The beat goes on? The current presence of music education in Australian public universities

Abstract

Instruction in the theory and performance of music has been part of Australian higher education since the nineteenth century. Using the online content analysis approach, this article analyses current units of study and curricula in each Australian public university that continues to teach music. This study provides a detailed analysis of what is taught and how universities providing music education conceptualize the merit and usefulness of this field of study. Our analysis reveals that music education in Australian public universities remains relatively common, but also identifies the trajectories that music education has followed, including departures from traditional classical performance and music theory to coursework offerings that have been enabled by methodologies prevalent in social and cultural history. Universities offering music education have also tried to position such education as fundamental to securing a career, but offer very little in the way of units aiming to develop a broader understanding of the industry or inculcating career-relevant skills beyond those that are strictly relevant to music making.