Abstract
Effective curriculum design demands a thorough understanding of the purpose of the particular award, balanced with awareness of the amount of time required for knowledge, understanding, and the development of skills necessary to demonstrate achieved learning. For practical, tertiary-level, music study there are several intersecting imperatives that must be considered when establishing a curriculum to sit within a Bachelor of Music. This paper summarises, briefly, international guidelines established for Bachelor of Music programs, in particular the desired attributes for tertiary music performance graduates, then details the Australian context and finally considers how assessment strategies may be used to support required learning outcomes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
In America the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) is a voluntary association, founded in 1924, that currently has approximately 644 accredited institutional members. Its published standards for undergraduate and graduate degrees and other standards in music education are those that are agreed upon by the membership (NASM website).
- 2.
Today the AEC has 280 member institutions for professional music training in 57 countries (Association Européenne des Conservatoires website).
- 3.
The Bologna Declaration on the European space for higher education, signed by 29 countries, was a pledge to engage in a coordinated reform of higher education systems. It specified five objectives: a common framework of readable and comparable degrees, the introduction of undergraduate and postgraduate levels in all counties, ECTS-compatible credit systems [European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System], a European dimension in quality assurance (comparable criteria and methods), and the elimination of remaining obstacles to the free mobility of students and teachers (Bologna explanation, 2000, pp. 3–4).
- 4.
In 2009 the European Commission updated its ECTS Users’ Guide to provide guidelines for the use of credit points and, particularly, student workload norms: “60 ECTS credits are attached to the workload of a full-time year of formal learning (academic year) and the associated learning outcomes. In most cases, student workload ranges from 1,500 to 1,800 hours for an academic year, whereby one credit corresponds to 25 to 30 hours of work” (ECTS, 2009, p. 11).
- 5.
One of the outcomes of the Mundus Musicalis project was the establishment of a website, Study Music in Europe. This site provides information many of the specific issues students may confront when planning study in music in Europe. It has seven sections and includes links to the websites of more than 240 European music institutions (see www.studymusicineurope.org).
- 6.
Polifonia involved in its initial work more than 60 organizations in professional music training and the music profession from 30 European countries and 30 experts from 5 connected working groups in two intensive 3-year work programmes from 2004 through 2007, and then from 2007 through 2010.
- 7.
A list of current AEC partners may be found on the website: http://www.aec-music.eu/about-aec/partners
- 8.
Polifonia is not the first partnership between the AEC and NASM. Between 2002 and 2004 the AEC and NASM formed a working group to consider issues regarding student and staff exchanges, curricula and assessment processes in the Music Study, Mobility and Accountability Project. Further information may be obtained from http://msma.arts-accredit.org/index.jsp?page=MSMA
- 9.
The Act describes the Higher Education Standards Framework, specifically the Threshold Standards, a national, agreed framework of standards, created in order to evaluate the performance standards of providers, as comprising five domains: provider standards, qualification standards, teaching and learning standards, research standards and information standards.
- 10.
The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) was first introduced in 1995 and it provides the Australian education and training sector with a single national qualifications framework. The standards include learning outcomes for each level and qualification of study, as well as the specifications and policy requirements for issuing and accrediting AQF qualifications (AQF website).
- 11.
The Australian Government’s online higher education information service is MyUniversity. The website is designed to provide access to information about Australia’s higher education providers. (MyUniversity website).
- 12.
The Australian National University’s website notes that its Bachelor of Music degree program prepares students for ‘portfolio careers’. The degree was redesigned for 2012, and as a result the structure and purpose of the award no longer reflects the intensity of focus on creative practice development, as had previously been the case. The degree description explains, “Nowadays, a career in music requires not only advanced skills in performance, composition, improvisation and other areas of creative practice, but also familiarity with music technology, and the ability to work as an educator and facilitator of community music, and as a cultural entrepreneur” (Australian National University website).
References
Association Européenne des Conservatoires. Vision, mission, aims, objectives and ‘credo’ of the AEC. AEC. http://www.aec-music.eu/about-aec/organisation/mission-statement. Accessed 23 Mar 2013.
Australian Government. MyUniversity: Undergraduate courses. http://myuniversity.gov.au/UndergraduateCourses. Accessed 29 Apr 2013.
Australian National University. Bachelor of Music. ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences. https://studyat.anu.edu.au/programs/3122XBMUS;overview.html. Accessed 2 May 2013.
Australian Qualifications Framework Council. (2013, January). Australian qualifications framework (2nd ed.). www.aqf.edu.au. Accessed 14 Jan 2013.
Barrie, S. (2009, December). The National GAP: Institutional systems and curriculum renewal to achieve graduate attributes. HERDSA News, 1–3. http://www.herdsa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/HERDSA-News-Volume-31-No-3-December-2009-with-banner.pdf. Accessed 6 Sept 2013.
Barrie, S., Hughes, C., & Smith, C. (2009). The national graduate attributes project: Integration and assessment of graduate attributes in curriculum. Australian Learning & Teaching Council Final Report. http://www.olt.gov.au/resource-national-graduate-attributes-project-sydney-2009. Accessed 12 Sept 2013.
Bennett, D. (2008). Portfolio careers and the conservatoire. In D. Bennett & M. Hannan (Eds.), Inside, outside, downside up: Conservatoire training and musicians’ work (pp. 61–72). Perth, Australia: Black Swan Press.
Bennett, D. (2009). Creativity and ‘new’ careers. What can we learn from the creative industries? In D. Bennett, J. Earnest, & M. Tanji (Eds.), People, place and power: Australia and the Asia Pacific (pp. 45–65). Perth, Australia: Black Swan Press. http://espace.library.curtin.edu.au:80/R?func=dbin-jump-full&local_base=gen01-era02&object_id=119296. Accessed 12 Jan 2013.
Bennett, D. (Ed.). (2012). Life in the real world: How to make music graduates employable. Champaign, IL: Common Ground Publishing.
Biggs, J. (1999). Teaching for quality learning at university. London: Society for Research into Higher Education/The Open University Press.
Bisschop Boele, E. (2007). Handbook for the implementation and use of credit points in higher music education. Association Europénne des Conservatoires, Académies de Musique et Musikhochschulen. http://www.aec-music.eu. Accessed 12 Feb 2014.
Boud, D., & Falchikov. N. (2006). Aligning assessment with long-term learning. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 31(4), 399–413. doi:10.1080/02602930600679050. Accessed 7 Dec 2007.
Bridgstock, R. (2005). Australian artists, starving and well-nourished: What can we learn from the prototypical protean career? Australian Journal of Career Development 14(3), 40–48. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/1767/2/1767.pdf. Accessed 12 Jan 2013.
Burt, R., & Mills, J. (2006). Taking the plunge: The hopes and fears of students as they begin music college. British Journal of Music Education, 23(1), 51–73. doi:10.1017/S0265051705006741. Accessed 23 Mar 2012.
Candela, L., Dalley, K., & Benzel-Lindley, J. (2006, February). A case for learning-centered curricula. Journal of Nursing Education, 45(2), 59–66. http://search.proquest.com/docview/203935065/fulltextPDF?accountid=14245. Accessed 23 Mar 2013.
Côté, J., Baker, J., & Abernathy, B. (2007). Practice and play in the development of sport expertise. In R. Eklund & G. Tenenbaum (Eds.), Handbook of sport psychology (3rd ed., pp. 184–202). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. www.fmh.utl.pt/agon/cpfmh/docs/…/CoteBakerAbernethyHandbook.pdf. Accessed 6 Sept 2013.
Cox, J. (2007). Handbook: Curriculum design and development in Higher Music Education. European Commission. AEC publications. www.polifonia-tn.org. Accessed 24 May 2010.
Daniel, R. (2004). Peer assessment in musical performance: the development, trial and evaluation of a methodology for the Australian tertiary environment. British Journal of Music Education, 21(1), 89–110. doi: 10.1017/S0265051703005515. Accessed 15 Mar 2013.
ECTS Users’ Guide. (2009). Brussels: Office for official Publications of the European Communities. http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/ects-users-guide-pbNC3008641/. Accessed 5 Aug 2013.
Elen, J., Clarebout, G., Léonard, R., & Lowyck. J. (2007). Student-centred and teacher-centred learning environments: what students think. Teaching in Higher Education, 12(1), 105–117. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13562510601102339. Accessed 24 July 2013.
European Cultural Foundation. (2003). AEC 50th anniversary publication. Association Européenne des Conservatories, Académies de Musique et Muskhochschulen. http://www.aec-music.eu/about-aec/organisation/history. Accessed 23 July 2013.
Final Report Higher Music Education: A Global Perspective of the ‘Mundus Musicalis’ Working Group. (2008). AEC publications. www.aecinfo.org/mundusmusicalis. Accessed 21 Jan 2009.
Gibbs, G., & Simpson, C. (2004–2005). Conditions under which assessment supports students’ learning. Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, 1, 3–31. Available online at: http://resources.glos.ac.uk/tli/lets/journals/lathe/issue1/index.cfm. Accessed 30 Aug 2009.
Griffith University. Bachelor of Music. Queensland Conservatorium. https://www148.griffith.edu.au/degree-career-finder/Program/OverviewAndFees?ProgramCode=1268. Accessed 1 May 2013.
Holmes, J., & Fountain, W. (2011). Creative & performing arts learning and teaching academic standards statement: December 2010. Strawberry Hills, Australia: Australian Learning and Teaching Council, Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations & Australian Learning and Teaching Council.
Huba, M. E., & Freed, J. E. (2000). Learner-centered assessment on college campuses: Shifting the focus from teaching to learning. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Johnsson, M. C., & Hager, P. (2008). Navigating the wilderness of becoming professional, Journal of Workplace Learning, 20(7), 526–536. http://search.proquest.com/docview/198416080/fulltextPDF?accountid=14245. Accessed 27 Sept 2012. doi:10.1108/13665620810900346#sthash.cfH2Uxxw.dpuf
Jørgensen, H. (2000). Student learning in higher instrumental education: Who is responsible? British Journal of Music Education, 17(1), 67–77. http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0265051700000164. Accessed 27 Sept 2012.
Knight, P. (2002). Summative assessment in higher education: practices in disarray. Studies in Higher Education, 27(3), 275–286. http://wustl.edu/community/faculty-staff/assets/Summative-Assessment.pdf. Accessed 23 Oct 2012.
Logan, C. (2007, July). ‘In the balance’: the tertiary music curriculum for the future. Music in Australian Tertiary Institutions: Issues the 21st Century, the 2007 National Conference of NACTMUS, Queensland. http://www.nactmus.org.au/PDF/Logan.pdf. Accessed 6 Aug 2012.
Mayer, A. (2004). Learning outcomes in higher education: Implications for curriculum design and student learning. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education, 3(2), 46–54. doi:10.3794/johlste.32.78. Accessed 3 Sept 2013.
National Association of Schools of Music. (2013, January). National Association of Schools of Music Handbook 2012–2013. http://nasm.arts-accredit.org/. Accessed 24 June 2013.
Nielsen, S. G. (1999). Learning strategies in instrumental music practice. British Journal of Music Education, 16(3), 275–291. http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0265051799000364. Accessed 12 Apr 2010.
Oliver, B. (2011). Good practice report: Assuring graduate outcomes. Australian Learning & Teaching Council. http://www.olt.gov.au/resource-assuring-graduate-outcomes-curtin-2011. Accessed 15 June 2013.
Ramsden, P. (2003). Learning to teach in higher education (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.
Schippers, H., & Bodman Rae, C. (2007). Overview of professional music training system in Australia. In General descriptions of systems for professional music training. Association Européenne des Conservatoires, Académies de Musique et Musikhochschulen. http://www.bologna-and-music.org/content.asp?id=302&lang=en&country=yes. Accessed 20 Feb 2009.
Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency. (2011). Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act of 2011, Act. No. 73. http://www.teqsa.gov.au/about. Accessed 9 Mar 2013.
Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency. (2011). Explanatory statement: Tertiary education quality and standards agency (register) guidelines. http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2013L01143/Explanatory%20Statement/Text. Accessed 9 Mar 2013.
The Bologna Declaration on the European space for higher education: An explanation. (2000). http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/educ/bologna/bologna.pdf. Accessed 15 July 2010.
Tuning educational structures in Europe: Reference points for the design and delivery of degree programs in music. (2009). Tuning Project. Bilbao: Publicaciones de la Universidad de Deusto. http://www.polifonia-tn.org. Accessed 21 Oct 2011.
Undercofler, J. (2002). The miracle of immersion, Eastman News, 21(26), 2–3. http://www.esm.rochester.edu/pdf/notes/NotesFall2002.pdf. Accessed 20 Aug 2013.
University of Melbourne. Bachelor of Music. Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. http://www.conservatorium.unimelb.edu.au/bmus. Accessed 1 May 2013.
University of Newcastle. Bachelor of Music. University of Newcastle Conservatorium of Music. http://www.newcastle.edu.au/degrees/bachelor-of-music/why-study-with-us. Accessed 1 May 2013.
University of Sydney. Bachelor of Music Performance. Sydney Conservatorium of Music. http://sydney.edu.au/courses/Bachelor-of-Music-Performance. Accessed 1 May 2013.
University of Tasmania. Australian International Symphony Orchestra Institute. Tasmanian College of the Arts, Conservatorium of Music. http://aisoi.com.au/Content/welcome/. Accessed 4 Sept 2013.
Williams, A. M., & Ford, P. R. (2009). Promoting a skills-based agenda in Olympic sports: The role of skill-acquisition specialists. Journal of Sports Sciences, 27(13), 1381–1392. doi:10.1080/02640410902874737. Accessed 6 Sept 2013.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Monkhouse, H. (2015). Bachelor of Music: Purpose, Desires and Requirements. In: Lebler, D., Carey, G., Harrison, S. (eds) Assessment in Music Education: from Policy to Practice. Landscapes: the Arts, Aesthetics, and Education, vol 16. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10274-0_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10274-0_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-10273-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-10274-0
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)