Music education in Australian schools: An essential place for all students

Abstract

The role of music education in the school curriculum reflects the evolving and contested nature of music’s place within state and national curricula. Instigated in Victorian government secondary schools in the 1960’s, instrumental music in Australia has become an intriguing aspect of the creative /performing arts subjects. For many years designated as a specific standalone subject, it now resides within the arts ‘collection’ of subjects (ACARA, 2015). The ‘arts’ curriculum today is designed to induct students through practitioner lenses of inquiry that allow learning, teaching, and assessment to be authentic, dynamic and creative. A unique aspect of instrumental music is that students can access this subject via solo, ensemble or special investigation streams. Despite this well-conceived arrangement, music remains an underfunded aspect of educational opportunity able to be accessed by far too few students in Australia.