What approaches to music education are sympathetic to Muslim cultures and values : some findings from an ongoing case study

During 2006 a group of academics from the University of Western Sydney began to work alongside teachers in a cluster of five schools, three of them Department of Education and Training (DET) and two Islamic schools. This partnership successfully achieved a Department of Education Science and Training (DEST) grant for their values education proposal 'Unity in Diversity'. In the course of this project, it has been possible to work closely with a teacher at one of the Islamic schools. Fortuitously she is a key figure in the project. This paper presents the initial findings of an ongoing case study in which my involvement is participant-researcher. The scope of this study looks at ways in which one school is adapting approaches to engage with state curriculum documents. Curriculum change itself is not the focus of this paper. The data has been gathered since October 2006 and encompasses classroom observations, focus groups with students from Middle Years classes and with members of the Student Council, and detailed discussions with the music teacher. Data also includes experiences offered to students from all five schools at an all-day Forum where activities that included music improvising and recording were offered.