Challenging constraints or constraining challenges: Preservice primary music education across the Tasman

Abstract

Tertiary music educators are faced with challenges associated with the enactment of curricula in pre-service education courses within time constraints. As a result, considered choices need to be made regarding content and pedagogical approaches based on what they deem to be valuable, memorable and transferrable. Using narrative methodology, two tertiary educators across the Tasman share their views about what they prioritise in their music education courses and how these choices are informed. Both authors face similar challenges, and share the view that the teaching of music goes far beyond entertainment. They uphold that music education provides a rich context to develop not only knowledge, skills and understandings about music itself, but also to address social, cultural, linguistic, cognitive and affective domains of learning, to name a few. This article looks at some of the ways the authors effectively support beginner teachers to address the music components of their respective national curriculum statements. While constraints of time in teacher education programmes is not a new phenomenon, the intention of this article is to highlight the benefits of music education, and encourage other educators to critically reflect on choices made in their own teaching contexts under challenging constraints.

Out of the Woods Yet? The Continuing Impact of National Standards on New Zealand Music Education

“…Alongside limited opportunities for professional development, support services outside of numeracy and literacy were abolished, including district music advisors and programmes like artists in schools (Freeman, 2020). Initial teacher education also favoured numeracy and literacy, with subjects such as music being squeezed into seven and a half hours within a three year Bachelor of Education degree (Mansfield, 2010), subsequently many graduates lacked the skills and knowledge required to teach music (Trinick & Joseph, 2017). This may explain why the National Education Monitoring Report found a significant number of children unable to meet achievement objectives in music or even progress through the music curriculum itself (Ministry of Education, 2016).…”

New Zealand’s refreshed curriculum: Another promise unfulfilled?

“…In comparison, only six to twelve hours of contact time are allocated to music (Carson & Rodgers, 2016;Mansfield, 2010), with one account even suggesting that the arts were omitted entirely (Schwalger, 2021). This is unfortunately exacerbated, as most student teachers arrive with little to no prior musical knowledge, making basic tasks such as solo singing or group music-making unattainable within the degree (Trinick & Joseph, 2017). As a result, graduates commonly lack the skills and knowledge required to teach music (Rickson & Legg, 2018;Thwaites, 2011).…”