Now That the Dust Has Settled - What Is Happening?

Abstract

For the last four years, music teachers in Queensland have been dealing with the phasing in of a new Arts Syllabus for Years 1-10. 2006 marks the official date for the full implementation and reporting of this document. Changes in curriculum documents can bring difficult times for music teachers. Will I have to change? Is the core content different? What methodology will I use? How will I assess? Who will I report all this? Making decision on what and how to implement the new document, needing extra time to write programs coupled with the extra curricular demands that accompany the duties of a music teacher, can add stress and tensions. A research project was commenced to investigate the impact of this curriculum change. Firstly the issues that confront music teachers in this situation were raised and discussed. Interviews were then conducted with secondary music teachers in both state (where the implementation is mandatory) and private (implementation is optional) schools gathering data on their view of the changes. This paper details the commencement of the ethnographic phase of the research. The researcher has been immersed in the natural setting of the year 8 music classroom. The experiences from participating in these classrooms in three high schools are detailed in this paper.