‘What does every parent do when trying to soothe a newborn child? They sing songs, lullabies. The power of music resonates in every child; this is why we should be developing it from as young an age as possible,’ says Louise Barkl.
Music in all its notes and nuances has marked Barkl across her professional life. She was a teacher in early childhood music classes and in primary schools. ‘I taught in a very multicultural school and really felt that music was one of those learning areas where every child could participate at their own level. Over time, I worked with the classroom teachers to develop music programs collaboratively. This introduced me to the concept of the mutual benefits of working with colleagues in this way – how I learned from my colleagues about teaching this age group, and hopefully how the classroom teachers learned from me about music pedagogy.’
Then came a stint in secondary music education, followed by work in arts organisations, including as Director of Musica Viva In schools and as Leader of the NSW Department of Education’s Arts Unit.
Barkl is now a consultant in the areas of arts and education and has an ongoing role as National Education Adviser to the ‘Music in Me’ teacher mentoring program, a professional learning model with which she has been involved since its initial pilot in 2015.
‘I love that my career in music education has formed a full circle – from teaching music in primary schools to advising the ‘Music in Me’ teacher mentoring program that focuses on building the confidence and competence of primary school teachers to teach music, thus improving music and related learning outcomes in primary students of all ages,’ she tells ArtsHub, brimming with the enthusiasm of someone who has found her calling.
The founder of ‘Music in Me’, Richard Gill, she continues, was ‘determined to address the continuing decline in the quality of music education in primary schools’. Hence, the National Music Teacher Mentoring Program (now called ‘Music in Me’) was established to upskill the current teacher workforce in order to achieve access to quality music education for all Australian primary school students. The program is now in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, with local coordination and lead mentors in those states to support implementation in schools.
‘Mentoring teachers in music teaching and learning is really addressing the gap that is occurring as a result of would-be primary school teachers receiving less and less music education as part of their Initial Teacher Education [program]. Many new primary school teachers themselves have not received a quality music education at school for the very same reason,’ Barkl points out.
Why is music so important at the primary school level, though?
‘Music is an essential part of a broad curriculum, having its own unique body of knowledge and skills as an expressive art form. And it is different for every child,’ says Barkl.
‘With all the competing demands on schools, I think we often miss the point that music learning enhances virtually every other aspect of a child’s learning. Strong evidence-based research demonstrates that it improves literacy and numeracy, not to mention what it does to a child’s sense of wellbeing, learning about self-expression and problem-solving with their peers. Then there’s simply that sense of joy.’
Harnessing the talent we already have by way of music teachers makes perfect sense, she adds, as she explains how the ‘Music in Me’ mentoring system works. ‘Schools that are interested in lifting the quality of music teaching and learning apply and are matched with a mentor who then works alongside classroom teachers. This may involve teachers observing mentors teaching, team teaching, designing initiatives to develop a teacher’s practice or ways of addressing particular learning needs. There’s no one-size-fits-all way of achieving this, so it’s really important that the mentoring process is tailored to meet the participating teachers’ needs. An online portal is also provided as part of the tools and resources.
‘Many mentors report that being a mentor has been a highlight of their career and find it an empowering way to have a greater impact through their work as music educators, at the same time as improving their own teaching practice,’ she concludes.
Those interested in being a music mentor for 2025 should contact: mentoring@ayo.com.au
Schools interested in having teachers in their school mentored should also get in touch via mentoring@ayo.com.au and visit www.musicinme.au to learn more.
