic organizations that support community music engagement. Philanthropy is the desire to promote the welfare of others and is generally supported by the generous donation of money to good causes. One such group situated in Melbourne is Creativity Australia who oversees the With One Voice choirs. This program offers weekly community choirs that are led by a professional conductor. Each meeting is followed by supper. The choirs are supported by public sponsorship and currently around 68% of the choir members are subsidised. In this multiple case study we interviewed stakeholders, conductors and members of several of the choirs. This research is part of a larger joint research project, begun in 2008, Well-being and ageing: community, diversity and the arts in Victoria. Data were gathered from documentary sources and by individual and focus group semi-structured interviews (2014-2015) and were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. This paper explores the intersections of community music making and philanthropy

If you’re happy and you know it: Music engagement and subjective wellbeing

Experiencing and engaging with music have been fundamental to all societies across the ages. This study explores the connection between habitual music engagement and subjective wellbeing. Subjective wellbeing (SWB) comprises individual evaluations of life satisfaction, and is internationally regarded at policy and government levels. The present study uses data gathered in 2014 as part of the 31st survey of the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index to provide insight into the relationship between music engagement and SWB. A stratified random sample of 1,000 participants was interviewed via telephone. The findings revealed that engaging with music by dancing or attending musical events was associated with higher SWB than for those who did not engage with music in these forms. The findings also emphasised the important role of engaging with music in the company of others with regard to SWB, highlighting an interpersonal feature of music. The study provides an overview of the general relationship between music and SWB at a population level, by contrast to most research in the area that has focused on evaluating clinical interventions involving music. The insight gained from these findings can be used to inform future interventions and to better understand how music is involved in emotional regulation.

Music, language and emotion

This paper attempts to demonstrate the link between art and pain, or more specifically between music, forms of poetic language and emotion – a link that for me is often emphasised in times of grief and sadness.

Validated model and study of a rammed earth wall building

A 2100 m² (GFA) two-storey rammed earth building was built on the Thurgoona campus of Charles Sturt University in 1999. The building is novel both in the use of materials and equipment for heating and cooling. The climate at Wodonga can be characterised as hot and dry, so the challenge of providing comfortable working conditions with minimal energy consumption is considerable. This paper describes a thermal model of one of the second-storey offices on the west-end of the building. The simulation software, TRNSYS, has been used to predict office temperatures and comparisons are made between these and measurements made over a typical week in summer. Reasonable agreement has been achieved under most conditions. The model has been used to investigate key building parameters and strategies, including night flushing, to improve the thermal comfort in the office.

Music education and minority groups cultural and musical identities in the 'newer' South Africa : white Afrikaners and Indians

Music Education, as well as cultural and musical identities are all being renegotiated, post-Apartheid, within the so-called 'newer' rather than the commonly known 'new' South Africa. The developing situation with certain minority groups is particularly interesting. Education in general has undergone much change since the first democratic elections in 1994: music education specifically has been affected by such change in terms of content, delivery and assessment. Within the South African context, cultural and musical identities are often intertwined with language, racial and even tribal identities, and discussing one implies the others. We are particularly interested here in the role of formal Music Education in relation to white Afrikaners and Indians as they renegotiate their cultural development, including musical aspects

Jabulani Africa: celebrating music making and finding meaning in Australia

This paper begins to explore the notion of a South African identity in Australia through community music making. Solbu (cited in Herbst, Nzewi and Agawu, 2003) highlights the strong link between music and society, arguing that, music creates and confirms identity, and challenges cultural and communal borderlines. This paper situates itself in an Australian society that is becoming increasingly globalised and cosmopolitan. The South African Jabulani choir in Melbourne is just one example that illustrates a context of diversity as one that promotes respect for a multicultural society and one that promotes respect for diversity across the community. This paper focuses on the cultural and musical identity of South Africans as a minority group in Australia and offers some perspectives on South Africans in Australia, music and cultural diffusion, identity, and the notion of making music together by people in a community music setting.

What have we learnt? Pre-service music teaching and learning

Making pre-service teacher education relevant to teaching through onsite visits is not new to tertiary institutions in Australia. "The merits of field based teacher education are frequently cited, concluding increased relevance for students and greater accountability for colleges through participation of local schools" (Elmore, 1979, p. 378). This article reports on a Deakin University initiative with a local school in semester one 2008 with the Bachelor of Teaching (Primary and Secondary) music methodology students. The school chosen has a specialist music teacher. Conkling (2007) points out, "when the experienced music teacher presents a compelling vision of music teaching, pre-service teachers not only attend to this exemplar of teaching practice, but they also recognize the influences of teaching practices on younger students learning" (p. 45). This article explores the concept of school based partnerships and professional development as a way to enhance pre-service music methodology students understanding of teaching and learning. This article highlights some of our reflections during our five-week visit. We discuss the benefits of the experience from the point of view of a university student and a music education lecturer. Whilst such an experience had benefits for the school and the university, we also highlight some limitations that were encountered.

Developing the whole child? Tensions between sport and study in Australian independent schools

This paper reports on a research project that set out to examin the relationship between students' involvement in school co-curricular activities and their academic performance.  The warrant for the study emerges out of consistent claims made about the provision of co-curricular, naming sporting, activities and the development of a more rounded and successful student.  The primary question being asked here was: 'Are student's academic performances, as measured by their results for tertiary entrance in their final year of school, improved or reduced by their participation in co-curricular activities?'  The study used a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods to interrogate this relationship.

Interrupted cadence : the mismatch of the school music curriculum and the intercultural understandings of pre-service teachers in Victoria, Australia

In Victoria, Australia, the curriculum framework for schools, Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS) stipulates multiculturalism as an integral part of the education of students. This encompasses knowledge, skills, values and behaviours (Victorian Curriculum Assessment Authority, 2009). In this curriculum framework, teachers must consider ‘intercultural understanding’. It seems logical that, to teach this, preservice teacher education students should be able to embrace this idea. VELS addresses multicultural understanding and the development of thinking skills. The Arts domain specifically provides diverse opportunities for students to “develop aesthetic and critical awareness … of arts works from different social, historical and cultural contexts”. In this research, undertaken between 2005 and 2008, semi-structured interviews were completed with final year pre-service music education students about their intercultural understandings in music education. Interpretative phenomenological analysis of the data showed that, although many feel confident including music of other cultures, having had some experience in their tertiary education, some have pursued other ways to inform themselves about music of other cultures. There appears to be a mismatch between curricular expectations and the limited time and resources available in tertiary education programs for music. The disparity between the school music curriculum framework and the preparation of teachers requires attention and resolution.

Model of the conflicts of student work and study

Excessive work demands cause students to have less time available for study, which results in them missing lectures and tutorials. This study seeks a more accurate understanding of why students undertake part-time work to the level that they do. This paper examines the extent of employment of undergraduate students enrolled in property and construction at RMIT University. Students responded to a questionnaire on the duration and nature of their part-time work.

The results of the paper suggest that one of the major issues facing educators is that students themselves believe that part-time employment benefits their long term career. Hence they are reluctant to reduce their work commitment. Past research suggests that there is sufficient evidence that this will create work-study conflicts. The paper concludes by suggesting that some form of work-integrated learning process may benefit both the student’s leaning and their need to obtain work skills.

Work and study in construction education : practices of undergraduate students in Australia

Purpose of this paper The aim of this paper is to determine the amount of time construction management students spend engaged in paid work and study during semester time. Past research has shown that working long hours has a negative effect on the study patterns of undergraduate students.

Design/methodology/approach Students responded to a questionnaire on the nature of their paid work while enrolled in full-time study in a sample of universities across Australia.

Findings The results showed that students are working on average 18 hours per week during semester time. The results indicate that students in their first two years tend to undertake casual work that is not related to their degree. However, this pattern changes in the later two years of the course, where students switch to roles in construction that do relate to their coursework. The students start working on average 15 hours in the first year of their degree, and the time spent rises to 23 hours in their fourth year.

Practical implications Past research suggests that students may be working to an extent beyond what is considered beneficial to their studies. The implications of the amount of time working and the type of work are discussed.

Originality/value of paper The long-term impact of high levels of work and study on construction students are unknown. The paper concludes by suggesting that universities need a greater awareness of the impact of paid employment on engagement with their learning.