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…

It has been a decade since the implementation of Hong Kong's policy of inclusion, that mainstream schools should admit students with special educational needs (SEN). This study reports on music teachers' experiences of teaching SEN students in inclusive music classrooms. Data were derived from a qualitative multiple case study comprising 10…

The study examines the professional development of in-service advanced music teachers as a result of their participation in a three-year collaborative online course. A socio-constructivist theoretical framework was used for designing and implementing the course. Participants were 24 teachers (22 teaching instrumental music and 2 vocal music)…

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…

Music education has faced considerable challenges in trying to bridge the gap between music in young people's lives and that taking place in the classroom. The "Musical Futures" (MF) initiative aimed to devise new and imaginative ways of engaging young people, aged 11-19, in music activities through a process of informal learning based…

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…

In this study I conduct a dramaturgical analysis to examine the performance of social identity among the members a competitive high school jazz band located in the western United States. Using dramaturgical theory (Goffman, E. 1959. "The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life." Anchor Books.), which uses a metaphor with the theatre to…

We explored the role of self-efficacy in participatory music-making, and whether a single such music-making activity could make non-musician adults more open to seeing themselves as musical. Past research has suggested that even recipients of multiple years of school music education do not consider "being musical" as a part of their…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to investigate the perceptions of students and teachers regarding the engagement of creativity within choral classes. Participants rated their perceptions of the degree to which certain activities were creative. Middle/high school chorus students (N = 314) and teachers (N = 11) completed a survey…

The purpose of this study is the exploration of pitch-height mapping via invented notations rendered by schoolchildren and adults with and without formal musical training, while they listen to a classical composition, characterised by pitch-height polarity. Subjects (N = 108) include first-graders, fourth-graders, undergraduate and graduate…

In higher education, departments are under increasing pressure to improve study success. Research in this field focusing on higher music education is scarce. The aim of this study was to gain insight into the predictive capability of the first year for study success of students at an academy of music in subsequent years. Data on study progression…

The use of technology in music education is gaining momentum, although very little work has focused on students with disabilities. Our "SoundScape" programme addressed this gap through implementing a technology-based music programme for adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Programme participants met on a…

Green's informal learning pedagogy was adapted for a mixed-mode distance education of music teachers in Brazil. Designed as an 8-week module within the Open University of Brazil programme and implemented three times, this research involved 20 tutors and 73 student teachers, across a period of 2 years. Taking the form of a…

The purpose of this study was to investigate what motivates people to sing in choirs as a leisure activity. Subjects were retrieved from members of 10 amateur choirs of various types in Iceland through a paper-based survey. Results indicated that participants gain both personal and social benefits from singing in a choir. Findings revealed…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of an information and communications technology (ICT)-based individualised music education programme on primary students' musical competence. A 2 × 3 aptitude treatment interaction factorial design was used to assess the impact of the programme as a function of students' musical aptitude (MA)…