Australian ITE Primary students’ preparedness to teach Arts education: An investigation of perceptions, beliefs and confidence
Abstract
Preparation of Primary teachers to deliver the Arts in schools continues to receive attention, particularly as the shortage of educators becomes more prevalent. This paper seeks to examine the preparedness of teachers undertaking Initial Teacher Education (ITE) across three Australian Institutions (n=120). The authors explore ‘How does ITE preparation influence teacher confidence, perceived subject value, and readiness to deliver Arts education in primary schools?’ Drawing on responses from an anonymous online survey, descriptive analyses presents the high value placed upon the arts by teachers, while similarly indicating differences between perceptions of preparedness to teach and perceived confidence to teach the Arts. Findings across cohorts are presented, raising issues for future ITE subject design combined with longer term considerations for the sustained integration of the arts.
Downloads
References
ACARA. (2023). Staff numbers. https://www.acara.edu.au/reporting/national-report-on-schooling-in-australia/staff-numbers
ACARA (2024a). Naplan national results. https://www.acara.edu.au/—reporting/national-report-on-schooling-in-australia/naplan-national-results
ACARA (2024b). Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. Foundation –Year 10 curriculum. https://acara.edu.au/curriculum/—foundation-year-10
AITSL. (2024). ATWD national trends: Initial teacher education pipeline (Feb 2024 ed., 2005-2021). https://www.aitsl.edu.au/research/australian-teacher-workforce-data/atwdreports/national-trends-ite-pipeline-feb2024/
Angleton, C. (2022). Storying identity through arts-based readerly responses: Fourth-grade girls represent gender and race. Language Arts, 100(2), 110-121. https://doi.org/10.58680/la202232138
Almalki, S. (2016). Integrating quantitative and qualitative data in mixed methods research-Challenges and Benefits. Journal of education and learning, 5(3), 288-296. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1110464.pdf
Alter, F., Hays, T., & O’Hara, R. (2009b). Creative arts teaching and practice: Critical reflections of primary school teachers in Australia. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 10(9). http://www.ijea.org/v10n9/ .
Alter, F., Hays, T., & O'Hara, R. (2009a). The challenges of implementing primary arts education: What our teachers say. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 34(4), 22-30. https://doi.org/10.1177/183693910903400404
Ashley, M. (2009). Boys who dare don't care: Unwanted men, the performing arts and perplexing disruptions to the male teacher discourse. British Educational Research Association, 35(2), 187-204.
Australian Government. (2023). Strong beginnings: Report of the Teacher Education Expert Panel. https://www.education.gov.au/quality-initial-teacher-education-review/resources/strong-beginnings-report-teacher-education-expert-panel
Baker, W., Joseph, D., & Merrick, B. (2025). "Thought the holidays and workload would be good…": Motivations of Australian ITE students in a time of crisis. Issues in Educational Research, 35(1), 82-100.
Bamford, A. (2006). The WOW factor: Global research compendium on the impact of the arts in education. Waxmann Verlag.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercises of control. Freeman. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-25101-7_3
Barton, G. M., Baguley, M., & MacDonald, A. (2013). Seeing the Bigger Picture: Investigating the State of the Arts in Teacher Education Programs in Australia. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 38(7). https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2013v38n7.5
Bolden, B., Corcoran, S., Kukkonen, T., Newberry, J., & Rickey, N. (2024). Arts for transformative education: A guide for teachers from the UNESCO Associated Schools Network. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/arts-transformative-education-guide-teachers-unesco-associated-schools-network
Bradley, J., Moore, E., Simpson, J., & Atkinson, L. (2018). Translanguaging space and creative activity: Theorising collaborative arts-based learning. Language and Intercultural Communication, 18(1), 54-73. https://doi.org/10.1080/14708477.2017.1401120
Brandenburg, R., Larsen, E., Simpson, A., Sallis, R., & Trần, D. (2024). ‘I left the teaching profession… and this is what I am doing now’: A national study of teacher attrition. The Australian Educational Researcher, 1-20. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13384-024-00697-1
Burak, S. (2019). Self-efficacy of pre-school and primary school pre-service teachers in musical ability and music teaching. International Journal of Music Education, 37(2), 257-271. https://doi.org/10.1177/—0255761419833083
Burke, K. (2021). “How can the creative arts possibly be taught online?” Perspectives and experiences of online educators in Australian higher education. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 49(3), 347-361. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2020.1777531
Chapman, S., Wright, P. R., & Pascoe, R. (2017). Content without context is noise: Looking for curriculum harmony in primary arts education in Western Australia. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 19(2). https://doi.org/10.18113/P8ijea1902
Corbett, L., Phongsavan, P., Okely, A. D., Bauman, A., & Peralta, L. R. (2025). Teachers’ experience, needs and recommendations for promoting their health and wellbeing in Australia: A reflexive thematic analysis. Teaching and Teacher Education, 155, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2024.104897
Creswell, J. W. (2015). A concise introduction to mixed methods research. Sage.
Creswell, J. W., & Clark, V. L. P. (2017). Designing and conducting mixed methods research. Sage. https://collegepublishing.sagepub.com/—products/designing-and-conducting-mixed-methods-research-3-241842
Collins, A. (2016). Generalist pre-service teacher education, self-efficacy and Arts education: An impossible expectation? International Journal of Education & the Arts, 17(26). http://www.ijea.org/v17n26/.
Crowe, S. (2006). Dance, drama and music: a foundation for education: a study on implementing the performing Arts in the early years of education [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. RMIT University. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=abaf1bf565c04a4a0c9da8aa3d394224b1703991
Cruickshank, V., Pedersen, S., Cooley, P. D., & Hill, A. (2018). Towards a measure of gender-related challenges faced by male primary teachers. Australian Journal of Education, 62(1), 49-60. https://doi.org/10.1177/—000494411775
Cruickshank, V., Pill, S., & Mainsbridge, C. (2021). 'Just do some physical activity': Exploring experiences of teaching physical education online during Covid-19. Issues in Educational Research, 31(1), 76-93. https://www.iier.org.au/iier31/cruickshank.pdf
Cushman, P. (2005). It's just not a real bloke's job: Male teachers in the primary school. Asia‐Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 33(3), 321-338. https://doi.org/10.1080/13598660500286176
Cushman, P. (2010). Male primary school teachers: Helping or hindering a move to gender equity? Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(5), 1211-1218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2010.01.002
Deehan, J., Hutchesson, R. C., & Parker, P. (2022). Learning to teach without teaching: a mixed methods case study of preservice teachers' efficacy beliefs and perceptions of an evidence-based creative arts subject. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 47(7), 90-115. doi: 10.14221/ ajte.2022v47n7.6
Denee, R., Lindsay, G., & Probine, S. (2023). Visual arts self-efficacy: Impacts and supports for early childhood teachers. Early Childhood Education Journal, 1-11. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10643-023-01489-5
de Vries, P. (2013). Generalist teachers' self-efficacy in primary school music teaching. Music Education Research, 15(4), 375-391. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2013.829427
Dowdy, J. K., & Campbell, D. (2008). The dance of diversity: White male teachers and arts based instruction for classrooms. The High School Journal, 91(4), 1-11. 10.1353/hsj.0.0002
Eisner, E. (2004). What can education learn from the arts about the practice of education? International Journal of Education and the Arts, 5(4). http://www.ijea.org/v5n4/
Elpus, K. (2022). Access to arts education in America: The availability of visual art, music, dance, and theater courses in US high schools. Arts Education Policy Review, 123(2), 50-69. https://doi.org/10.1080/10632913.2020.1773365
Ewing, R. (2012). Competing issues in Australian primary curriculum: Learning from international experiences. Education 3-13, 40(1), 97-111. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2012.635059
Freeman, B., Marginson, S., & Tytler, R. (2019). An international view of STEM education. In STEM Education 2.0 (pp. 350-363). Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004405400_019
Gibson, R., & Ewing, R. (2020). Transforming the curriculum through the arts. Springer. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-3-030-52797-6.pdf
Gosse, D., Parr, M., & Allison, J. (2008). Researching the halted paths of male primary school teacher candidates. The Journal of Men’s Studies, 16(1), 57-68. https://doi.org/10.3149/jms.1601.
Hallam, S., Burnard, P., Robertson, A., Saleh, C., Davies, V., Rogers, L., & Kokatsaki, D. (2009). Trainee primary-school teachers’ perceptions of their effectiveness in teaching music. Music Education Research, 11(2), 221-240. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613800902924508
Halverson, E., & Sawyer, K. (2022). Learning in and through the arts. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 31(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/—10508406.2022.2029127
Heffernan, A., D. Bright, M. Kim, F. Longmuir, & Magyar, B. (2022). ‘I cannot sustain the workload and the emotional toll’: Reasons behind Australian teachers’ intentions to leave the profession. Australian Journal of Education 66(2), 196–209. https://doi.org/10.1177/00049441221086654
Hennessy, S., Rolfe, L., & Chedzoy, S. (2001). The factors which influence student teachers' confidence to teach the Arts in the primary classroom. Research in Dance Education, 2(1), 53-71. https://doi.org/10.1080/—14647890123720
Hocking, R. (2009). National audit of music discipline and music education mandatory content within pre-service generalist primary teacher education courses. https://www.musicinaustralia.org.au/wp-content/—uploads/2016/02/Hocking_preservice_2009.pdf
Jefferson & Anderson. (2017). Transforming schools: Creativity, critical reflection, communication, collaboration. Bloomsbury.
Jindal-Snape, D., Davies, D., Scott, R., Robb, A., Murray, C., & Harkins, C. (2018). Impact of Arts participation on children’s achievement: A systematic literature review. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 29, 59-70. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871187117303504
John Martino, W. (2008). Male teachers as role models: Addressing issues of masculinity, pedagogy and the re-masculinization of schooling. Curriculum Inquiry, 38(2), 189-223. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-873X.2007.00405.x
Joseph, D., & Merrick, B. (2023). ‘I am over it, fatigued, and overworked’: Australian music educators’ insights since the pandemic. International Journal of Music, Health, and Wellbeing, (Autumn), 1-15. https://tinyurl.com/mrnzsar3
Joseph, D., Merrick, B., & Baker, W. (2025). Arts education matters, what are we waiting for? Perceptions of initial teacher education students in Australia. Teachers and Teaching, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2024.2438167
Kane, J. (2006) New ways of "training" in primary school music education: results and implications of a longitudinal research study. Australian Association for Research in Education: Conference papers, abstracts and symposia, 27 November - 1 December 2005, Parramatta, NSW. Coldstream, VIC: Australian Association for Research in Education. https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/new-ways-of-training-in-primary-school-music-education-results-an
Kerby, M., Lorenza, L., Dyson, J., Ewing, R., & Baguley, M. (2021). Challenges, implications and the future of the Australian Curriculum: The Arts. The Australian Educational Researcher, 48(5), 901-922. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-021-00488-y
Lorenza, L. M. (2021). Arts curriculum are better resourced and supported when the principal is focussed on the student experience. Curriculum Perspectives, 41(2), 187-199. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41297-021-00139-3
McGrath, K., & Sinclair, M. (2013). More male primary-school teachers? Social benefits for boys and girls. Gender and Education, 25(5), 531-547. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2013.796342
McPherson, A., Lampert, J., & Burnett, B. (2024). A summary of initiatives to address teacher shortages in hard-to-staff schools in the Anglosphere. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 52(3), 332-349. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2024.2323936
Mills, M., Martino, W., & Lingard, B. (2004). Attracting, recruiting and retaining male teachers: Policy issues in the male teacher debate. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 25(3), 355-369. https://doi.org/10.1080/—0142569042000216990
Ministry of Education, Te Tahuhu o te Matauranga. (2025). Teacher, Demand and Supply 2024 Report released. https://www.education.govt.nz/—news/teacher-demand-and-supply-2024-report-released#key-findings-1
Møller-Skau, M., & Lindstøl, F. (2022). Arts-based teaching and learning in teacher education: “Crystallising” student teachers' learning outcomes through a systematic literature review. Teaching and Teacher Education, 109, 112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2021.103545
Murphy, S., MacDonald, A., Danaia, L., & Wang, C. (2019). An analysis of Australian STEM education strategies. Policy futures in education, 17(2), 122-139. https://doi.org/10.1177/14782103187741
NAAE. (2017). Public submission made to the Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools. https://www.education.gov.au/—system/files/documents/document-file/2020-12/national-advocates-for-arts-education-naae.pdf
Oreck, B. A. (2004). The role of classroom teachers in identifying and nurturing students’ artistic abilities. Unpublished manuscript. https://barryoreck.com
O’Toole, J. (2019). Mind the gap - some implications of the Australian Curriculum: Arts for policy change in tertiary arts and education training. https://nitro.edu.au/articles/2019/3/1/mind-the-gap-some-implications-of-theaustralian-curriculum-arts-for-policy-change-in-tertiary-arts-and-education-training
Pajares, F. (2000). Frank Pajares on nurturing academic confidence. Emory Report, 52 (21), 1-2. https://www.emory.edu/EMORY_REPORT/—erarchive/2000/February/erfebruary.14/2_14_00pajares.html
Polesel, J., Rice, S., & Dulfer, N. (2014). The impact of high-stakes testing on curriculum and pedagogy: A teacher perspective from Australia. Journal of Education Policy, 29(5), 640-657. https://doi.org/10.1080/—02680939.2013.865082
Power, B., & Klopper, C. (2011). The classroom practice of creative Arts education in NSW primary schools: A descriptive account. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 12(11). http://www.ijea.org/v12n11/
Prichard, S. (2017). A mixed-methods investigation of preservice music teaching efficacy beliefs and commitment to music teaching. Journal of Research in Music Education, 65(2), 237-257. https://doi.org/10.1177/—0022429417710387
Qualtrics (2025). Support. https://www.qualtrics.com/support/survey-platform/survey-module/survey-tools/import-and-export-surveys/
Regier, B. J. (2021). Preservice music teachers’ self-efficacy and concerns before and during student teaching. International Journal of Music Education, 39(3), 340-352. https://doi.org/10.1177/0255761421990787
Riley, P. (2021). The Australian principal occupational health, safety and wellbeing survey (IPPE Report). Sydney: Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, Australian Catholic University https://www.educatorhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/—2017_Report_AU_FINAL-compressed.pdf
Roy, D., Baker, W., & Hamilton, A. (2019). Teaching the Arts: Early childhood and primary education (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Russell-Bowie, D. (2011). An ode to joy… or the sounds of silence? An exploration of Arts education policy in Australian primary schools. Arts Education Policy Review, 112(4), 163-173. https://doi.org/10.1080/—10632913.2011.566099
Russell-Bowie, D. (2012). Developing preservice primary teachers’ confidence and competence in Arts education using principles of authentic learning. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 37(1), 60–74. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol37/iss1/4/
StatsNZ, Tatauranga Aoteoroa. (2019). Hatches and despatches – who does what in New Zealand? https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/hatches-and-despatches-who-does-what-in-new-zealand
Stevens, R. S. (2023). Lessons from history: Provision for classroom music teaching in Victorian government primary schools-implications for future policy formation. Australian Journal of Music Education, 55(2), 47-59. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1438659.pdf
Stromquist, N. P. (2018). The global status of teachers and the teaching profession. Education International. https://doi.org/10.1080/—00131911.2019.1705247
Thomson, P., & Vainker, S. (2022). The arts in primary initial teacher education. University of Nottingham. https://artsprimary.com/wp-content/—uploads/2023/05/raps-ite-report-draft-final.pdf
Timpani, S., Sweet, L., & Sivertsen, N. (2021). Storytelling: One arts-based learning strategy to reflect on clinical placement. An integrative review. Nurse education in practice, 52. https://doi.org/—10.1016/j.nepr.2021.103005
Toropova, A., Myrberg, E., & Johansson, S. (2021). Teacher job satisfaction: The importance of school working conditions and teacher characteristics. Educational Review, 73(1), 71-97. https://doi.org/—10.1080/00131911.2019.1705247
UNESCO (2006). Road map for arts education Lisbon, Portugal. The world conference on Arts education: Building creative capacities for the 21st century. https://www.unesco.org/sites/default/files/medias/fichiers/2022/12/Lisbon_Roadmap.pdf
Vellinga Haaheim, K. (2007). Factors dissuading male faculty of education students from entering into the teaching profession at the primary level. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Nippising University, North Bay, Ontario. https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/thesescanada/vol2/002/MR27139.PDF?is_thesis=1&oclc_number=440081002
Welch, A. (2022). Fixing Australia’s teacher shortage. https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2022/08/31/fixing-australia-s-teacher-shortage.html
Westerlund, H., & Barrett, M. (2022). Narrating arts education research impact in and through research policy: Affordances and constraints for professional transformation. Arts Education Policy Review, 123(2), 97-109. https://doi.org/10.1080/10632913.2020.1811819
Windle, J., Morrison, A., Sellar, S., Squires, R., Kennedy, J. P., & Murray, C. (2022). Teachers at breaking point: Why working in South Australian schools is getting tougher (Report to the Australian Education Union, South Australian Branch). University of South Australia: Adelaide, SA.
Winter, N., Burleigh, T., Kennedy, R., & Clifford, S. (2019). A simplified protocol to screen out VPS and international respondents using Qualtrics. SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3327274 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3327274
Workman, E. (2017). Beyond the core: Advancing student success through the arts. Education Trends. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED576181
Copyright (c) 2025 Bradley Merrick, Dawn Joseph, William Baker
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.