NSW teachers value music, but need support to teach it
As the first guest on the new ‘Staff Meeting’ segment on ABC Classic’s Music Class, our own Dr Anita Collins recently joined host Genevieve Lang to unpack key findings from the ACER Primary Teachers Survey on Music Education in NSW.
“Probably the biggest one to start with is it sort of nine out of the 10 teachers that we spoke to felt incredibly strongly that music education was an important part of the curriculum, that it helped the students to learn more effectively – it helps their social skills, their wellbeing,” said Anita. “We had a really high response about lowering anxiety and stress – that was the first really big thing.”
However, despite this strong support, many teachers feel underprepared and lack confidence to teach music.
“About eight out of ten [teachers who responded] said they didn’t have enough time in their teacher education degrees to teach music confidently, and the same number said we need more professional learning in this area,” Anita explained. “We know from our research that they only get about eight hours across their entire degree to learn how to teach music – and we have to remember that a very large proportion of them have never learned a musical instrument [themselves].”
These key findings reflect the knowledge and perspectives of 706 teachers surveyed by the Australian Council of Educational Research (ACER), based on their current understanding and experience of music education in a representative sample of 95 NSW government primary schools. The survey was commissioned by this initiative in partnership with the NSW Department of Education and NSW Teachers Federation, with funding from the NSW Government through Sound NSW, and Alberts | The Tony Foundation.
Despite these challenges, Anita highlighted a promising opportunity: “We found an untapped resource: about 5% of the teachers we surveyed listed music as their top most confident subject area. These people could mentor others, they could be specialist teachers in their schools.”
To build on this, Anita proposes a workforce development strategy featuring targeted professional learning, peer mentoring, and ongoing support — all with the ultimate goal of improving outcomes for students.
“Once you start building the capacity of the workforce, it kind of snowballs on itself. When you have confident, musically skilled teachers in a school, new teachers enter that environment and learn from them — creating a sustainable cycle of growth and support,” she said.
Hear Dr Anita Collins’ full interview on ABC Classics’ Music Class (starting at 40:11).
For Dr Anita Collins’ insights and implications of the findings of the ACER Primary Teachers’ Survey for NSW, read her Setting the Tempo report.
(Feature image: Courtesy of The Song Room).
