Innovation and tradition in instrumental music in South Australian government schools

Abstract

In South Australian government schools there is a tradition, arising from the post World War II years, of the provision of small group instrumental music instruction by peripatetic teachers. The development of the Education Department's Music Branch enabled many thousands of children to participate in small group instrumental music lessons, with the halcyon days of the 1970's leading to the economic rationalism of the 1980's and 1990's. Despite tighter budgets and some reductions in staffing over the last ten to fifteen years, the Music Branch, which subsequently came to be known as the Instrumental Music Service [IMS], continued to provide small group instrumental music instruction to at least 8500 students each year. An Examination of the IMS was carried out in 2006-7 by the Department for Education and Children's Services [DECS], and this highlighted inequities in the allocation of instruction to schools. DECS proposed some changes in mid-2007, however, these were subsequently put in abeyance and the status quo maintained whilst some trials of alternative models were carried out during 2008. The trials cover a wide range of different forms, many of which involve the innovative use of resources and whole class methods. This paper aims to explore the competing forces of tradition and innovation in instrumental music instruction in government schools in South Australia.