Integration and multiculturalism in music in Australian schools: has/can/should the leopard change its spots?

The 1960s saw a broadening of the offerings of music from other cultures in the materials and programs of the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC). This is a useful indicator for our changing perceptions. Since then, increasingly ‘authentic’ music materials have been available to primary classroom teachers, but how far have we really come? Blacking (1973) identified the difficulty of truly acquiring an understanding, skill and authenticity in the music of another culture. Blacking stressed the importance of music and musical acquisition occurring in a cultural context. In many cultures there is a clear link between the acquisition of musical and social skills. By removing music from one culture and presenting it in the symbolic gestures of another we may strip much of its meaning. It is very difficult for a member of one culture to comprehend the music and culture of another without understanding its social milieu. This is particularly true for musics from cultures removed from the Western music paradigm. It could be argued that the further we move from our cultural norm, the harder it is to produce authentic experiences for students and future experienced teachers. By considering the resources offered to teachers and teacher education students we can explore the attempts we have made, and continue to make, in our attempts to move from integration to multiculturalism. As a ‘work in progress’, this paper will consider the inclusion of African music in the nationally distributed ABC school singing books as a means of illustrating and marking change.

National report on trends in school music education provision in Australia

"The focus of the project was identified by the Research Committee of the Music Council of Australia as being to provide factual information about designated trends in the provision of school music education in Australia, with possible use of this information in a national campaign in support of music education in Australian schools by the Music Council of Australia."

Primary school music

Primary teaching and music qualifications - a rare combination, not only in New Zealand today but in primary schools the world over for more than a decade. Helen Stowasser (1993) writes of 'insecure music teachers' and questions the adequacy of teacher education courses. The Arts in the New Zealand Curriculum states: 'The arts develop the artistic and
aesthetic dimensions of human experience. They contribute to our intellectual ability and to our social, cultural and spiritual understandings. They are an essential element of daily living and of lifelong learning' [the italics are mine]. If our Ministry of Education truly believes this and wants
to ensure that the music discipline is adequately taught, then there are some issues to be addressed, such as recruitment of musically capable teachers; acceptable standards of professional expertise in music; content, length and timing of pre-service programmes; and making provision for teachers' ongoing development.

Why teach music in schools?

One of the most pressing problems for contemporary school education is an overcrowded curriculum. The so-called 'National Curriculum' developed as a result of the Australian Education Council's Hobart meeting in 1989 and the subsequent publication of a series of 'Statements' and 'Profiles' by the Curriculum Corporation in 1994 consolidated the school curriculum into eight Key Learning Areas (Curriculum Corporation 1994a, 1994b). Since that time most states have moved away from school-based curriculum development and have embraced the National Curriculum but with adaptations to suit their own needs. In the case of Victoria there have been two iterations of the National Curriculum in the form of Curriculum and Standards Frameworks. In the original version, Music was one of the five arts strands specified for years P to 6 and one of the six strands for years 7 to 12 (Board of Studies 1995). With the CSF2, Music is now one of three possible arts form included under Performing Arts which, with Visual Arts, form the two strands specified for years P to 4 (Board of Studies 2000). Music is then included in its own right as one of six Arts strands for years 5 to 12. However, effectively the CSF2 represents a significant loss of ground for Music at the lower and middle primary school levels in Victoria.