Teachers make a difference to the study of Aboriginal music in NSW - Australian Journal of Music Education

Oct 15, 2026

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Australian Indigenous music and culture are highly visible in international celebrations, yet remain inconsistently included in school curricula. In NSW, high school music teachers must teach Aboriginal music(s) and culture(s) under a mandatory Australian music focus. Two NSW secondary schools revised their programs to strengthen this teaching, contrasting their approaches with reported school environments marked by limited awareness and reduced confidence.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Toward the Australian Curriculum in context of earlier reviews

Indigenous music in schools

Teachers make a difference to the study of Aboriginal music in NSW Anne Power University of Western Sydney, New South Wales Margaret Bradley NSW Department of Education and Training Abstract Australian Indigenous music and culture are in the foreground when Australia celebrates itself in international contexts but their inclusion in the school curriculum is sporadic. In NSW, high school music teachers are responsible for educating students about Aboriginal music(s) and culture(s) within a mandatory focus on Australian music. Two NSW high schools made changes to their music programs to enhance their teaching in this area and this article contrasts their stories with reported school music environments that demonstrate limited awareness and lack of confidence. Keywords: Aboriginal music/s; community elders; regional support Australian Journal of Music Education 2011:2,22-29 Introduction In New South Wales (NSW), high school music teachers are responsible for educating students about Aboriginal music(s) and culture(s) within a mandatory focus on Australian music. Two NSW secondary schools have made changes to their music programs to enhance their teaching in this area. In so doing, they were influenced by accessing relevant and engaging resources that affected their decision-making about the repertoire they program for their students. These changes made significant connections to the community and local Aboriginal Elders. The schools are Bankstown Girls’ High School and Ashcroft High School. Both schools have highly diverse demographics, with a strong representation of Arabic cultures. We acknowledge the two music teachers, Marimar Salerno and Jasmin Jones, for their vision and ongoing commitment to implementing programs that respect and value Indigenous Australian music. This article places their stories in the context of a history of research on Aboriginal music and its sporadic inclusion in school music programs. Toward the Australian Curriculum in context of earlier reviews As Australia moves towards a national curriculum, the draft‘Shape of the Australian Curriculum: The Arts’ highlights three cross-curriculum priorities. The first one focuses on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in curriculum. Its objective is to provide opportunities to embed traditional and contemporary Australian Indigenous arts understandings and practices with integrity and respect, stimulating contemporary artistic expression as living, evolving cultures (Australian Curriculum and Reporting Authority [ACARA], 2010, p. 21) . Given that not all states 22 2011, No. 2 and territories include specific direction towards Australian music (Forrest, 2008), let alone Australian Indigenous music, this is a valuable objective. Australian Indigenous music and culture are integral to the ways in which Australia celebrates itself in international contexts (such as the 2000 Olympics) but their positioning in the school curriculum is open to scrutiny. Indeed, Neuenfeldt (1998) described the insertion of Aboriginal cultural practices into formal curricula as ‘sounding silences’ in Australian education and maintained that Australia has a long history of“conscious exclusion of Indigenous presences, voices and themes”(pp. 202-203). By contrast, ACARA aims to encourage students to explore and celebrate the interrelated and holistic nature of Country and Place, People, Identity and Culture, and understand and respect cultural protocols (ACARA, 2010, p. 21). These worthy aims need to be seen in the light of current practice. Two Reviews make significant comments about the use of Indigenous music in education both for Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. The first is the Report of the Review of Aboriginal Education called Freeing the Spirit – Dreaming an Equal Future (NSW AECG & NSW DET, 2004). This Report states: Recent research and literature (Bourke, Rigby & Burden, 2000; McRae, Ainsworth, Cumming, Hughes, Mackay, Pr

FAQs

What responsibility do NSW high school music teachers have regarding Aboriginal music?

They educate students about Aboriginal music(s) and culture(s) within a mandatory focus on Australian music.

How did the two NSW secondary schools respond to teaching Aboriginal music and culture?

They made changes to their music programs to enhance how this area was taught, influenced by accessing relevant and engaging resources.

What challenges are described in reported school music environments?

Limited awareness and a lack of confidence among teachers to approach and include Indigenous music in programs are emphasized.

Oct 15, 2026

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