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Winter 2005
The Assessment agenda
Now it's music teachers' turn
A research team supported by the Australian Society for Music Education (ASME) Incorporated has been developing discipline-specific professional teaching standards for Australian music teachers. This interim report comes from ASME National Executive members DAVID FORREST, NERYL JEANNERET and AMANDA WATSON.
IN THEIR MISSION TO DEVELOP ROFESSIONAL TEACHING STANDARDS for music teachers, the ASME research team aimed to build on work previously completed by the relevant professional teaching associations for English and Literacy, Mathematics and Science. Early work concentrated on reviews of literature of generic and discipline-specific professional standards in Australia and overseas. The goal is to launch the completed standards in July 2005 at the ASME National Conference in Melbourne.
A statement from A Class Act (1998), the Australian Senate Inquiry into the Status of the Teaching Profession became an important focus of our work. It states that ‘a demonstrated ability to articulate standards for high quality practice is an essential credential if a professional body wishes to be taken seriously by the public and policy makers. When placed on the table in forums with policy makers about reform and accountability, established professional standards are hard to ignore’.
Professional standards encourage teachers to pursue ongoing learning. Standards provide teachers with improved effectiveness of professional development and career path opportunities, and strengthen the profession’s contribution to knowledge in teaching, accountability and quality assurance. Professional standards that are written for the profession, preferably with guidance from a professional teaching association, are secure in being ‘owned’ by the profession itself. The proposed ASME music standards address the characteristics of the ‘expert teacher of music’, a phrase chosen to direct teachers forward in their growth and achievements whether as music teachers in schools or private studios.
The ASME standards, which are currently with the profession (for consultation) in draft form (available at www.asme.edu.au/ publications.htm), have followed the structure recommended in A National Framework for Professional Standards for Teaching (MCEEYTA, November 2003). An important reason for this approach was the comment in the Associations Forum News (October 2004) that consistency and uniformity are the cornerstone to an effective professional standards regime in Australia.
The ASME standards are presented in four domains, each with three sub-headings (see below).
1. Professional knowledge
Teachers know their students
Teachers know their subject
Teachers know how students learn in music
2. Professional practice
Teachers plan for effective and
creative learning Teachers create and maintain a challenging and enjoyable learning environment
Teachers assess and review student learning and plan for future learning
3. Professional relationships
Teachers continue to learn and engage in reflective practice
Teachers work collegially within their school community and wider professional communities to improve the quality and effectiveness of music education
Teachers recognise and respond to a range of different learning contexts
4. Professional values
Teachers demonstrate cultural respect
Teachers maintain a code of conduct
Teachers value music education as a shared enterprise
Teachers are encouraged to reflect on the domains and subheadings of their appropriate professional standards and to use the content to develop and demonstrate expertise in their discipline in any educational setting, ranging from the structured classroom to community-based music activities.
It is probable that the National Institute for Quality Teaching and School Leadership (NIQTSL) will endorse professional standards, and in particular those supported by professional teaching associations. Discipline-specific professional standards may be the mechanism by which teachers are assessed for annual reviews in the future. Generic standards are becoming more relevant for the beginning teacher moving from provisional to full registration.
The opportunity to respond to professional standards written for the disciplines taught on a daily basis provides teachers with a focus to demonstrate advanced skills and knowledge. If school systems adopt discipline-specific professional standards that have been written and endorsed by the profession, the review process for highly experienced teachers should become more challenging, rewarding and useful.
David Forrest is Arts & Music program manager and Higher Degree research coordinator in the School of Education at RMIT.
Neryl Jeanneret is a senior lecturer in Music Education at The University of Melbourne. She is the current ASME national president.
Amanda Watson is ASME national secretary and president of the Council of Professional Teaching Associations of Victoria.
The author owns the copyright in this article. For information related to the reuse of this work in any form please contact the publisher denise.quinn@curriculum.edu.au
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