Editorial
New tune needed for music education
Monday is the start of public education week, and a visit to the Department of Education’s social media channels reveals pictures of famous faces who attended NSW state schools.
Naomi Watts and Nicole Kidman were classmates at North Sydney Girls High School. Russell Crowe attended Vaucluse Public School, and Simon Baker went to Ballina High.
All went on to become leading figures in the nation’s arts scene.
NSW Minister for Education Prue Car will receive a report from an inquiry into music and arts education later this year. Credit: Rhett Wyman
But, as Mary Ward writes in today’s Sun-Herald, submissions from the arts sector to an ongoing parliamentary inquiry into arts and music education in the state’s schools have described a landscape in which they say their subjects are being under-resourced, and squeezed out of teaching time.
Of particular concern is the state of music education in primary school, where advocates say policy decisions over the past decade have eroded time and resourcing for teaching basic music theory and running school band programs.
The days of class sets of recorders or xylophones have gone, with music now expected to be taught by general classroom teachers, along with their other responsibilities.
The Sydney Youth Orchestras program is attracting virtually no children from western Sydney, and only a third of participants are at public school – a significant under-representation.
Its CEO, Mia Patoulios, says school band programs which closed during the COVID-19 pandemic have not reopened. With the state’s music education system dependent largely on private providers – unlike in Queensland, there is no teacher accreditation for primary music teaching in NSW – the music teachers who previously ran these programs have found other employment.
Philanthropy group Alberts’ “Music Education: Right from the Start” campaign is calling for half of NSW public primary schools to offer a quality music education by the start of the 2027 school year, increasing to 75 per cent in 2029 and all schools by 2031.
A quality education would mean that children are taught music in every term, rather than in rotation with other arts subjects, such as visual art and drama.
The Sun-Herald commends the NSW government for keeping its election promise and conducting a parliamentary inquiry into arts and music education. The above targets are reasonable, given music is on the primary school curriculum, and the evidence in the inquiry’s submissions that some children never experience any formal tuition in it.
It will also wait with anticipation for the results of the inquiry’s survey of music education in public primary schools, as understanding the extent of the problem will be key to delivering solutions.
Research has consistently shown that music education has significant benefits for children, both in improving their cognitive function as well as providing support for children who are having other difficulties.
Earlier this year, a federal inquiry into school refusal delivered its final report. With concerns about a growing number of students unable to make it into the classroom each morning, investment in arts education could be one strategy to make school a more welcoming place for all types of learners.
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