In January, as we were in the final stages of putting together this issue of BJME, we learned of the death of Dick Addison. He was among the first in this country to produce books on children's musical creativity and the impact of his work in music education was very widely felt. Andrew Cresswell writes:

The articles in this Issue of the BJME are all focused on the education of music teachers, though from different parts of the world. Betty Hanley, writing from Canada, is concerned especially with students' involvement in their own learning and with the development of student competencies and the ability to be critical; while another Canadian colleague, Hugh Johnston, investigates the importance of feedback and peer-assessment in teacher education, with special reference to acquiring the skills of rehearsing and directing performance groups.

Research about the delivery of music teacher education programs indicates a number of areas which should be addressed. The report below describes innovative practice in an advanced elementary methods course at the University of Victoria, British Columbia. In Music Education 306, theory and practice were connected through student-directed discussions of foundation issues; the development of personal musical competencies; observation, teaching in the schools, and reflection on practice; the challenge to examine issues critically; and student involvement in the planning of their own learning and assessment. Excerpts from student reflections illustrate some of the learning which occurred.

This paper will examine the wide variety of musical needs which manifest themselves in the relatively small community of Worcester College of Higher Education. The various ways in which these needs are met will be discussed. Contacts with groups and individuals outside College will be considered, as will the role of the local media in both providing information on College activities and acting as a stimulus for further development within College.

Recent national and international documents dealing with education and the arts have attributed poor teaching of music in primary schools to inadequacies in the training of primary teachers. The most frequently reported problems associated with the training of teachers in music education were students' lack of confidence and their low musical ability.

Against this background, a study was undertaken to examine further the extent to which participation in a music education course during pre-service training advanced the musical skills, music teaching ability, musical sensitivity, and attitudes towards music of students who become general primary teachers. It was hypothesised that the quality of music education was influenced by the multi-dimensional interactions of a range of factors. These included: attitude towards music and to music education; musical achievement; the classroom learning environment; students' preferred learning styles and their previous musical background. This paper reports data on these factors and the influence of preservice training on attitudes to music and to music teaching.

The investigation confirmed general primary pre-service teachers' low perception of their competence and confidence as music teachers, and established that any limited gains in music and music teaching skills were offset by their enjoying and valuing music and music education less. Causal explanations for the findings are discussed and a model of music education is proposed both as a further means of interpreting the data and a basis for the potential re-focussing of the music curriculum.

This article grew out of a study of four preservice teacher education courses available in New South Wales for the secondary music specialist. Although the secondary syllabuses prescribe an integration of the activities of performing, composing and listening, tertiary teacher education courses are for the most part are based on the conservatoire model that compartmentalises aural, performing and musicology studies and almost entirely neglects composition. There also appears to be a lack of knowledge of and interest in general teacher education trends and their application to the above courses. It seems that the general structure of these curricula is out of step with current research in music and teacher education and desperately needs reviewing as we continue to produce teachers that perpetuate the model, both in high schools and at a tertiary level.

This study examines the effectiveness of combining video self-assessment, peer-assessment, instructor feedback, and the use of a Conductor Peer/Self Evaluation form, in the instruction of conducting gestural technique. Twenty-five P.G.C.E. music students from the University of London Institute of Education were videotaped while conducting. Concurrently, they were being assessed by a peer, and given feedback by the instructor. The peer and the conductor reviewed the videotape and determined three areas of strength and three areas that need improvement in the conductor gestural technique. The experimenter tabulated the results and surveyed the group as to the effectiveness of the teaching process. Results indicate that the instructional process was effective, and the inclusion of peer-assessment helped to present a more accurate view of each conductors skills.