The Australian Music Students’ Association refuses the changes proposed by the NSW Education Standards Authority to the syllabi for HSC music and drama, as we feel that the consultations from those with expertise and experience in this area have been ignored, in place of attempted cost-saving, and are thus a significant step backwards and a major attack on the fine art education of our future generations.
Whilst an update to the syllabus is required, these changes look to significantly reduce practical components and expand the importance of theoretical exams, as well restricting the choices of elective components, which has previously facilitated student self-expression and identity, and allowed students to excel in topics they are uniquely interested in pursuing.
These proposed changes, released in draft syllabi on 28 October 2024, look to reform the Music 1 11-12, Music 2 11-12, Music Extension 11-12, Music Life Skills 11-12, Drama 11-12, and Drama Life Skills 11-12 classes. The process of review consisted of people who are neither musicians nor actors nor teachers deciding the new structure of these courses, whilst ignoring the feedback provided to them by individuals with such listed qualifications. Those who were consulted felt so disillusioned by the process they ended up resigning from their consultative position, such as Professor Michael Anderson, stating “this is profoundly disappointing and undermines my faith in NESA’s process.”
Since the release of these drafts of this “once in a generation overhaul”, NESA has met significant resistance from prominent music education academics from thirteen universities around Australia, alongside students training to become music teachers, famous musicians and artists, parents, and other members of the community. 130 educators at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music have spoken out against the proposals, particularly lecturers Dr James Humberstone, Dr Thomas Feinberg, and Dr Jim Coyle. Many school teachers, though, have been afraid to publicly speak out on the changes, being told anything said may be a breach of their code of conduct.
If implemented, these changes to curricula would be catastrophic for the future of the arts in NSW and Australia. As the most populous state and largest education system in the country, any changes seen in NSW ripple throughout the rest of the nation. These changes ultimately say that it’s possible to discuss and analyse the arts without actually doing them. In a nation already struggling to provide performance opportunities for its young artists, it’s imperative we keep and bolster the existing opportunities they get to explore their craft.
Year 11-12 music in NSW sees double the rate of enrolment compared to all other states, with 7% of the entire HSC candidature choosing to take music in their final two years of high school. This high rate of enrolment is due to the nation-leading syllabi and music teacher training implemented since the mid-1970s. These syllabi have integrated performance, composition, and analysis — all necessary features for successful and fulfilling musicking — paired with giving autonomy to students to showcase their strengths and interests.
HSC Music and Drama, like all fine arts in the HSC, are not just taken by those wishing to continue in further tertiary study or a career in the performing arts. These subjects are loved by so many students who want to express themselves, tell stories, share ideas, collaborate; they are one of the few ways for those completing the HSC to create art in their own voice.
The changes for Music 1 see options for composition and musicological vivas voce removed, whilst mandating contemporary popular music and reducing the 22 other topics into mandated Focus Areas. The weighting of performance would also be significantly reduced, in exchange for further weighting of their final exam, doubled in length from 1 hour to 2 hours. Less options of study topics and more import placed on written exams not only goes against research in music education, but will see less participation from students.
The changes for Music 2 and Music Extension see similar issues with more weight being placed on written exams and less choice being offered, whilst also seeing massive disconnect to the rest of a musician’s life. These draft syllabi see both major shifts away from the K-10 curriculum, but also to the requirements for tertiary music education and admission to it, preparation for which being why the course exists.
Drama students would be removed the requirement to be externally assessed on any performance, with their ensemble group performance being scrapped and replaced by an extra 30 minute exam and an internally-assessed ensemble piece. Individual Projects will see the removal of the Director’s Folio, Lighting Design, and Video Drama, the latter of which is the only opportunity for students to submit filmography as part of their HSC. All submissions for the remaining projects, such as Set Design or Costume Design, will be marked through digital files, ignoring the physical nature of these options and limiting the creative explorations available.
Many schools – most of which are public and/or in low socioeconomic areas – do not have the capacity nor resourcing to run both Music 1 and Music 2 classes; simultaneously, 85% of all students in HSC music choose to take Music 1 due to its ability to accommodate anyone regardless of ability or background. All of these students would be forced to play contemporary popular music, even if it is not their passion, without the opportunity to compose their own works or present their analysis.
Mandating contemporary music performance is also part of a broader shift in Australian society, away from appreciating art for the cultural benefit they bring, and towards one that is commercial and financially-profitable. The Federal Government’s Revive policy and the NSW Government’s new contemporary music strategy both focus on the economic aspects of the arts, centering around how much revenue they raise and the number of people they employ. Of course the government will give preference to contemporary musics, as they are the ones with the broadest appeal and easiest commerciality.
In an era surrounded by continual changes to written assessment because of artificial intelligence, a viva voce is one way to see lowered rates of academic integrity breaches, whilst allowing students to show a better understanding of the topic. To remove the opportunities for students to learn this skill during high school means we are not preparing them for further education, and is simultaneously feeding into the idea of a corporate university.
Overall, the changes to the music and drama syllabi proposed by NESA just bolster the “academically ornamental” status to which the fine arts have been relegated in NSW. With all the fine arts subjects scaling less in ATARs, there is an inherent hierarchy that sees these practical classes less-worthy of study than the real “core” theoretical subjects. We have an amazing opportunity to turn this around with a curriculum change, but unless NESA listens to experts and artists, it will be floundered.
We call the state Minister for Education Prue Car to immediately suspend these draft syllabi, and for the New South Wales Education Standards Authority to begin a new process of review for the subjects. Alongside this, we request a meeting with both the Authority and Minister to further elaborate and discuss our thoughts, as student representatives of music and drama.
We also strongly call for this new review to be informed by the knowledge of experts in musical and dramatic education. Instead of limited choices of study, any curriculum changes should provide further flexibility for students to focus on diverse musical traditions that reflect our culturally diverse state. These must allow students to explore performance, composition, and musicology, in whatever ways are most comfortable to them and their craft, and not to what is easiest to standardise.
We encourage any musician and actor – professional, student, or hobbyist – teacher, parent, and all other members of the community, to join our campaign to call the government to suspend and remove the draft music and drama syllabuses from circulation and restart the review process with improved policy safeguards.
Signatories
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 | Tirion Luff-White Secretary Australian Music Students' Association |
 | Theresa Xiao President Sydney Conservatorium Students' Association |
 | Charlotte Gaal Education Officer Sydney Conservatorium Students' Association |
 | Rachael Palazzi President Student Council of the National Institute of Dramatic Arts |
 | Rose Cook President Sydney University Dramatic Society |