Concepts of informal learning in music education have been developed from adult interpretations of the ways in which young people are perceived to learn. Informal learning can therefore be reified or transformed into pedagogy that prioritizes an adult understanding of the processes of learning. This article presents the first part of an analytical…

In this article, we aim to develop a theoretical model to understand what we refer to as "musical gentrification" and to explore how this model might be applied to and inform music education research. We start from a Bourdieusian point of view, elaborating on the connections between social class and cultural capital, and then move on to…

This paper explores the effects and problems of one highly influential default setting of the "normal style template" of music education and proposes some alternatives. These do not require abandoning all traditional templates for school music. But re-setting the default settings does depend on reconsidering the promised function of…

This article addresses the intrapersonal aims of music education with specific emphasis on musical identity. For the author, the question "Who am I?" is ingrained, shaped, and experienced by the contexts, relationships, and activities in which people are most deeply invested. Thus, he believes that music education should have mechanisms…

On June 20, 2012, Professor John Kratus welcomed the MayDay Group to Michigan State University for "Colloquium 24: The Aims of Music Education". On behalf of all members of the Mayday Group, the author wishes to extend his deepest gratitude to Professor Kratus and his colleagues at Michigan State for their extremely gracious and…

Axiology is the philosophical discipline that studies questions of value. It is centrally concerned, then, with both the arts and with ethics and morality. Music teaching clearly involves questions of musical value and, because the wellbeing of students is at stake, teaching engages a wide range of ethical responsibilities. However, music…

Mentoring is an instructional model that allows for one-on-one engagements between teacher and student. It is unarguably one of the better ways of individualizing instruction at all levels. Music educators in higher education are accustomed to this model by: (1) their own professional music studies; and (2) what they experienced while writing a…

Music educators have the potential to educate student musicians to be ethically involved citizens of the world. Educators can promote worldwide understanding by nurturing sensitivity and fostering sympathy within and between human beings and thus help students become agents in the creation of alternative globalizations. From an ethical…

Like professionals in other disciplines, music educators are expected to observe certain behavioral standards. In addition to teaching musical skills, concepts, and context, music educators are also expected to protect the welfare of children, serve as trustworthy stewards of public property, and generally behave responsibly and professionally…

Large ensembles (e.g., choirs-orchestras-bands) have become prominent fixtures in most secondary schools and university schools/faculties of music in Canada and the United States. At the secondary school level, large ensembles have become, in effect, practically synonymous with the words "music education." This article derives from the author's…

In this article the authors examine the history of a basic logic in educational thought, that of "teaching method," with the hope of relocating the teacher as a vital and ethical agent in the educational process. They use as a starting point John Dewey's view that when predictability or certainty are pursued as ends-in-themselves or as "a priori"…

The hardship and pleasure of a life in ethics, as in music, springs not from a commitment to the veneration of stability, refinement and consistency, as some political and aesthetic discourses often suggest. Rather, the productive tensions of ethical living arise from a restless interaction between constant motion and adaptability; both marks of…

Music education is generally equated with the act of teaching music. In "The Good Life of Teaching: An Ethics of Professional Practice," the remarkable book that orients the essays in this issue of "Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education," Chris Higgins argues, among other things, that the view of teaching as a helping profession--one…

In his book, Chris Higgins acknowledges the challenges of teaching associated with heavy workloads, increasing responsibilities, and often diminishing respect from the very public institutions that teachers serve. However, his purpose is not to deplore the external conditions of teaching but to raise concerns about its service culture. He argues…

This article examines how notions of freedom are linked to popular music practices in previous research literature. The author discusses how two competing discourses depict popular music practices on the one hand as "freedom," and on the other hand as "constraint," and how these ideas relate to gender. She also argues that unproblematized…