Kodály Australia Conference 2026: Putting teachers at the heart of music education
Music educator Dr Jason Goopy reflects on how professional associations grow teacher confidence and capabilities to help music education thrive.
Music education must belong to all children in Australian schools. That was an underlying thread of the 2026 Kodály Australia Conference, bringing more than 200 educators together in Adelaide from 28 September to 1 October.
Grounded in Kodály-inspired music education, with its singing-first approach to developing the musical mind, heart and body, the conference explored what it takes to make positive and inclusive music education possible.
For Dr Jason Goopy, an expert advisor to Music Education: Right from the Start through our Advisory and Knowledge Base Working Groups, one message from the four days stood above all others:
“The most striking lesson is that investing in teachers’ musical and pedagogical capabilities to teach and include music is key for music to thrive in schools.”
Dr Jason Goopy, Immediate Past President of Kodály Australia, delivered a keynote on strengths-based musicking and flourishing at the 2026 Kodály Australia Conference.
A key part of this, he said, is recognising that the future of music education depends not only on specialist music teachers, but on building the confidence and capabilities of generalist teachers too.
Reflecting on the sentiment across the conference, “There is growing recognition that generalist teachers are important players in securing a sustainable future for music education in Australian schools,” said Jason, who is Senior Lecturer and Coordinator of Secondary & Instrumental Music Education in the School of Education at Edith Cowan University.
“This conference was among the first in the field to acknowledge the important role generalist teachers must play in providing music education opportunities in schools. Generalist teachers were welcomed to grow and share alongside specialist music teachers.”
Professional teacher associations such as Kodály Australia play an important role in supporting teachers throughout their careers. The largest professional teacher association for classroom music in Australia, Kodály Australia is led largely by teacher-volunteers who give their own time alongside their teaching roles to support the profession. It provides a professional community for pre- and in-service teachers to connect, learn, and share. The association’s signature teacher learning course, the Australian Kodály Certificate (AKC), is recognised internationally for building teacher musical and pedagogical skills, with thousands of teachers estimated to have completed AKC levels over the past 30 years.
For specialist music teachers, who can often work in isolation within their schools, these networks provide an especially important source of discipline-specific teacher learning and professional belonging.
These career-long communities of practice have become particularly important as music education within initial teacher education has eroded, helping teachers continue to build the knowledge and skills they need across their careers.
Dr Jason Goopy (centre) with Jason Boron, President of Kodály Australia and Lecturer in Music Education at Edith Cowan University, and Anne Mathews, secondary music teacher and researcher, presenting their research on teacher learning and flourishing in Australian Kodály Certificate courses.
Under the theme, Sing, Move, Thrive: A Kodály journey for every learner, the four-day program provided opportunities for teachers to learn and share through musicianship, pedagogy, choir, workshops and academic papers, with a focus on wellbeing and inclusive music education.
That focus on building teachers’ capability was also reflected in Jason’s own contribution to the conference, where he was honoured to deliver a keynote on strengths-based musicking and flourishing, alongside daily musicianship and secondary pedagogy sessions exploring practical approaches to music teaching.
“It was particularly meaningful to present a research paper with Jason Boron and Anne Mathews on positive music teacher education in AKC courses alongside Bernie Heard from Music in Me,” said Jason, reflecting on the role of professional association courses in creating opportunities for teachers to learn, grow and flourish throughout their careers. Bernie is also a member of Music Education: Right from the Start’s Advocacy Working Group.
Bernie Heard, Director of the Australian Youth Orchestra’s Music in Me teacher mentoring program, presented a paper on the program’s research and the evidence-based development, while Music in Me mentor Pru Bogert presented a workshop on their ABC Let’s Sing collaboration and resources.
Other keynote speakers included Naomi Crellin (Australia), Lucinda Geoghegan (Scotland) and Dr Árpád Tóth (Hungary), while 14 Awards for Excellence recognised contributions to Kodály-inspired music education across early career teaching, mentoring, innovation, research and embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ perspectives. Gaby Freer was also awarded Honorary Life Membership for her significant service to Kodály SA and contribution to the Australian Kodály movement.
The strength of South Australia’s music education community was also evident in the influence of the state’s broader investment in music education, with the state now several years into its 10-year Music Education Strategy, focused on teacher development, school support and improved access for students.
“The impact of the SA Music Education Strategy was highly visible across the conference,” said Jason. “This fuelled hope and excitement for the potential of the recently announced NSW strategy.”
The NSW strategy Jason referred to is Time for Music, the NSW Government’s first 10-year plan for music education in public primary schools, launched just days before the conference began.
With NSW now joining QLD and SA in adopting a dedicated plan to strengthen primary school music education, the launch of Time for Music added to the sense of possibility at a conference grounded in a shared commitment to strengthening music education.
Reflecting on the four days, Jason said: “Professional association conferences are a meaningful and impactful platform for supporting teachers to deliver a positive and inclusive music education for all young people in Australian schools.”
