Bachelor of Music (Music Education)

Bachelor of Music (Music Education) is a professional training course for students wishing to become music teachers in a school environment. The Music Education stream meets requirements of professional bodies responsible for the accreditation of school music teachers.

In New South Wales the major employer of school music teachers is the NSW Department of Education and Communities (DEC), which stipulates specific musical and pedagogical skills and knowledge for a teacher to be certified as employable in departmental schools and other systems such as non government and Catholic systemic schools.

In addition to music teaching methods, music history and analysis, performance and compositional skills and knowledge, students must have attained information and communication technology competencies and have developed an understanding of children with special educational needs.

A significant component (80-86 days) of the course includes practical teaching experience in schools. Graduating teachers also need to meet the Teaching Standards of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) under the jurisdiction of the New South Wales Education Standards Authority, a professional body responsible for accreditation of all NSW teachers working in schools. Graduating teachers need to demonstrate knowledge of subject content, pedagogy (including learning, teaching and evaluation strategies), NSW curriculum requirements and the needs of socially, culturally, ethnically, physically and intellectually diverse groups of students in schools.

In order to satisfy these requirements, the Music Education degree has a large core of mandated music education units of study. The major focus is on developing teaching skills through studies in education, music education, ensemble pedagogy and music technology.