Managing change without sacrificing quality: music teaching and learning at South African tertiary institutions

After the jubilation of the first democratic election in 1994, South African educational settings were faced with the challenge to rethink curriculum, content and delivery as part of its nation building process. Education continues to be a major player in stimulating wider change in society and is one arena where change may be readily facilitated. Changing the style and practice of teacher education programs remains a key feature in the transformation process. Twelve years on, curriculum, has undergone reform in terms of Outcomes Based Education (OBE)? Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) of 2002, accordingly, universities continue to prepare teachers for multicultural classrooms. Universities are now challenged to manage increased student intake (quantity) for teacher education programs without having to sacrifice quality for teacher education. This article focuses only on The University of Pretoria, a city university previously known as a traditional Afrikaans university situated in the greater Johannesburg area in South Africa. Through interview data with two music educators at this university, I present some of the current trends and challenges that tertiary music educators face in preparing music teachers in South Africa. This article also outlines a paradigm shift in the curriculum and argues for a holistic music education, one that endorses most of the major cultures and musics in South Africa. The question I pose is how then do we effectively manage change at tertiary level without sacrificing quality when preparing future music teachers to meet the needs and challenges of the curriculum and society.

Accountants and valuations in Australian family court proceedings

This paper investigates issues related to the role of accountants in presenting expert evidence in the form of share valuations in Family Court of Australia proceedings. By providing a background to the valuation rules applied by the Family Court and examining relevant cases, the paper emphasises that considerable ambiguity exists. The paper highlights some of the inconsistencies that are evident from reported decisions and stresses the difficulties that judges have experienced with valuations presented by accountants in Family Court cases. It is evident that the courts, despite the legal precedents, continue to have considerable difficulty with valuation issues and methodologies. By exploring issues related to accounting based valuations in the context of Australian family law cases, the present paper examines accounting in a particular social and institutional setting. The paper is interdisciplinary in nature, in that issues extending over accounting, finance and legal boundaries are considered.

Teacher attitudes and perceptions of primary school music education at independent schools in South Africa

As South Africa enters the new millennium and is currently in its second term of democracy, the question remains: is outcomes-based education preliminary the way forward for learners in South Africa. The new education system recognises the importance of arts education and specifically music education at the primary school level. This article focuses on music education at independent schools in Gauteng, South Africa. The reporting of this article is based on the author's doctoral thesis entitled "Outcomes-based music education in the foundation phase at independent schools in Gauteng, South Africa". The principal form of research was a questionnaire sent to music teachers at primary schools registered with the Independent Schools Council (ISC). The purpose of the questionnaires was to contribute to a study on teachers' perceptions, attitudes and opinions regarding music education and outcomes-based education. The questionnaire was divided into three main sections, namely: personal and professional details, outcomes-based education and general information. Both open and closed types of questions were employed. The questionnaire yielded both ambivalent views about the change of the education system as well as the inclusion of music as an area of learning within "Arts and Culture". It also identified current teaching trends and exposed areas of weakness that call for attention.

Cross cultural engagement: teaching African music to Australian students

This paper reports on research that examined the effectiveness of introducing rhythmic concepts through an unfamiliar musical genre to Australian generalist prim my teacher education students. The genre selected was African music, in particular action songs, dance and instrumental improvisation. The methodologies of Orff, Kodaly and Dalcroze were taught through the repertoire of African music in order to foster a closer relationship between pedagogical theory and practice and to teach rhythm through cross-cultural engagement. Through analyses of questionnaire and interview data, it was demonstrated that African music had a positive effect on students' conjidence as non-specialists music teachers and enhanced their skills in staff, sol-fa, hand notation and performance. Also students were not only highly motivated to engage with this new musical genre, but also gained an increased understanding of African culture. It is argued that African music was perceived by students not so much as a "novelty", but as a source of genuine motivation, interest and enjoyment. Its potential for extending student understanding of rhythm as well as taking a significant step towards internationalizing the curriculum for a cohort of predominantly Anglo-Celtic, pre-service teachers is also explored.

Architect as composer: engaging architecture students with music in the design studio

This paper explores the engagement of architectural students with music in a second year design studio, through a Game and two design projects. A ‘Game’, in the context of this research, is a low-risk learning activity derived from the model established in the CUTSD ‘Reflective Making’ project. The Game required students to complete one of three tasks; to compose and record a piece of electronic music; to research the works of a composer within a digital presentation or to design a prototype musical instrument. This was used as a generative device to inform the design of a Music Room: a space for the contemplation and composition of music. A third stage of the project involved the actual construction of 8 Music Rooms, a high-risk, high-reward activity that requires physical resolution of an established relationship between music and architecture.

This paper will focus on the engagement of architecture students with the Game and related design projects. Student perceptions of the project are used to inform an evaluation of the project as an authentic learning experience and as a valuable component of their architectural education.

Home, school, community and their role in the provision of music education

The Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST), is supporting under the Australian Government Quality Outcomes Programme, a National Review of School Music Education. The review, which is intended to submit its report in mid 2005, is interested in investigating the current quality of teaching and learning of music in both primary and secondary schools. It aims to provide examples of best practice of teaching and learning of music, along with a set of recommendations for the development of future approaches and directions to improve the quality of music education offerings in Australian schools. This paper puts forward some proposals for consideration that will be forwarded to the Review and aims to generate debate about future approaches to the delivery of music education in Australian primary schools.
It argues that the home, school and community all have an important part to play in the music education of children, but that at present these three entities are insufficiently connected on a number of fronts, not least being an understanding about the purpose of young people’s engagement with music. There is no doubt that interest in the arts amongst Australians generally is high. A recent Australia Council report revealed that 85 per cent of its respondents agreed the arts are and should be an important part of the education of every young Australian and that what was needed was better arts education and opportunities for all young people. However, the opportunities need not be confined to those offered by the school sector. Engagement with out-of-school music includes both music encountered in the home, which may be affected by family influence, and music provided by the diversity of community organizations, which serve a real and complimentary role to classroom learning and achieve learning outcomes that schools often do not have the resources to foster. A number of proposals for action are suggested for consideration by those involved in education as a means of progressing the discussion. It asserts that there is much valuable activity occurring within the three locales of school, home and community, but a firmer relationship could be forged across all three to ensure young people’s on-going, life-long enjoyable engagement with music.

Smaller steps into longer journeys : experiencing African music and expressing culture

This paper outlines an exploratory research project that draws on survey data from both primary and secondary school music teachers in Victoria. The research stems from a study that I undertook in 2002-2003 with final year Deakin University undergraduate students. That project investigated the potential of African music to enhance the generic musical experiences, learning, motivation, interest, confidence and competence of non-specialist primary teacher education students. The research project being reported in this paper is an extension of the previous study to focus on practising music teachers at both primary and secondary school levels. The research addresses the significance and contribution of African music and culture as a cross-cultural experience for music teachers, their students and the wider community. It further considers my role as an African music practitioner in terms of transformation and acculturation. This paper outlines the progress of, and provides preliminary data about, the emergence of an innovative area of teaching and learning based on African music in Victorian schools. It also explores the notion of why cross-cultural and multi-cultural engagement matters in the contemporary context of educational change.

“Through a glass darkly” : a report on trends in school music education provision in Australia

This paper reports on research commissioned by the Music Council of Australia (MCA) on the provision of school music education in Australian states and territories. Using guidelines developed by the principal researcher, a team of state and territory investigators collected data on eleven research questions formulated by MCA’s Research Committee. The principal investigator compiled, analysed and interpreted the state data and synthesised the findings into an overview of
the current situation nationally. One of the major findings was the limited amount of uniform data available from education authorities; indeed, the inadequacy or non-availability of data from some states is a matter of serious concern in terms of public accountability for the school music provision. Nevertheless, the project provided an overview of the current state of school music education in all states and territories. In relation to three of the key indicators (numbers of specialist music teachers, numbers of students taught music, and numbers of students studying music at Year 12), the study revealed that the provision of music has not changed significantly over the past two decades—the situation has either remained static or has improved or declined slightly. The principal recommendation from the project is the need for a more comprehensive survey to be undertaken and a Deakin University team, in collaboration with the MCA as industry partner, will be applying for an ARC Linkage Grant which will investigate effective teaching of music in schools and the preparation of teachers for implementing music programs.