AUSTRALIA SOUTH AUSTRALIAN PRIMARY SCHOOL FACING ACUTE SHORTAGE OF MUSICAL TEACHERS IN THE STATE 17TH NOVEMBER 2013 A SEVERE skill shortage among teachers will make it difficult for South Australian primary schools to implement the national music curriculum, educators warn. It comes as there is more evidence that learning music has a positive impact on student performance in numeracy and literacy. Principals estimate that only about one in five of the states primary schools have a specialist music teacher. All other schools rely on general classroom teachers who often lack the training and confidence to teach music. The performance-based national music curriculum will be phased in from next year, with final implementation in 2015 . In other states - Queensland in particular - there has been a stronger focus on music in schools, which will make it far easier to bring in the new curriculum. SA Primary Principals Association president Steve Portlock said schools must provide some form of music education to students but it varied greatly from school to school. He said, in schools without specialist music teachers, lessons varied from singing with children, online log-on classes, music appreciation and making musical instruments to book work on the history and genres of music. The new curriculum is going to be a challenge to deliver to many primary school students in schools where there are not specialists in performing and playing, he said. There needs to be some serious discussion at a system level about what to do with specialist subjects. But we dont want to become mini secondary schools. Kodaly Music Education Institute of Australia (SA Branch) president Adrienne Cullity said schools needed more resources to employ specialist music teachers and to provide time for generalist teachers to access professional development courses. In the past the music curriculum has been so wishy-washy, its about time SA really caught up with whats going on in other states like Queensland and NSW, she said. Education Department music program manager Frances Dennis said the department would work with schools in the coming year to create individual plans on how each could implement the curriculum.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 11:00:47 +0000
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