In this article, I explore how neoliberal economic discourses and techniques have profoundly influenced the way that music education in early childhood has developed in recent years in the UK. I focus on two dominant models of practice that have been shaped by market thinking; the private music session (the ‘branded product’) and short term, stand-alone projects funded by charitable organisations (the ‘funded project’). The prevalence of these two models has resulted in highly fragmented and unequal provision accompanied by narrow conceptions of music in early childhood that give rise to impoverished practice. While I base my discussion on the early childhood sector in the UK, this discussion can nevertheless warn music educators beyond this one sector and one location of the negative consequences of abandoning music education to market forces.

The critical role of disciplinary literacy in enhancing understanding and engagement within arts-based subjects has drawn increased recognition amongst researchers and practitioners alike in recent years. The successful integration of disciplinary literacy into the classroom however has been challenged in equal measures by a prevailing sense of confusion and misunderstanding surrounding the concept of disciplinary literacy and by the concurrent, deep-rooted pressures of performativity experienced by teachers and pupils operating within regimes of examination intensification. The result of these tensions has been a documented increase in reductionist classroom-based approaches to the development of disciplinary literacy. Given the frequently cited importance of engaged disciplinary literacy encounters in the music classroom, a review of the dominant pedagogical practices in this field is germane. This paper reports on the findings of a study exploring the integration of disciplinary literacy in the Irish secondary school music classroom. The findings of this research demonstrate a dominance of listening and performing strategies in classroom-based literacy development initiatives and an aligned relegation of student verbalisation in the music classroom. Recommendations for more disciplinary engaged, student-centred approaches in the development of music literacy within the secondary classroom are outlined.

In this article, we describe the characteristics of repertoires in music teaching and discuss how these repertoires are related to pedagogical improvisation. The empirical background for the article is classroom observations and interviews with two experienced music teachers. Video-taped examples of teacher repertoires and improvisational teaching practices are included in the article, where we argue that repertoires should be viewed as emerging practices. They can be identified and categorised as ‘techniques’ and ‘teaching acts’ performed by the teachers in constant interplay with the pupils within the context of overall learning activities in the music classroom.

This article reports an investigation into the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of Dutch specialist preschool music teachers with regard to teaching and learning rhythm skills from an embodied cognition perspective. An embodied cognition perspective stresses the intimate relationship between body, mind and environment. Through stimulated recall interviews, video analysis tasks, notebooks and semi-structured interviews, the PCK of six music teachers was explored. Regarding the content, a new form of bodily based PCK was found in the data: instructional gestures, representational gestures and guiding gestures that facilitate the learning of rhythm skills of preschoolers. Regarding its nature, this study demonstrated that the music teacher’s PCK presents itself as a multimodal form of knowing, distributed over language, sound, gestures, body positioning and physical actions. This study raises the question whether the body is marginalised in current conceptualisations of PCK.

This research, carried out across 2017–2018, investigated Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (RBC) graduates’ experiences of working as instrumental teachers. A total of 31 participants (who graduated across 2012–2016 and studied an optional ‘Further Pedagogy’ module in their final year) responded to a questionnaire, and two were observed whilst teaching, and subsequently interviewed (2018). Results indicate that RBC students who chose to extend their pedagogical training beyond the core provision offered in the third year proved highly employable as instrumental teachers. Graduates considered teaching to be both fulfilling and challenging and were able to use insights gained ‘on the job’ to advise others. Whilst the sample was clearly limited, these findings contribute to an improved understanding of how instrumental teacher education in conservatoires might be further developed to effectively prepare students for the profession.

The purpose of this exploratory sequential mixed methods research is to (1) analyse research on the problems in music education management in Thailand in the past 5–10 years and (2) explore the current resources of music education in Thai institutions under the Office of The Basic Education Commission (OBEC). The study found that (1) the problems regarding music education in Thailand were lack of experts, lack of music curriculum, lack of musical instruments and proper classrooms, administration systems, lack of budget, lack of music-related activities and disagreement in the perceptions of school directors and teachers; and (2) under the OBEC, there were 30,112 schools in total with 6,781,130 students in the 2018 academic year. As for music teachers, the majority, 68.9%, possess an educational background in music or music education. Overall, most of the schools of all sizes tend to lack Thai, Western and Thai folk musical instruments.

South African Higher Education Institution (HEI) Music Education (MusEd) lecturers’ perspectives regarding the contextual, institutional, biographical and programmatic forces that stem from the theoretical framework Samuel’s (2008) Force Field Model (FFM) were explored. The study was approached from an interpretivist paradigm and conceptually drew qualitative data generated from eight case studies to gain an in-depth understanding of the push and pull factors that influence professional practices. The major findings of the study indicated that lecturers should embrace transformation principles to decolonise the national curriculum. Biographic viewpoints have to be modified from a singular Western Classical viewpoint to integrate African Indigenous perspectives. To teach MusEd, elements and activities from diverse cultures as well as teach student teachers from diverse cultural backgrounds result in MusEd as a change agent to develop social cohesion between multicultural communities. Theoretical knowledge integrated with practical activities where the focus changes from achieving an individualistic perfect end product to the continuing process of ‘musicking’ together are proposed. The lecturers as facilitators, therefore, focus on a student-centred philosophy to guide student teachers’ development in MusEd. Insights gained from this study propose a future cosmopolitan teacher training framework.

This article will explore how Professor Lucy  Green’s model of informal learning, as advocated by Musical Futures, is perceived by those lying close to the phenomenon. Qualitative research was conducted and data collection involved semi-structured interviews with three key figures relating to the phenomenon. Case studies were then conducted in four English secondary schools, involving teachers and students. Data were analysed thematically. Overall key findings of the study will be presented and discussed: the phenomenon as a problem solver; adaptations and misconceptions; revolution within music education; and tensions of freedom versus authority and marketisation.

A-level music, a qualification taken most often in English and Welsh school contexts around the age of 18, has been a long-standing feature of the musical training of many musicians. Historically bound up with Western European Art Music, the qualification has somewhat broadened its horizons in recent times, though with mixed success in opening up new ways of thinking about music. Recent research has highlighted the seemingly precarious nature of A-level music in many English schools. The reasons for this picture of decline are highly complex and difficult to disentangle, and are part of a much broader diminishing of creative subjects in the school curriculum. Decreasing numbers of A-level music entries run somewhat counter to popular policy discourse, which celebrates flagship announcements of £79 million given to Music Education Hubs in 2019–2020, and 2018 survey results that reported more than 700,000 children learning to play a musical instrument through music hub provision. However, behind these headlines, although there are many children having the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, few continue through to A-level and beyond. Despite its declining numbers, A-level music is recognised as a valuable qualification amongst music teachers, offering something distinct from graded music examinations and other Level 3 musical qualifications. This article presents the results of a recent nationwide survey of A-level music teachers to offer an insight into teacher perceptions of current A-level music specifications, the extent to which it prepares students for entry into higher musical education, and its appropriateness for aspiring young musicians.

This paper reports on a small-scale study in an elementary school in Southern Ontario, Canada. The study investigated relationships between students’ perceptions and practices of gender in popular music education with particular attention given to communication, instruments and technology and development of freedoms and constraints. The findings present a more opaque picture than previous research, suggesting that students frequently transgress binary gendered patterns of practice and perception in this particular field. Gender monoglossia and heteroglossia provide a useful explanatory framework for analysis, indicating that further application of these concepts to issues in popular music education might be most fruitful.

The study examines the impacts of a project-based learning (PBL) methodology on the development of emotional skills involved in the learner’s individual and social well-being. This paper summarises the preliminary results of the case study in which the project ‘Opera as a Vehicle for Learning’ (LOVA) was implemented with a key stage 2 group in Mexico City. This project fostered the development of the students’ intra- and interpersonal skills, group decision-making, critical reasoning, active listening, oral and written expression and emotion sharing. Findings suggest that LOVA has proved to be a powerful methodological resource for the development of collaborative learning, emotional education and social interaction in groups. Findings also suggest that music learning can be used as a highly effective device for the development of social skills.

Authentic learning approaches are designed to immerse students in contexts that promote real-life applications of knowledge, and provide meaningful learning experiences beyond the abstract instruction of the classroom. In a grounded theory study of music teaching practice in high-achieving schools, 50 teachers from 23 schools across New South Wales (NSW), Australia, were asked to describe how they taught their senior secondary students and the musical environment they curated within their school. Through examination of the interview data, authentic learning exposed itself as uniquely situated in classroom music teaching of high-achieving music programmes for senior secondary students in NSW. This is shown through the use of thorough inquiry-based and student-centred learning tasks like video journals, the use of professional resources and expertise and collaborative learning in authentic contexts, in and outside of the classroom.

This pilot study analysed the learning strategies of advanced students and professional electroacoustic composers engaged in creating new musical pieces through online collaboration. The participants were divided into three groups and interacted in a virtual setting using synchronous (chat and Skype) and asynchronous tools (forum, compositional software) to perform the compositional activities. A multiple case study design was used to describe and interpret the actions of the participants. Forum discussions, Skype dialogues and e-mail exchanges were examined to explore the participants’ interactions and understand their actions during the online activities. Individual semi-structured interviews focusing on the processes and working approaches were conducted. The following themes were considered for the analysis of the collaborative compositional activity: working approach, relational model, leadership, organisation and compositional process. The participants effectively completed the compositional activities on the online platform, and based on the results, the following phases emerged as: (a) context definition; (b) planning/organising; (c) experimenting/generating musical ideas; (d) constructing and (e) evaluating. The findings are discussed regarding the educational implications of developing didactic activities based on collaborative composition.

This study aims to highlight the uniqueness of the English choristers’ education, what special musical skills it passes on to youngsters and how these may help them in later life. It investigates the perceptions of 30 ex-choristers who attended a broad selection of English choir schools between 1940 and 2010 using semi-structured interviews. The findings showed that music training of choristers forms a solid foundation to enhance the development of an all-round musicianship. In particular, it gives them significant sight-reading skills due to the huge volume of rehearsals and public performances. Although in most cases their instrumental skills are not sufficient for them to become professional soloists in their instrument, many ex-choristers found it relatively easy to achieve a music scholarship or pursue a music career if they wanted. Many of them retained a passion for music which was not necessarily limited to choral singing. The findings are considered in relation to the possible reasons for this, and the implications for education.

The aim of this study is to detect and analyse mistakes in musical activities included in Early Childhood Education textbooks from a musical and didactic viewpoint. The sample comprised 2,200 activities corresponding to the textbooks of four leading publishers in Spain. An instrument designed ad hoc for collection of information was developed, proposing a taxonomy of mistakes in three categories: musical, didactic and worksheet. Results revealed that 22.6% of analysed activities contained some type of mistake. The most frequent were in the musical category (concepts, terms or graphic representation), followed by didactic (level, planning or methodology) and, finally, those related to student worksheets.

Higher music education (HME) in Europe is multifaceted due to the great variety of legal frameworks, conservatory histories and practices. However, following the Bologna declaration in 1999, traditional conservatories are gradually transforming into research-based institutions, which means combining advanced performer training with artistic research. After a background on academisation in the higher education of classical, professional musicians, this article reports on a Swedish case study of meanings assigned to academisation in HME. Findings show that it is defined and justified as a quality development project, which requires adaptation and also gives opportunities for further development. Issues of agency in HME are discussed.