New Zealand and Music Education

This article discusses the changes and transformations in music education in New Zealand over the past three decades. It explores the implications of these changes on secondary school music teachers and reflects on the purpose and practice of music education in New Zealand. The article also highlights the incorporation of diverse music styles and the establishment of achievement standards in the music curriculum.

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New Zealand and Music Education
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Introduction
Music and music curriculum in New Zealand has been affected by various factors such as the
deep culture as well as other economic forces such as the growth and emergence of popular
music’s importance among youth and young people in the society (Drummond, 2010). As a
result of this, there has been an increased demand for inclusion of the concept of
multiculturalism in education that would perfectly blend in and transform the music education in
New Zealand.
This write-up seeks to examine the changes and/or transformations that have taken place in the
New Zealand secondary school music education during the past three decades and in that way
exploring some of the implications on me as a secondary school music teacher. Finally, there
would be a thorough reflection about my own beliefs and values and an outline of assumptions
and/or understandings that I have held regarding the purpose as well as the practice of music
education in New Zealand.
Changes that have taken place in Music in the New Zealand secondary school curriculum
Music was a subject that was taught in New Zealand for quite some time but it was not until in
the year 1945 that Music became a compulsory subject in all secondary schools in New Zealand.
Since then there has been quite a number of changes that have been witnessed as far as music is
concerned in the New Zealand curriculum (Frengley-Vaipuna, Kupu-MacIntyre, Riley, 2011).
First and foremost one of the has been witnessed in the shift of the music lesson from just a mere
entertainment time to a real lesson that was supposed to be allocated real time using a wide range
of musical activities. This change was very significant in the secondary school curriculum in
New Zealand (Gibson, 2010). This is so because for quite some time before this major milestone

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most of the music education in New Zealand existed not by design and purpose but rather by
chance. This is to imply that there was no real meaning for the study of music in secondary
schools that was attached to it. Upon this shift, however, the purpose was brought into the
equation and now music has some kind of purpose and meaning attached to it in the secondary
school curriculum in New Zealand. This is so because quite a number of issue and
implementations followed thereafter that signified the importance that the music subject was now
being given (Hebert, 2011). For instance, New Zealand went ahead and implemented music
education programmes that were being offered in countries such as the United Kingdom and the
United States of America.
Another milestone and significant change that has been witnessed in New Zealand as far as
music in the secondary school curriculum is the incorporation of any music style. This applied to
all music styles be it traditional or have cultural context, they were all to be included in the
classroom study. This created a study of a diverse range of music in secondary schools.
This was simply to imply that New Zealand now had to consider all music seriously in their
various programs. This was inclusive of music such as contemporary genres, music technology,
and media music hybrids among others. This change has been a very significant one in the music
curriculum in New Zealand. It has provided an appreciation to the music subject and placed it at
the same level like other subjects that were considered to be complex and superior in the New
Zealand curriculum (Snook & Buck, 2014). This is so because this change has made it possible
to be in incorporate music and facilitate the integration of Maori music as well as the Pacific

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music. Music is evolving and incorporation of all genres of music in the curriculum was one way
of making music a subject that is worth studying.
Music is a subject in the New Zealand secondary school curriculum that has witnessed so many
changes. This is based on the nature of the subject and the status with which it was being viewed.
One of the changes that revolutionized music in secondary schools in New Zealand is the
establishment of the Qualifications Development Group (QDG) who the main purpose was to
oversee the development as well as the implementation of various achievement standards.
Achievement standards are often written for all traditional school subjects and usually contain a
mix of externally, as well as internally assessed standards with which students can be in a
position to gain, am ‘achieve', ‘merit' or ‘excellence' based on their performance in a certain
subject. This change has been really significant in the music subject in secondary schools in New
Zealand (Johnson & Figgins, 2014). It has made it possible to rank students based on their
performance in the subject and therefore making it competitive just like other ordinary subjects
in the curriculum. In addition to this, this change has made it possible to track the change as well
as the progress and performance of students in the music subject. Over time, the music subject
was given a status that did not place it among other normal subjects in the secondary school
curriculum in New Zealand, this change, however, has been in a position to change that status
(Wise, Greenwood, Davis, 2011).
Implications of the changes to me as a teacher
As discussed there has been numerous changes and transformations that have been witnessed in
the secondary school curriculum as far as the music subject is concerned. These changes have
been very significant and have revolutionized music across New Zealand (Larsen, Lawson, &

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Todd, 2010). The New Zealand context in which secondary school music teachers are situated in
is dynamic and so much complex. The changes have influenced music education and have had
implications for music teachers across New Zealand.
A change like the incorporation of any music style as a part and subsection of study into the
music subject was very instrumental. This change formed the basis of inclusion and appreciation
of the diverse sense of multiculturalism in New Zealand (Rickson, 2010). This change provided
that all sorts of music be incorporated into a classroom study of the music subject. As a teacher,
this implies that music has transformed and getting to learn as well as understand the various
music styles and genres from different communities in the diverse cultures of New Zealand is
quite fulfilling. It simply provides an avenue to learn as well as appreciate the different music
styles and genres all over the country as well as those from overseas (McFerran & Rickson,
2014).
In addition to this, there have been other changes that have had an impact on the music subject in
secondary schools in New Zealand. Establishment of the Qualifications Development Group
(QDG) who the main purpose was to oversee the development as well as the implementation of
various achievement standards. Achievement standards are often written for all traditional school
subjects and usually contain a mix of externally, as well as internally assessed standards with
which students can be in a position to gain, am ‘achieve', ‘merit' or ‘excellence' based on their
performance in a certain subject. As secondary school music teachers, this change simply implies
that there is a change in the status with which the music subject has been awarded (McFerran &
Wölfl, 2015). This is to mean that there is a need to develop and have a more serious point of
view as far as the performance of students is concerned. Quite a number of people have made
careers out of music and they are living lavishly because of music. This change is one step

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towards ensuring that music students take the music subjects with the seriousness it deserves as it
is in a position to have an impact in their life as well.
Assumptions and/or understandings held at the outset of this course about the purpose and
practice of music in secondary schools education in New Zealand
I have always had an assumption that music within secondary schools in New Zealand has had to
struggle for a place to fit in. The subject was not being appreciated in the fact that it was not
considered with the same status as other subjects in the curriculum. This assumption that I have
had since the onset of this particular course has been reaffirmed. Indeed it is true that music has
had a very long search for legitimacy as a typical classroom subject. This is evident because of
the fact that before the year 1943 that saw the incorporation of music as a core subject in the
secondary school curriculum, music was just considered more of an entertainment tool than a
subject that could actually be studied in school (McPhail, 2010). During this time music was
only included in special schools where the authority and the persons in charge valued it. The
struggle for legitimacy in the music subject has been also witnessed by various changes and
developments like the ones that have been discussed earlier in this write-up.
Another assumption that I have had is that contemporary music education is influenced by
various aspects such as cultural forces such as multiculturalism, feminism, postmodernism,
electronic communication, and youth culture. This assumption has been reaffirmed. This is some
because in the modern world music draws its inspiration form quite a number of sources such as
the ones mentioned above. In New Zealand for instance, it is indeed true that contemporary
music education has been associated and is influenced by such issues as youth culture and
multiculturalism. In addition, this the addition of the various music styles as well as genres into

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the music subject had ascertained that indeed music is influenced by cultural sources. This is so
because it has provided a basis for contemporary music to incorporate music from different
cultures and ethnicities in New Zealand (Whitinui, 2010).
Finally, I have had an assumption that the music subject in New Zealand, unlike other subjects,
will never have a real impact in students as it is not considered with the status that it's supposed
to just like other subjects. This assumption that I had has been proven wrong. Quite a number of
cases have proven this. For instance, the establishment of the Qualifications Development Group
(QDG) whose main purpose was to oversee the development as well as the implementation of
various achievement standards for the music subject (Prince, 2010). This milestone has proven
me wrong as it incorporates the ranking of the performance of music as a subject in school. Well,
this is just a step towards ensuring that the music subject is taken with the seriousness it
deserves.
Conclusion
Secondary school music has undergone so many changes and transitions over the past three
decades. These changes and transformations have really affected music as a subject and also the
music industry at large (Mutch & Collins, 2012). As mentioned earlier music been affected by
various factors such as the deep culture as well as other economic forces such as the growth and
emergence of popular music’s importance among youth and young people in the society
These numerous changes in music have had a positive impact on the status of the music subject
in secondary schools as it is now being considered with the same status just like other subjects in
the New Zealand curriculum.

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It is also important to note that these changes and transformation did not just come in unopposed.
Of course, there were various issues and factors that brought about opposition to the various
change elements and change itself in the music subject. For instance, the need to separate music
from the rest of the arts and considered it as a discipline of its own was rejected (McPhail, 2012).
Despite all these challenges and opposition, music as a subject as managed to gain the status that
it should hold.

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