Informing new string programmes: Lessons learned from an Australian experience

Murphy, Fintan Patrick; Rickard, Nikki; Gill, Anneliese; Grimmett, Helen

doi:10.1017/s0265051711000210

Cited by 6 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Principals felt strongly that it wasn't sufficient to roll-out a program that has worked in one school to a new context without carefully considering the purpose of a program, how it would meet the needs of the school, and whether staff were properly prepared to implement it: "Because what they would say is that 'music doesn't work', when it's the implementation of the program that's not working". These comments support previous research findings that implementing music programs ill suited to a school community can negatively impact their support and uptake by schools [39,40].…”

Section: Program Relevancesupporting

confidence: 88%

Barriers and Enablers for Implementing Music in Australian Schools: The Perspective of Four Principals

Crooke

McFerran

2015

BJESBS

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Aims:To explore and identify the barriers and enablers of music provision in Australian schools, as seen through the eyes of four Melbourne-based school principals, to inform policymakers and other school leadership teams. Study Design: The study used an exploratory design. Place and Duration of Study: Interviews were undertaken across multiple school sites in the greater-Melbourne area between June 2011 and April 2013 as part of a study conducted through the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music at The University of Melbourne. Methodology: Four school principals were interviewed from diverse schools across the greater-Melbourne area, including primary, secondary, government, independent, mainstream, and special education schools. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and analysed using a combined inductivedeductive approach to identify the barriers and enablers to music provision in schools reported by Crooke and McFerran; BJESBS, 7(1): 25-41, 2015; Article no.BJESBS.2015.069 26 principals. Themes arising from the data that related to either one of these factors were presented as the results. Results: Analysis revealed eight main themes related to barriers: burden on schools, staff challenges, program relevance, convincing the school community, lack of appropriate resources, unsupportive leadership, sustaining a program, and competing models of education. Eleven enabling themes were identified, which included: existing level of arts, existing resources, school leadership, a tailored approach, external support, embedding music, staff support, involving students, convincing the school community, community partnerships, and working towards sustainability. Conclusion: Findings support many barriers and enablers of school music identified in pervious international research, thus also confirming their presence and impact in the Australian context. Findings also provide insight into how the greater school community and the internal organisational cultures of a school can act simultaneously as both barriers and enablers of musical participation. Results also identify potential strategies for schools and policymakers aiming to support musical participation in schools. Original Research Article

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Section: Program Relevancesupporting

confidence: 88%

Barriers and Enablers for Implementing Music in Australian Schools: The Perspective of Four Principals

Crooke

McFerran

2015

BJESBS

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“…This program had more traditional music instruction goals but also focused on group learning in a positive environment that was adjusted to the abilities of a previously untrained group of learners. A similar program called ColourStrings in Finland has been reported in the literature (Murphy, Rickard, Gill, & Grimmett, 2011), and the same authors discussed the difficulties faced in establishing a group string program in regional Australia. The importance of taking adequate time to tailor the program to the needs and interests of the school community is particularly noted in this paper.…”

Section: Exemplarsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Enabling Tailored Music Programs in Elementary Schools: An Australian Exemplar

McFerran¹,

Crooke²

2014

Journal of Education and Training Studies

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Participation in meaningful school music programs is the right of all children. Although music education is widely supported by policy, significant gaps exist in practice in most developed Western countries. These gaps mean the extrinsic and intrinsic benefits associated with participation in tailored programs are not equally available to all learners. School leaders have a critical role to play in determining the degree to which appropriate music programs are resourced in their schools and serve as both gate-keepers and enablers of these opportunities. The exemplary case study reported in this article describes a unique program that makes an interesting and complete contribution to knowledge. A string ensemble program in a socioeconomically disadvantaged school provided "great opportunities to study music" that were "fun" and "calming" because of the "encouraging" approach adopted by teachers, except in relation to performances, which were "nerve-wracking". Learners, parents, teachers and leadership were all "proud" of the achievements of these young people, who often struggled in other academic areas and had escaped considerable trauma in their home countries. The results suggest that relevant music programs are not necessarily tied to a particular genre of music, but rather to the ways in which leaders and facilitators identify whether extrinsic or intrinsic benefits should be targeted and then tailor program designs to meet those needs.

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“…The consensus is that structure and content of lessons, teacher personality, and behaviors, and the ability to provide motivation to learn are the most significant factors in determining the successful outcomes of group instrumental instruction (Murphy et al, 2011; Quaine, 2011). Kopke (2003) identified the ability to communicate as one of the most important qualities of a good teacher.…”

Section: Teacher Quality and Its Impact On Student Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The motivation for undertaking this research comes from the author’s own experience as a group string teacher in primary and secondary schools in Queensland, observation of fellow group string teachers in school settings, awareness of the differing capacities of practitioners, and the considerable perceived variance between outcomes of programs from one teacher to another. The results of group string teaching programs in Australia are quite varied (Murphy, Rickard, Gill, & Grimmett, 2011), and whilst the ability to underscore thriving programs is in evidence (Carr, 2010; Stronge, 2002), the inability to generate efficacious outcomes is also apparent. Perhaps the latter category includes those who lack the teaching skills, the musical skills (Culver, 2003), the administrative skills, or the personality and behaviors (Cheng & Durrant, 2007; Mills & Smith, 2003; Wendell-Yonker, 2000) needed to inspire prospective youngsters to sustain their commitment to instrumental tuition and succeed (Purdy, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Got ’em on a string: The skills, knowledge and attributes of group string teachers in Queensland

Ashton

Klopper

2017

International Journal of Music Education

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There appear to be considerable differences in the outcomes of group string teaching programs in Queensland. Some teachers appear to be able to generate, manage, and administrate highly efficacious programs; others seem to experience difficulty transferring the knowledge and skills required for students to become successful string players. As a case study with multiple participants, this investigation set out to document the reflections of mid-career group string teachers, observe the outcomes of their programs and teaching methods, and establish a preliminary collective profile of skills, knowledge, and attributes. Key findings include a high degree of overlap in the participant profiles, and the potential for further research into undergraduate training and post-tertiary supervision of group string teachers entering the workforce. Implications of the study include the need to appraise current undergraduate programs preparing group instrumental teachers in Australia, and the necessity for developing strategies to mentor these graduates in their early teaching years.

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Informing new string programmes: Lessons learned from an Australian experience

Cited by 6 publications

References 7 publications

Barriers and Enablers for Implementing Music in Australian Schools: The Perspective of Four Principals

Barriers and Enablers for Implementing Music in Australian Schools: The Perspective of Four Principals

Enabling Tailored Music Programs in Elementary Schools: An Australian Exemplar

Got ’em on a string: The skills, knowledge and attributes of group string teachers in Queensland

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