There is a need for music education research that uplifts and affirms disabled children by exploring their perceptions of participation in musical experiences in music classrooms. The purpose of this position paper is to a) define what it means to centre perspectives of disabled children, b) provide a rationale for centring perspectives of…

Collective cultural transformation is needed to save the Earth from the growing effects of the human-caused environmental problems. Music education, too, can take part in preparing future generations with the knowledge and skills needed to address the world's complex challenges and create a more sustainable future. Approaching music education from…

This multi-authored article offers accounts of how programmes for teaching music theory within the Western-notated tradition were created in two UK higher education institutions. These accounts are followed by two more discursive reflections on the nature and purpose of music education today, advocating the importance of listening skills and…

Situated within the perspective of emancipatory social science [Wright 2006. "Compass Points: Towards a Socialist Alternative." "New Left Review" 41: 93-124], this paper considers the prevailing societal institutions and structures of music education and the ways in which they may be seen as causing harm. Harm, in this case, is…

In this philosophical paper, I propose a theory of music education inspired by ancient Chinese philosophy. In particular, I draw on five classical Chinese philosophical texts: the Analects (lunyu [Chinese characters omitted]), the Mencius (Mengzi [Chinese characters omitted]), the Zhuangzi ([Chinese characters omitted]), the Xunzi ([Chinese…

As a result of a documented decline in student engagement with curricular music in recent decades, which has called into question traditional approaches to music learning and teaching, theorists have advocated for a reconceptualisation of 'curriculum' in music education. This expanded understanding challenges teachers to reject the 'instruction…

The purpose of this conceptual work was to provide a theory of curricular change in music education. The author introduced a "Model of Psychological Dimensions," and suggested how it might help the profession conceptualise the nexus between the individual and society. Identity as a manifestation of cultural psychology, and the role and…

This article discusses the development of music education in China and the integration of cultural politics and nationalism, using Shanghai, twentieth-century China's most developed city, as a case study; it examines the historical and political processes in Shanghai's music education to show what is cultural about politics and what is political…

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…

This article focuses on selected outcomes of the European Association of Conservatoires (AEC) "Polifonia" Working Group for Instrumental and Vocal Teacher Training in Europe (2007-2010). The introduction provides the background to the project, explains the rationale and objectives, describes the research process and gives an overview of…

This paper presents music teaching in nineteenth-century Greece orphanages and schools of destitute children, which were the main schools for vocational training of the working class in that period. Five representative institutions were selected. Music education for young male workers in nineteenth-century Greece was both in accord with and…

Due to years of precarious sociopolitical circumstances before and after the 1979 revolution, Iranian youth developed an acute sense of music making and learning unique to their locales, representing their deep-rooted desire to make their own music, and to move away from the state's heavy-handed intrusion into their act of music making, and years…

When she was invited to present a keynote address at the Exeter Conference, the author was asked to offer "a particular perspective on a field of research within music education or a related domain". Given her interest in the related disciplines of sociology and ethnomusicology, and acknowledging the centrality of children's music making in the…

This article concerns students of music education in Sweden. It investigates the student teachers' perceptions of their ongoing music teacher education, with a particular focus on the task of teaching music today. It considers whether they believe their teacher education prepares them for this undertaking, and in that case, how. Their various…

The purpose of this paper is to construct a comprehensive review of the research literature in the reading of western staff notation. Studies in music perception, music cognition, music education and music neurology are cited. The aim is to establish current knowledge in music-reading acquisition and what is needed for further progress in this…