New Musicians in an Old Tradition: Music Education as Vocational Education at the Defence Force School of Music

Abstract

The Defence Force School of Music (DFSM) has been responsible for the education of Australian Defence Force (ADF) musicians since its inception in 1984. Previously the preparation of soldier-musicians had been the responsibility of the Army School of the Army School of Music, which was part of the Army Apprentices' School. Preparation of sailor-musicians had been the province of the Royal Australian Navy School of Music. Thus, with its roots in a tradition of training for music as work, the DFSM has been well-positioned to adopt the principles and practices of Vocational Education and Training (VET). This paper reviews the principles of VET, describes the DFSM and its work, and addresses the questions: "How has the DFSM's philosophy and practice of Music-Education-as-VET been shaped by its history?" and "What is the nature of the experience of students at the DFSM?"

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Australian Education Council and Ministers of Vocational Education, Employment and Training. (1992). Putting general education to work: the key competencies (Mayer Report). Melbourne: Australian Education Council and Ministers of Vocational Education, Employment and Training.

Arts Training NSW. (1997). Vocational Education and Training Plan 1998-2000. Newsletter, 14 July, 2.

Australian Education Council. (1991). Young people's participation in post-compulsory education and training (Finn Report). Canberra: AGPS three volumes .

Bannister, R. (1996). An ethnomusicological study of music makers in an Australian military band. Doctor of Philosophy, Deakin University, Geelong.

Bannister, R. (1999). Militarism and music. In J. Whiteoak & A. Scott-Maxwell (Eds.),Companion to Music and Dance in Australia. Sydney: Currency Press.

Australian Contemporary Music Development Company. (n.d. c.1997). Music EDge: a comprehensive vocational training program for the contemporary music industry. Australia: AUSMUSIC.

Costanza, P. , & T. Russell. (1992). Methodologies in Music Education. In R. Colwell (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Music Teaching and Learning: A Project of the Music Educators National Conference, (pp. 498-508). New York: Schirmer.

Elliott, D.J. (1995). Music matters: a new philosophy of music. New York: Oxford University Press.

Employment and Skills Formation Council. ( 1992). The Australian Vocational Certificate Training System (Carmichael Report). Canberra: National Board of Employment, Education and Training.

10.

Harris, R. , H. Guthrie. , B., Hobart , & D., Lundberg. (1995). Competency-based education and training: between a rock and a whirlpool. South Melbourne, Vic: Macmillan Education Australia.

11.

Masden, C. , & Yarborough, C. (1980). Competency-Based Music Education. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice-Hall.

12.

Naae/Acer. (1996). The Mayer key competencies and arts education: National Affiliation of Arts Educators .

13.

Piper, K. (1997). Riders in the chariot: curriculum reform and the national interest 1965-1997. Vol. 38. Camberwell Vic: Australian Council for Educational Research.

14.

Reimer, B. (1970, 1989). A philosophy of music education . Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall.

15.

Sillcock, T. (1992). Transcript of a conversation with Roland Bannister .

16.

Smith, E. & J. Keating. (1997). Making sense of training reform and competency based training. Wentworth Falls NSW: Social Science Press.