Bachelor of Music (Music Education)

Bachelor of Music (Music Education) is a professional ITE (Initial Teacher Education) course for students wishing to become music teachers in a school environment. The Music Education program meets requirements of New South Wales Education Standards Authority (NESA) as the professional body 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 (DoE). NESA 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, Australian Indigenous Music Education, Classroom Management and have developed an understanding of children with special educational needs.

A significant component (80 days) of the course includes practical teaching experience in schools. Graduating teachers also need to meet the Graduate Teaching Standards of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) under the jurisdiction of the NESA. 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.