Thursday, October 14, 2010
ACARA - Arts Paper draft
Please read and respond to the paper at ACARA availalbe here: http://www.acara.edu.au/acara_update_08102010.html
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Update - Vic Government Response to the NRSME Report and the Vic Music Workshop Report
On September 2nd, 2008 three member of sMAG, Ian Harvey, Robin Stevens and Anne Lierse made an appointment with Dianne Peck- General Manager of student learning programs division of the Officer of School Education , Dept of Education and Early Childhood Development - to discuss the implementation of the National Review of School Music Education in Victorian Schools. The outcome of this visit, Dianne Peck chose to implement a review of Primary Education in Victoria. Neryl Jeanneret from the University of Melbourne was selected to conduct the Review.
Objectives of the Review
· Identify and document best practice curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and reporting practices of specialist teachers at the primary school
· Identify and document best practice curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and reporting practices of generalist teachers, providing a music program, at the primary school level
· Identify and document examples of best practice and processes in schools making effective use of available budget and other resources implement music programs
· Recommend strategies to support all schools to make effective use of budget and other resources to implement music programs
· Document examples of best practice professional learning strategies for generalist teachers that enable them to provide music programs in schools
· Perform a scan of effective music programs both nationally and internationally.
This review was due to be completed by May 2009. This has been postponed to May 2010. When completed, it will be placed on the Student Learning Arts Domain Website as a resource for schools and will contain case studies.
In addition, a large amount of money has been given by the Government to Soundhouse to train teachers to implement Music Futures. This will be implemented in 8 Victorian Primary Schools including country areas.
Contents of the submission forward to ACARA in December 2009 included the following statements.
1. Submission to ACARA
• sMAG (School Music Action Group) has consulted with, and has the support of the principal professional music educator organisations in Victoria including -- the Association of Music Educators (Victoria), the Victorian Chapter of the Australian Society for Music Education, and the Association of Directors of Music in Independent Schools
• sMAG supports the inclusion of the five arts -- Music, Dance, Drama, Visual Arts and Media -- as discrete discipline areas within The Arts Learning Area as part of the new Australian [School] Curriculum
• sMAG strongly supports the principle that music is a core educational entitlement for all Australian students from the first year of school until Year 10, after which they should be provided with opportunities to specialise in music during Years 11 and 12
• sMAG strongly supports the adoption and adaptation where necessary of the ‘Guidelines for Effective Music Education’ (Part 4, pp.81-104) of Pascoe, R. et al., National Review of School Music Education: Augmenting the Diminished (Canberra: DEST, 2005) as the Music Program for the new Australian [School] Curriculum.
• sMAG draws attention to the shortage of qualified music teachers and recommends a coordinated initiative at the national level in conjunction with state authorities to remedy this shortage.
• sMAG strongly supports a national approach to music teacher registration in order to most effectively utilise the existing highly skilled and knowledgeable workforce of musicians who are currently unable to obtain teacher registration and for whom a pathway for Recognition of Prior Learning and/or part-time teacher education in music (levels P to Year 12) should be established and promoted.
Anne Lierse
Chair of sMAG
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
National Curriculum Submission
The School Music Action Group (SMAG) will be sending a formal submission to the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) regarding the development of the National Curriculum. An aditional submission will be sent to the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) regarding the implementation of the curriculum.
2. Submission to the Victorian Education Department
• sMAG (School Music Action Group) represents the principal professional music educator organisations in Victoria -- the Association of Music Educators (Victoria), the Victorian Chapter of the Australian Society for Music Education, the Association of Directors of Music in Independent Schools.
• sMAG assumes that ACARA is responsible for the development of curricula for each art form, including Music, as part of the new Australian [School] Curriculum and that state and territory education authorities are responsible for the implementation of The Arts Learning Area in Victorian schools.
• sMAG recommends that, in order to ensure the effective implementation of The Arts as part of the new Australian [School] Curriculum, Curriculum Officers should be appointed for each of the arts areas, including Music, to facilitate the implementation of The Arts Learning Areas in government schools; Arts Curriculum Officers should also be appointed to facilitate the implementation of The Arts in Catholic Education Office schools.
• sMAG recognises that there is a shortage of appropriately qualified and experienced music educators at all levels of schooling but particularly at the primary school level
• sMAG has identified the single most significant impediment to the supply/provision of music teachers in the primary school sector as being the current requirement for full primary teacher registration for music specialists wishing to teach as a registered primary teacher. Primary music specialists must, in order to fulfil teacher registration requirements, be qualified to teach all subjects of the primary curriculum.
• sMAG strongly recommends to the Victorian Institute of Teaching through the Victorian Education Department that a special category of teacher registration be established to enable the provision of quality music teaching by specialist music educators from Years P to 12; the same principle could be appropriate for specialist teachers in other arts discipline areas.
• sMAG urges the Victorian Government work to implement the recommendations outlined in the Victorian Music Workshop Report (2007) which is the Victorian response to the National Review of School Music Education (2005) and the National Music Workshop (2006).
• sMAG (School Music Action Group) represents the principal professional music educator organisations in Victoria -- the Association of Music Educators (Victoria), the Victorian Chapter of the Australian Society for Music Education, the Association of Directors of Music in Independent Schools.
• sMAG assumes that ACARA is responsible for the development of curricula for each art form, including Music, as part of the new Australian [School] Curriculum and that state and territory education authorities are responsible for the implementation of The Arts Learning Area in Victorian schools.
• sMAG recommends that, in order to ensure the effective implementation of The Arts as part of the new Australian [School] Curriculum, Curriculum Officers should be appointed for each of the arts areas, including Music, to facilitate the implementation of The Arts Learning Areas in government schools; Arts Curriculum Officers should also be appointed to facilitate the implementation of The Arts in Catholic Education Office schools.
• sMAG recognises that there is a shortage of appropriately qualified and experienced music educators at all levels of schooling but particularly at the primary school level
• sMAG has identified the single most significant impediment to the supply/provision of music teachers in the primary school sector as being the current requirement for full primary teacher registration for music specialists wishing to teach as a registered primary teacher. Primary music specialists must, in order to fulfil teacher registration requirements, be qualified to teach all subjects of the primary curriculum.
• sMAG strongly recommends to the Victorian Institute of Teaching through the Victorian Education Department that a special category of teacher registration be established to enable the provision of quality music teaching by specialist music educators from Years P to 12; the same principle could be appropriate for specialist teachers in other arts discipline areas.
• sMAG urges the Victorian Government work to implement the recommendations outlined in the Victorian Music Workshop Report (2007) which is the Victorian response to the National Review of School Music Education (2005) and the National Music Workshop (2006).
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