In this issue, we witness different ways in which to illuminate the complexities of music teachers and music teaching processes and the conditions through which students learn and teachers embody different and contested images of professional ideals, ideologies and practices. In studies drawn from as far afield as New Zealand, Australia, Republic of Ireland and the UK, authors locate current debates about practice and offer careful analysis, insights and compelling ideas for change that range from teacher professionalism and accountability to community engagement and government policy. There are a range of theoretical frameworks incorporated (including cognitive psychology, constructivism, interpretative phenomenology, and sociocultural theories of situated learning, zone of proximal learning, and concept formation) and the authors' work relates to a range of contested areas. The articles move between teacher thinking and classroom practice to key factors in students’ learning and achievement and music learning in the ‘third age’. All are concerned with the ways in which beliefs, values and identities, structural and curriculum reforms, informal and formal learning sites, and pre-service and continuing professional development, shape and affirm the importance in building understandings of students and teachers' musical lives and how particular practices get embodied in particular contexts. The sites of practice include secondary school music, conservatoire research, university programmes, music communities and local government sectors. The articles draw on diverse data generated via in-depth interview methods, questionnaires, document analysis, observation and accounts of musical experiences.
The issue begins with two articles on teacher thinking and practice, ranging from how teachers enact assessment reform intentions to promoting teacher development and practice. Reporting on a study of four secondary music classrooms in New Zealand, authors Stuart Wise, Janinka Greenwood and Niki Davis share nine teachers' perceptions and modes of practice that utilise digital technologies and software such as Sibelius and GarageBand. In the article entitled Teachers' use of digital technology in secondary music education: Illustrations of changing classrooms, teachers' reflective accounts of the improvement of classroom practices provide insights into the particularities and conditions of pedagogic change. This is followed by an article entitled The organization and assessment of composing at Key Stage 4 in English secondary schools written by UK authors Jonathan Savage and Martin Fautley who report classroom music teacher attitudes and approaches to assessing classroom composing. This article makes meaningful comparisons of what teachers say and do with regards to marking their students’ individual composition work and the challenges imposed by examination board criteria. The authors provide a timely analysis of some of the key challenges facing secondary music teachers and their views of what constitutes assessment which can be described as ‘fit for purpose’.
We see both the dynamics of pedagogical environment and teacher–student reflections in the two papers that follow reflecting diversity of thinking about teachers' role and supervisory relationships in Higher Education. With a focus on the demands of instrumental/vocal teaching in Higher Music Education and the practice of student learning in conservatoire settings, Helena Gaunt offers a UK perspective on a topic of great interest and importance particularly to those involved in one-to-one tuition. This pedagogical research and dimensions of practice in one-to-one interaction offers valuable insights on ‘the dynamics of power’ at play in the characterizations of teacher–student relationships. Reporting on a study of vocal pedagogy from within a Higher Education context in Australia, Lotte Latukefu and Irina Verenikina demonstrate sources of professional knowledge, especially that coming from reflective practices and the integration of theory and the development of practice. In the article Scientific concepts in singing: Do they belong in a student's toolbox of learning? a detailed exploration of the use of reflective journals demonstrates the development of students’ acquisition of scientific concepts of singing, all of which is theoretically linked to (amongst other ideas) Vygotsky's concept of the ‘zone of proximal development’.
The final pair of papers shares the view that one of music education's priorities should be to create enthusiastic learners who can thrive in, and connect to, diverse practices in local music communities. A developing body of work in music education research focuses on lifelong learning and musical engagement. Using the research tool of significant incident charting, and reporting from a UK study, Angela Taylor offers valuable insights on the formal music learning of six amateur keyboard players. With an average age of 67, these players share insights on lifelong engagement with music. Her article Continuity, change and mature musical identity construction reports on ways of reinforcing and sustaining adult musical engagement as well as the lifelong aspects of social and personal development through music participation. A conceptual problematisation of the role of Ireland's local government in supporting and maintaining music communities is explored by Ailbhe Kenny in Mapping the context: Insights and issues from local government development of music communities. The article offers a powerful and timely reminder of the role for a consortium of music organisations looking at the development and support of music communities and the importance of non-formal music work and its support by local government authorities.
What this issue demonstrates, in a series of projects which highlight different practices in different contexts, is that teachers and students can tell us a lot that might, if acted on, make a difference to music education and to the process of changing practice. They highlight areas of experience that policy makers and teachers tend not to prioritize in their agenda for educational reform. What we should also notice here is how research informs the theory and practice of sustaining lifelong music learning
