Manager of the Australian Youth Orchestra’s Music in Me program, Bernie Heard, says the inaugural summit event is a valuable opportunity for teachers to collaborate, learn new skills and mix with the arts education sector.
But most importantly, Heard says the professional development music education conference specifically designed for primary school educators – happening in Sydney on Monday, 22 July – will help instil confidence in teachers to use music in the classroom, which will impact children for life.
“It’s been proven that music in primary education results in better cognitive, social and well-being outcomes for young people, and while teachers inherently understand the value of music and creativity in their classroom, they are stretched and too time-poor to be able to seek out in-person professional learning in music,” Heard says.
“We believe every school needs a music mentor and that every principal, parent and teacher should make it a priority to have one in their school.”
The summit will feature a panel of leading teachers, directors, researchers, and musicians who will reflect on their own experiences of music education and discuss ways to shape a longed-for future in which all Australian children have access to quality music education.
The Australian Youth Orchestra has long advocated for music education, supporting educators and connecting them with the music sector. It is currently preparing a response to the Joint Select Committee on Arts and Education in NSW, which is examining arts and music education training, with a report due back in November. Heard hopes all parents, teachers, school leaders and musicians will contribute also.
Educational benefits of learning music
Heard says research shows that music learning can:
- assist with word decoding
- improve comprehension during early reading instructioni
- improve comprehension in those students experiencing reading difficulties
- improve phonological awareness for specific language sounds
- increase the speed at which children learn new words
- increase the understanding of how to use new words
- promote learning and engagement of children from diverse language backgrounds
- improve numerical cognition
- reduce mathematics anxiety symptoms
- assist with numerical comprehension
More than 800 teachers already mentored
To date, 440 schools have participated in the Music in Me program (previously known as the National Music Teacher Mentoring Program), with 808 teachers mentored and more than 14,000 students directly impacted by their teacher’s participation in the program.
In 2022, Professor Margaret Barrett and Dr Katie Zhukov from Monash University conducted an evaluation of the program from 2017-2020, through 286 national surveys of teachers, mentors, and principals.
The analysis of the cumulative impact of the program revealed positive effects on students’ emotional, psychological, behavioural, and learning outcomes, both in music and other subjects.
“There are incredible music teachers and incredible music leaders,” Heard told EducationDaily, adding that there is still lots more work to do to ensure they are properly supported and that more teachers can feel confident to share music with primary school students.
“In many schools, it’s still a case of, ‘Okay, Miss Jones, year four teacher, you play piano, so you are now our music teacher too’. Our program is about improving the way primary school students across Australia have access to quality music education by supporting the skill development of educators to help them find interesting, engaging ways to incorporate music into classrooms.”
Supporting teachers to help students enjoy enriching educational outcomes
The Music in Me program works by providing mentors who work with teachers in the classroom over a period of weeks.
“It doesn’t draw that teacher who is being mentored out of the class. The mentor comes into the classroom with them and the students and demonstrates the model and provides valuable feedback, so the teacher has the confidence and motivation to continue, after the mentor has gone,” she told EducationDaily.
What Heard describes as “a comprehensive program of specially tailored mentorship that aligns with the goals set in the Australian Curriculum for primary school students”, also, she says, provides mentorship support to multiple teachers within a school, so they can act as supports for each other, and spur each other on when the program has officially finished.
“When the mentor leaves, they get to keep that knowledge and practice within the school,” Heard says.
At today’s summit, Heard told EducationDaily, the goal is to give teachers something to take back to their classrooms immediately.
“It’s about giving teachers something practical that is essentially a way to enhance learning across all the subjects a primary school student learns. It is a great investment to them. We are currently seeking expressions of interest from schools or teachers who would like to be mentored by our program, and parents can also approach their school or could contact us directly for more information they can pass on the school.”
“We have a wealth of research that looks at incredible benefits of music education and we know that. when it’s incorporated in the learning of a child’s early development, it has such impressive outcomes that can last for life.”
