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Table 8 on page 58 outlines the codes and key analytical points emerging from the interviews pertaining to teacher education and the evident range of expertise.

3.1.1 Musical training

All of the teachers within the research sample undertook extensive music training in the course of their childhood. While this educational component primarily took place outside of the school system, all five interviewees achieved the standard of Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB) Grade 6 or higher on an instrument. Two of the respondents had studied at private schools, two had attended public schools, while one had attended a catholic school. All of the teachers interviewed had undertaken extensive co-curricular music activities at pre-tertiary level, in addition to instrumental and theoretical lessons. These included choral training, membership of symphony orchestras and music-theatre orchestras within schools, and other regular music performing experience including membership of small ensembles and bands.

3.1.2 Pedagogical skills

The university training of the five interviewees covered four pathways into the primary teaching profession: two Bachelor of Music Education (B.Mus.Ed. Primary and Secondary), one Bachelor of Arts degree with a double music major, and one Bachelor of Arts degree with no music subjects, followed by a generalist Graduate Diploma of Primary Teaching. One of the teachers had undertaken a generalist primary teaching double degree: Bachelor of Teaching - Bachelor of Education. The level of pre-requisite music skills varied considerably for each of the initial degrees, ranging from no music prerequisites to AMEB Grade 8 standard. The curriculum within the initial Bachelor of Music Education degrees included a broad complement of practical and theoretical music subjects, combined with music curriculum studies.

The postgraduate education courses provided rudimentary overviews of music teaching methods, with little emphasis placed upon curriculum design, or the methodologies employed within the Kodaly and Orff systems. As a component of their on-going professional development, teachers regularly undertook annual choral and orchestral conducting courses. All of the surveyed teachers attended Orff training

58 courses, and other professional development training included Kodaly and marimba workshops. Four of the teachers were based in regional areas of Victoria, which thereby restricted their access to metropolitan training courses.

Table 8. The pedagogical training and music skill levels of the interviewed teachers

3.1.3 The nature of music teaching

In all but one case—in which there was no classroom music beyond Grade 3—the interviewees described pedagogical involvement with all primary school levels. One of the larger schools employed a second classroom music teacher. One of the interviewed teachers took music classes for Years 7 and 8. Two schools had a composite Foundation–Year 1 class, and a composite Year 2–3 class. The teachers of the composite grades mentioned the difficulties of teaching the same musical concepts to both the Foundation and Year One class; the level of pace and sophistication does not suit both age groups. As well as taking classroom music, all of the teachers directed extra-curricular music groups.

Membership of most choral programs did not require students to undertake an audition, and included Grades 3–4 and Grades 5–6 groups. Two schools auditioned students from Grades 4, 5 and 6 for membership of choirs. In some cases, these ensembles were taken during class time, but most occurred before or after school class hours. The extra-curricular expectations and workload, including the juggling of musicals, concerts, eisteddfods, and musical items at assembly were common aspects of music teachers’ experiences. The interviewed teachers were responsible for

3.1 Teacher training and skill levels

Codes Analytical notes

3.1.1 Musical

training All of the interviewed teachers received significant levels of music training prior to university studies. Four out of the five teachers had undertaken specialised music study at university. 3.1.2

Pedagogical skills

Teachers received rudimentary music teaching method skills at university and therefore relied heavily on professional development seminars for pedagogical training.

3.1.3 The nature of music

teaching

Those surveyed are unassisted in teaching multiple class groups at each of the seven primary levels. As well as classroom teaching, their duties include the direction of choirs, ensembles, musicals, and concert production.

59 coordinating their students’ weekly instrumental lessons with sessional instrumental teachers, and organising performance opportunities for those students within various school bands and class ensembles.

In regard to their levels of music expertise, the interviewed teachers attained skill levels achieved by less than 2% of primary teacher trainees in the La Trobe University survey conducted between 2009 and 2012 (N=813). Furthermore, they have attained significant levels of music expertise acquired through completion of specialist music study over three or four years of higher education. They reported receiving scant music pedagogy in their degrees and postgraduate study, and supplemented their limited knowledge in that regard through extensive post-tertiary professional development. These findings are supported by previous research (Ballantyne, 2005, 2007; Ballantyne, Kerchner, & Aróstegui, 2012; Heinrich, 2012; Petrova, 2012; Watson, 1999).

Teaching many class groups at all levels from Foundation to Year 7, as well as directing numerous singing and instrumental ensembles during the course of a single week were common experiences reported by those surveyed. Similar job descriptions are described in the research literature (Ballantyne, 2005; Lierse, 1998). Analytical reflection on the interview data suggests compositions accessible to teachers possessing a wide range of music and pedagogical levels of expertise, and works that can fulfil multiple classroom and ensemble performance roles are advantageous.

3.2 The school environment

3.2.1 Promotional role of music

Promotional music activities described by the interviewed teachers included preparing their students for choir membership of the Victorian Government public school arts/music showcase, Schools Spectacular.22The music teachers also prepared pupils for public performances in local eisteddfodau, and in regular concerts within term time.

3.2.2 Time allocation

Respondents reported their music classes varied in duration from forty-five minutes to one hour. Since the interviews were conducted in their music teaching rooms, I

60 observed that they all taught in well resourced, spacious, dedicated music teaching spaces that were either separated, or reasonably acoustically isolated from other teaching rooms. The interviewees’ reports of the public promotional role of the school music program and the time allocated to music classes in the interviews are in keeping with similar aspects of the published literature (de Vries, 2011, pp. 3, 18; de Vries, 2014, p. 7; Garvis & Pendergast, 2010, p. 2; Lierse, 1998; Russell-Bowie, 2009, p. 23).

Table 9. Timetabling, facilities and public display roles of music programs

3.2.3 Music teaching facilities

Fortunately, the interviewed teachers’ music facilities did not resemble the unfavourable examples cited by Dillon (2001). The findings of the current research suggest compositions servicing a broad range of performance forums that can be taught in a short timeframe, and accommodating varying amounts of music resources and teaching space will be most useful.