Functional language & literacy in practice: a higher education music context

Abstract

Currently most Higher Education (HE) and Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses do not specifically address functional literacy skills. A student could potentially pass the course, yet still be functionally illiterate. This paper is an attempt to consider what language and literacy issues might mean in practice in the context of Australian music higher education through investigating the role of reflective practice in music performance. A graduating music performance class at the Australian Institute of Music is employed as a case study to unpack the role of functional literacy in this context. Here, aligning cognitive processes with course development may avail opportunities for literacy skills to develop, but it still remains a question as to where such opportunities could exist within the broader education field. Regardless, the aim is to support content understanding by focusing on the nature and practices of academic reading and writing in all education environments.