Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to speak about one of the most effective tools we have to improve learning outcomes, student behaviour, wellbeing and engagement. I'm talking about music education in our primary schools. This isn't music education as an optional extra squeezed in after the real subjects are done.

More than 30 years of neuroscience research shows that music education strengthens the same neural networks involved in language, reading and mathematics. Think about it: what makes music learning unique is that it engages auditory processing, memory, motor coordination, attention, emotional regulation and social cooperation all at the same time. Research shared with me by Dr Anita Collins found that students involved in structured music learning demonstrated a 19 per cent improvement in self-regulation, a 50 per cent increase in cooperation and a 55 per cent increase in the student's sense of connectedness. An environment where students are self-regulating, cooperating and connected is an ideal learning space.

The literacy and numeracy outcomes are just as striking. Students engaged in music learning demonstrated a 60 per cent improvement in being able to distinguish different sounds and showed 70 per cent greater persistence with reading tasks. Research also demonstrated a 24 per cent improvement in mathematical understanding and a 30 per cent reduction in maths anxiety, with particularly strong improvements among students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. These figures tell us that music education isn't a nice-to-have; it's deeply connected to students' capacity to learn in the first place. I think of it as fertiliser for the brain.

I also listened to the feedback from educators on the front line like Homebush West Public principal Estelle Southall, who told me stories of the change she saw in students who accessed music education for the first time ever, and how it profoundly changed their experience of school. Music education helps students become more confident learners, more connected classmates and more resilient young people. It teaches children to listen, to cooperate, to persist and to belong. I think of these benefits every time I see a school musical and watch kids find their tribe either on stage or in the crew. We need to use every tool at our disposal to support students learning, and music education is one of the most effective interventions available to us.

The Tony Foundation's Fading notes report found that the hours devoted to compulsory music education training in university degrees for primary school teachers have fallen by more than half over the last decade. This contributes to increasingly patchy and inconsistent access to quality music education, particularly in public schools across Australia.

I'm not alone in believing there's a bigger role for music education in our school system. I was delighted to bring together educators, researchers and advocates from across the sector for a roundtable discussion with education minister Jason Clare. Along with Dr Anita Collins, the Tony Foundation and Principal Southall, I was joined by representatives from the Song Room, the Australian Children's Music Foundation, Musica Viva, the Australian Youth Orchestra, the National Advocates for Arts Education, the Australian Society for Music Education, the Australian Secondary Principals' Association and the Australian National Academy of Music. I thank them for sharing their expertise and passion for what music education can do for students across Australia, and I thank Minister Clare for his thoughtful engagement with this important conversation. As Special Envoy for the Arts, I'll continue advocating for better access because quality music education for Australian students has benefits that are too valuable to pass up.

To all those music teachers: during school hours or before or after school, we know the cultural and economic contribution you make. Creative Australia's recent Bass line report found that the music education sector contributes about $1.5 billion in direct economic value each year. I thank you for how you help young brains operate even better.

It's already been a busy year for New South Wales SES Blue Mountains members, responding to more than 760 calls for assistance, including 18 search and rescue operations. I was delighted that we turned the sod on the new SES Blue Mountains West Unit headquarters, which I contributed $1.1 million to as part of my 2022 election campaign. I look forward to seeing it completed.

House adjourned at 20:00

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