This article examines the fortunes of music education programs in rural and regional Australia. It argues that the two key national reports on music education across the nation undertaken in 2005 and 2019 have tended to focus on metropolitan and urban settings and formalised school education at the pre-tertiary level at the expense of music…

This article introduces an analytic strategy or thinking tool called the 'What's the Problem Represented to be?' (WPR) approach and suggests its usefulness for reflecting on important debates in music education. First developed as a mode of policy analysis, WPR has since been adopted in many fields and topic areas. The WPR approach consists of…

This study explores the impacts of popular music education in classroom practices from different aspects such as learning by ear, motivation, musicianship, peer learning and creativity. The Sing by Ear approach was created based on the concepts of informal learning in singing a cappella. A total of 323 participants aged 11-14 were invited to…

This paper reports on the first stage of an international study addressing the future of secondary school music education. Some music educators have asked if school is the right place for music education, and the music education literature continually calls music curricula and pedagogy to account for its apparent shortcomings, while contemporary…

In this third and final paper from the Delphi study One Direction, we report on participants' responses to four secondary school music curriculum scenarios. These scenarios present four possible directions for a C21 secondary school music curriculum. The scenarios were devised from a combination of ideas derived from the data from the earlier…

This paper reports on the second stage of an international study exploring the future of secondary school music education. Within a discursive context that tends to regard music education as failing to meet the needs of many students, we instigated a three-step Delphi study to capture views from educators across the English-speaking world.…

Motivation is a crucial aspect of learning, particularly in the field of music. For decades, motivation for learning music has been a much-discussed subject, and yet its influence still remains a convoluted issue. This study systematically analyses peer-reviewed English language studies, according to PRISMA guidelines, in order to understand how…

The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the creative musical identities of pre-service music education students in the US and Australia. This work builds on prior work that has employed similar procedures with pre-service music teachers (PSMTs) in England and Finland. As in prior research, the creative identity in music (CIM) measure…

This article reports on a pilot project exploring the viability of a teaching-through-playing approach in chamber music instruction in higher music education. Literature suggests that teaching traditions such as the one-to-one setting need renewal, and socio-cultural theories of learning propose that collaboration and participation are a way…

In an increasingly technologically driven world, there is proliferate discussion among education and government authorities about the necessity to rethink education in the twenty-first century. The evolution of technology and its pervasive influence on the needs and requirements of society is central to this mindset. Innovations in online…

This paper reports an evaluation of a pilot programme of workplace music mentoring for generalist classroom teachers in eleven early childhood education settings in Australia. Mentoring in the arts in general and in music specifically is still under-researched despite a body of literature on approaches to mentoring, and descriptions of mentoring…

This study presents an investigation into the multiple and often marginalised ways of being, knowing, educating, and performing the complex identity of migrant musicianship. It examines the lived experiences of migrant musicians in South East Queensland and is based on the premise that cultural diversity as experienced through music creates value…

The music industry is built on a system of expert evaluation focused on sound, but the foundations are challenged by recent research, which suggests that sight trumps sound. This presents a challenge to music educators, who train the next generation of expert performers and listeners. The aim of this study is to investigate students' perceptions…

A raft of recent music education research advocates fostering social awareness and engagement among tertiary music students. The evidence is compelling: a socially engaged tertiary education prepares students to play meaningful social roles, while also better meeting the aspirations and needs of music institutions, universities and society at…

This article discusses a range of significant issues for consideration by music higher education institutions when preparing their students for a portfolio career in music. Drawing on insights from a review of literature undertaken as part of an Australian Research Council Linkage Project, "Making Music Work: Sustainable portfolio careers for…