A study examining the ICT literacy levels of music educators in the New South Wales Department of Education & Training

The use of technology in the Australian secondary school education system has increased considerably over the last two decades. While technology may effectively be implemented at a general level, the uptake in specific disciplines such as music often lags behind. This is significant as a limited use of technology can impact on the success of a student’s studies, future opportunities of employment or education, and, importantly, overall career paths. Issues of technological integration in education are not new. It was highlighted in 2004 when the Australian Federal Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon Dr Brendan Nelson MP, commissioned a report into the delivery of music education in the Australian schooling system. The report, co-ordinated by Murdoch University and released publicly in November 2005 entitled The National Review of School Music Education (Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training, 2005), indicated that technology should be a mandatory part of the music education process and that music educators must equip themselves with the necessary skills to deliver such education. Central to this implementation is the technological competency of the music educators themselves. In order to ascertain information about certain aspects of competency, this study considers the perceived level and range of technological familiarity of a selection of secondary school music educators working in the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Education and Training. It also considers attitudes towards technology. The study, while somewhat limited in scope, noted that most of the music educators surveyed possessed a good level of general technological literacy and many were fluently using this in their teaching. There was also a smaller element that evidenced an amount of disconnect between their personal use of technology and its application in an educational context. Additionally, it identified a number of possible factors that may be affecting technological implementation in music including curriculum, resourcing, familiarity with current technology, training and educational practice itself.