Faculty of Education - Research Publications
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ItemTracking creativity in Arts and Music: A document analysis of national educational goals and curriculum in Victoria(International Society of Music Education (ISME), 2020)An analysis of national educational goals and curriculum documents played an important role in my doctoral study in Victoria, Australia. The study was a mixed methods investigation into teaching for creativity and creative processes for music educators in primary schools. The analysis aimed to explore the place of creativity from an educational goal and curriculum perspective. Documents from a forty-year period were investigated qualitatively to seek the portrayal and contextual meanings of the word “creativity”. The paper is presented in two parts: the influence of three national declarations of educational goals on the changing place of creativity in contemporaneous curriculum, and creativity as communicated to teachers in curriculum documents in Arts and Music. The purpose of the document analysis was to gain a detailed view of creativity within the two specifically selected document types. In doing so, it informed the development of the survey instrument of the study and was distilled to form an adjunct to the literature review. The document analysis showed variation and similarity between historic and recent contexts of creativity in Arts and Music curriculum. The place of creativity in the Music curriculum in Victoria shows a sense of continuity through different iterations of curriculum. Yet, despite this, there are clear shifts in the language that describes or implies creativity in Arts and Music curriculum. Ultimately, the document analysis presented a glocalised and historic perspective of educational goals and curriculum in Victoria and has the capacity to inform future research and teacher practice in creativity and education.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableA ukulele for every preservice teacher: Innovation in online music teaching during the pandemic(Australian and New Zealand Association for Research in Music Education (ANZARME), 2022)
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ItemTo B or B sharp: Introducing a new method for learning ukulele(International Society for Music Education (ISME), 2022-07-20)In this article I introduce an innovative method for learning the ukulele. The method, known as the C major system, is a constructivist approach to instrumental teaching focusing on a single tonality and improvisation. It was devised between 2019 and 2020 by a professional bass musician during the peak of a profoundly serious illness in which he was incapacitated with highly restricted movement. He turned to the ukulele as a light-weight instrument to focus his creative musicianship and the outcome was the development of the system. The system is specifically for ukulele and focuses on C major tonality, song writing and learning the note names across the fretboard. Inspired by the musician’s determination and creativity, and by the philosophy of the system, which raised questions about my own music improvisation and teaching practices, I began lessons in early 2021 and kept a detailed practise journal. I adopt the methodology of practitioner research and take an inquiry stance to interrogate my practice in improvisation and ukulele playing. The research occurs in the wake of my PhD completed in 2020 about creative processes for music educators. Through reflection I seek to construct an outline of the system and to connect with literature around creative process and pedagogy. The article introduces the system with respect to improvisation particularly. The system may have potential professional learning capacity for classroom music teachers working with the ukulele for personal or teaching-related ukulele practice. It also has relevance for music therapists for music in hospital settings and for other purposes of rehabilitation with practising or beginning musicians.
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ItemCreative processes in music education: Supporting children to “find their voice, find their way”(International Society of Music Education, 2022-10-31)Creative processes matter in music education. The experience of creating, such as in composition, develops the ‘visible voice’ of an individual. Creative process was a key focus of my recently completed doctoral research about teaching for creativity in Victorian State primary schools, Australia. The aim of this article is twofold: first, to share the findings of my research to contribute to theory and practice in music teaching and second, to offer commentary about the findings with relevance to the climate of the current teaching environment. The research adopted pragmatic and social constructivist worldviews. It was a mixed methods study involving surveys and interviews of participants who were drawn from schools that promoted creativity as a desired attribute of children’s learning. The data culminated into two research outcomes incorporating five teaching strategies to support creative process practice in the classroom. The five strategies are nurture children’s creative processes, inspire imagination and experience, facilitate creative processes in the classroom, maximise the outcomes of creative processes and foster self-directed learning. The findings are specifically relevant for music teachers in primary classrooms yet may be adapted to support creative work – in and out of music – in other learning settings for children and young people. The research supports music teachers in any setting to effectively facilitate creative work such as composition tasks. The findings further support teachers to differentiate children’s learning through creative work and to actively support children to achieve a sense of self through the development of individual ‘voice’ in composition. As such, the article has strong implications for music teaching during and following the pandemic.