Purpose: The aim of the article is to develop a framework for assessment for contemporary commercial music (CCM) in a music department that is still organised in a traditional way. Assessment of CCM in tertiary institutions and external graded music exams were described and analysed, followed by the presentation of an assessment framework.…

In this article, I examine the potential of social media to meaningfully connect students and educators with First Nations popular musicians. Utilising yarning-as-method under the theoretical frame of storying, I present accounts of attempts to embed the practice in high school classes before exploring how the process was refined for an initial…

This paper employs the new materialist methodology of diffraction to probe the entanglements of matter and discourse that comprise the assemblage of Pilipinx becoming, or the ways by which people are racialized as Pilipinx. By methodologically diffracting Pilipinx becoming through the public pedagogy of punk rock, this research complicates…

This case study employed multimodal methods and visual analysis to explore how a young multilingual student used music improvisation to form a speech rap. This student, recently arrived in Australia from Ethiopia, created piano music that was central to his music identity and that simultaneously, through dialogue with his mother, enhanced his…

Research suggests graduates from music courses in Australian tertiary institutions typically undertake portfolio careers that include a combination of performing and teaching. Both of these activities could have ongoing artistic ripple effects on the musical communities the graduates inhabit. This paper reports on a qualitative post-graduate…

There has been much concern about the perceived increase in sexualised media and its potential impact on children's well-being and development. This phenomenon was examined in a four-phase study focusing, specifically on music media. Phase 1 investigated the prevalence of sexualised music media broadcast on Australian free-to-air television in…

Education in a contemporary context increasingly requires students to engage with learning technologies. This can present a challenge to both students and teachers who at times struggle to engage with the technical processes involved in navigating these technologies. Outside of formal education settings, on-demand information facilitated through…

This article problematises the uptake and use of digital technologies by migrant and refugee-background young people, through the lens of a site-based arts pedagogy program, Culture Shack (CS), in Melbourne, Australia. It argues that online pedagogies including animation, Facebook, photoshop, mobile phones and Youtube can be used effectively for…

Hip-hop has exploded around the world among youth. It is not simply an American source of entertainment; it is a global cultural movement that provides a voice for youth worldwide who have not been able to express their "cultural world" through mainstream media. The emerging field of critical hip-hop pedagogy has produced little…

Academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, is a chronic problem. This paper reports the results of a project undertaken at a public funded university in Melbourne, Australia, in partnership with colleagues from a public funded university in Beijing, China, to combat this and other problems associated with academic literacy. The prime focus of the…

This paper explores how Foucault's concept of the panopticon, power and knowledge impacts on the identity of young Nunga males in a secondary educational institution. I argue that the regulation of the Nunga body in schools is embedded in the discursive formations of knowledge about Indigenous people and the workings of power that are tied up in…

Hip Hop Based Pedagogy is a significant movement in the United States that uses hip hop texts not as "gimmicks to entice students to be compliant and cooperate" but for their expression of "enduring and comprehensive themes" (Ladson-Billings, 2009, p. ix). Texts that draw on students' popular cultures can be used in a manner…

During the 19th and 20th centuries, Indian culture was represented in Australia as part of celebrations of the British Empire. Children were presented with stereotypic representations of Indian culture, which provide a snapshot of contemporary perceptions. Such representations were rarely authentic. By removing music from one culture and…

The practical training of contemporary popular musicians, that is, the preparation of performers, songwriters, and music production personnel for the global popular music industry, is still in its infancy. This article seeks to discuss the specific issue of what musicianship skills should be taught, by interrogating the perceptions of a cohort of…

The working relationship of two novice songwriters is examined in this ethnographic study, which highlights the importance of common goals and values in a songwriting collaboration. Stemming from this core there are a number of sub-themes: the pair saw a popular song as consisting of melody, harmony, and lyrics; they played on the strengths and…