By Linda Morris
Emphasis on NAPLAN tests in reading, writing, spelling, grammar and numeracy is contributing to the “systemic neglect of investment” in arts and music education, a NSW parliamentary inquiry has found.
Its review has urged “a fundamental shift” to lift the status of arts and music within schools, including the greater involvement of arts and film training schools and performance companies, and improved curriculum support and in-service training for teachers.
The NSW Department of Education has run the Boys Vocal Program for more than decade.Credit: James Brickwood
A draft HSC syllabus for drama, arts and music – criticised as being too focused on theory – also fell short of community expectations and needed an extensive rewrite, the all-party committee, chaired by Labor’s Julia Finn, found.
The findings of the inquiry on arts and music education and training in NSW, a Labor election promise, were tabled on Thursday.
Every NSW child, it said, deserved a high-quality, richly complex creative arts education, but the creative arts were undervalued in education, leading to “broader and systemic neglect in investment”.
Among its 30 recommendations, the committee called for a statewide music education plan, to consider mandating minimum hours of music instruction with an “appropriately trained” teacher.
The committee heard evidence that principals faced significant “pressure points”, such as NAPLAN, when allocating resources, which often resulted in music and arts being “chopped off” the curriculum.
The focus on STEM subjects by government, as demonstrated in the federal Job-Ready Package, encouraged students to pursue careers in engineering and technology rather than in creative industries.
Students were dissuaded from selecting elective arts subjects in high school because of the perception that the marks are capped, or they were “bludge” subjects. Parents preferred their children to pursue careers that were potentially higher-paying.
“The committee was concerned by the significant societal and cultural discourse that has led to the undervaluing of arts and music,” it said. “The prioritisation of STEM and a focus on standardised testing, especially NAPLAN, has unduly impacted the standing of creative arts in schools.”
To address the gaps, the committee recommended the NSW government increase funding to regional conservatoriums and, for western Sydney, a music hub modelled along conservatorium lines.
At high school, government should work with the University Admissions Centre to develop a “myth-busting” campaign to provide accurate information about HSC creative arts subjects, the ATAR and scaling.
The misperception about the rigour of arts and music subjects in high school, particularly at HSC level, had contributed to a growing sense that arts and music were not valuable and powerful.
This had trickled down to diminishing investment in creative education in schools, broken pathways for further studies for those wanting to hone their craft, and inequitable access to the benefits of arts and music.
The report drew attention to the dwindling number of colleges and universities with specialised courses in arts education.
The Australian Music Association said the report was a major milestone for music education in NSW and its recommendations would go a long way to addressing the issues that prevented many students in NSW schools having access to a quality music education
University of Sydney’s Michael Anderson, Professor of Creativity and Arts Education, said the comprehensive report moved beyond the current HSC struggle to uncover a crisis in arts education.
A formal government response is due in March.
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