Primary Music Education in Victoria
Neryl Jeanneret with Tamara Greenham (The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development), Helen Champion (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority)
The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, in collaboration with the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, is currently engaged in a project that will document best practice classroom music programs within Government Primary schools in the State and also perform a scan of the characteristics of effective Primary music programs both nationally and internationally. There will be a number of key outcomes of this Project. Using several case studies as exemplars, the Project will present a number of illustrations demonstrating effective classroom music programs across Victoria. These case studies will also provide the basis for the development of advice and resources for schools. The investigation of best practice will include examining the curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and reporting practices of generalist and specialist music teachers in Victorian government primary schools with particular focus on the implementation of the Victorian Essential Learning Standards, and the effective use of ICT.
For teachers, the report will look more like a resource for schools. Specialist and non-specialist teachers leading music programs will be able to use the resource as a benchmark for evaluating their programs and consider a variety of ideas for further development.