International Graduate Centre for Education (IGCE), School of Education

The paper investigates the history of instrumental music programs in Victorian Government secondary schools over a 50-year period. These programs were researched using archival materials, State government documents and curriculum changes. Factors which impacted the transformation were government policy, societal trends, developments in the curriculum and policy reform. The study found that there was a demand for these programs despite the issues of costs, access and quality. It wasn't until the government review into the status of music in Australian schools in 2005 that music programs could be discussed more holistically at a national level. This prompted a review into music education at the State level after the subsequent formation of the School Music Action Group. From this, there has been more awareness of the issues and the need for more support for instrumental music programs.

The adoption and pedagogical use of technologies such as virtual worlds to support teaching and learning, and research in higher education involves a complex interplay of technical, organisational and personal factors. In this paper, eighteen educators and researchers provide an overview of how they perceive a virtual world can be used in education from the perspective of themselves as individuals 'me', their educational organisations and as members of the Australian and New Zealand Virtual Worlds Working Group (VWWG) community of practice 'us', as well as the complex technology that underpins this learning environment 'IT'. Drawing on Linstone's (1981, 1984) Technical, Organisational and Personal (TOP) multiple perspective concept as the framework for analysis, the authors discuss their perspectives of how the personal, organisational and technical aspects of teaching through the use of virtual worlds have impacted on their teaching and research in highe...

In November, 2005 a landmark government report entitled the National Review of School Music Education was released. The report found that there was a great variability in the quality of music education in schools. It was acknowledged that although there are some excellent music programs in schools, there is “cycles of neglect and inequity” and greater support is required for teachers and the subject itself. The report acknowledged the influence of recent curriculum developments in Australia including integrating the arts into one subject. The paper will discuss issues arising from the report and how it has impacted music in Australian schools twelve months later.

The Australian and New Zealand Virtual Worlds Working Group (VWWG) was established in 2009. Members of the group have written papers for ASCILITE conferences since 2010. Each paper’s intention is to provide an overview on using virtual worlds in higher education, especially the practical aspects of incorporating 3D worlds to enhance student learning. This VWWG’s paper looks at a virtual world as a space for digital learning and exploratory pedagogy – meaning, that the authors perhaps do not perceive virtual worlds as ordinary. However, they do acknowledge that those who do not regularly engage in virtual worlds may see it as new and innovative, perhaps even untested ground, but still with a degree of unfamiliarity. A survey was sent to the members of the VWWG in which the narratives have provided rich data for in depth understanding. The themes focused in the survey were ‘disruptive thinking’, ‘emerging ideas’ and ‘lateral connections’, from the perspective of the respondents’ exper...

Charles Darwin University (CDU) offers education courses for students who want to teach in Australian schools. The university is unique due to its geographic location, proximity to Asia and its high Indigenous population compared to the rest of the country. Many courses are offered fully online including music education for pre-service teachers. This shift has presented both opportunities and challenges. The study is an investigation of reviewing music and arts education courses to be delivered fully online using Participatory Action Research as the methodology. The four steps for the research are as follows: planning a change, acting and observing the processes and consequences of change, reflecting on the processes and consequences, and replanning to start the cycle again. The reflection and replanning stage of the course are especially important because courses need to be updated regularly to keep up with policy developments. It is anticipated that by the end of the year, the asp...