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.

The present study aimed to identify student (16–18 years) attitudes towards the subject of music in second-level education in the Republic of Ireland. The study, framed by an interpretivist approach, employed qualitative data collection methods through interviews and focus groups. Findings indicate that student attitudes to music were influenced by the following factors: their innate interest in the subject, which was strengthened by an existing musical skill or talent, and the perceived use of the subject as a pathway for entry to further/higher education or for a student’s professional career. The findings also suggested that the music curriculum and the teaching style of the music teacher impacted student attitudes as did the appeal of the practical element of the subject, particularly with regard to the practical assessment component. Some interpretations of these findings are explored.

For students in Years 1–10 in Queensland, Australia, The Arts (hereafter referred to as ‘arts’) is one of eight Key Learning Areas in the core curriculum. Yet, while arts – comprising five strands including music – is a mandatory component of the curriculum, implementation varies widely. This occurs for a range of reasons, one of which is the common practice that generalist teachers are allocated delivery of the arts programme in their teaching load. Furthermore, research reveals that music and the arts are frequently considered to be the ‘frills subject’ in a school's timetable, often the first to be removed from the timetable when time is short and the first to feel the impact of budget cuts, including the engagement of specialist arts educators (Russell-Bowie, 2004). This study highlights the gap between policy rhetoric for music and the arts and the pedagogical reality in generalist classrooms. Using a narrative informed case study methodology, a story constellation derived from a beginning generalist teacher and a school principal is revealed. The discussion which follows provides a focus, through the generation of key values statements derived from the data, on the tensions this beginning teacher has experienced in his practice as a teacher responsible for teaching music and the arts, juxtaposed with a similar narrative of the school principal.

This study examined the nature of inclusion for female and black and minority ethnic (BME) young people in elite-level classical music in England. By contrasting the numbers of female and BME students taking part in elite youth orchestras and music schools with the representation of female and BME compositions in the professional classical music repertoire, the study asked whether female and BME inclusion was limited to participation as performers or whether it included adequate representation in terms of the music performed. The survey analysed 4897 pieces from 681 composers drawn from the 2017/18 concert seasons of 10 major English orchestras, 1 week’s play lists from two classical music radio broadcasters and the programmes from the last four London Promenade seasons. The study found that female and BME students were well represented in elite music education, but they were very poorly represented in the professional repertoire, where 99% of performed pieces were by white composers and 98% by male composers. Applying Bourdieu’s concepts of doxa and illusio, the study concluded that inclusion in classical music in England allowed female and BME musicians to play, but structures in the field maintained a repertoire that continues to be white and male and does not recognise the contributions of female and BME composers. This suggests that inclusion for female and BME musicians is limited and the field continues to promote white and male dominance in its cultural values.

This research project was initiated to study how instrumental pupils might respond to different practice methods assigned to them, and to explore pupils' perceptions of their own achievements at the end of the five-week study. Pupils were asked to choose one of two methods of practising: they could either do straightforward repetitions of short phrases in their music, or they could choose a set number of different repetitions from a menu of options listed on three graded pro forma cards. A description of the method is included as well as the data from pupils' returned questionnaires. Results of the study suggest that pupils not only preferred variety and choice of practice techniques, but also found that their learning process was faster and more effective. Recommendations are made, as there are implications here for instrumental teachers, class music teachers and their pupils.

The introduction of a National Curriculum to England and Wales in 1988 provided the first compulsory framework for music education. Writing in 1996, Mills suggested that in ten years time the impact of this change would result in primary school student teachers needing refreshment, and not development, of their musical knowledge. This five-year study examines primary school student teacher's knowledge of the musical elements as they entered the one year Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) course in one institution. The results suggest that some elements as defined by the relevant national curricula (duration, pace, pitch and silence) do indeed need only refreshment, but others (timbre, texture, dynamics, structure) need significant development in schools and in training courses.

The distinction between learning to perform on an instrument or voice and learning music in a wider sense is one that is made in many countries, and is especially pertinent in England in the context of recent policy developments. This article argues that, whilst this distinction has come to represent curricula based on the opposing paradigms of behaviourist and constructivist approaches to learning, this opposition does not necessarily extend to the pedagogy through which the curricula are taught. A case study of the National Curriculum in England highlights the characteristics of a curriculum based on constructivist principles, along with the impact this has when taught in a behaviourist way. It is argued that conceiving the curriculum in terms of musical competencies, and pedagogy in terms of musical understanding, would provide a basis for greater continuity and higher quality in the music education experienced by young people.

Whilst the impact of gender inequalities has been studied in relation to music education, especially in the UK, relatively little has been written about their impact on higher music education (HME). This article compares data on HME programs and courses, in the UK and Sweden, from 2010 to 2014. It looks at similarities and differences in the numbers of men and women who applied to HME subjects, compared to those who were offered a place on their chosen program or course, in both nations. Through this it demonstrates that whilst a Swedish HME appears to show less institutional discrimination against women, there are still similar transnational divisions in men's and women's HME subject choices. However the article uses these data to build on existing critiques around a need for intersectional understandings of gender inequalities, before arguing that a critique of neoliberalism is essential to tackling gender inequalities in HME.

This article reports analysis of interviews with 85 boys from England, Greece, Ireland and Spain about the voice change, school singing and choral music instruction. Consistent, former and self-described non-singers were included. Data suggest consistency with much of the existing narrative literature about the experience of voice change. Unique topics included a sense of identity loss during voice change. Issues related to gender and sexuality-based bullying were explored. Boys offered numerous recommendations for teachers, including that teachers focus on vocal technique specific to male changing voices. Boys’ comments suggested a pattern of identity development consistent with the Possible Selves construct. This suggests that teachers can support adolescent male singers by addressing specific issues at specific points in a boy's process of voice change and identity development.

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.

Experience as a music lecturer in higher/further education and as an instrumental teacher suggests that instrumental pedagogy – focused on strings – and music analysis could usefully be brought closer together to enhance performance. The benefits of linkage include stimulating intellectual enquiry and creative interpretation, as well as honing improvisatory skills; voice-leading analysis, particularly, may even aid technical issues of pitching, fingering, shifting and bowing. This article details an experimental curriculum, entitled ‘Voice-leading for Strings’, which combines voice-leading principles with approaches to string teaching developed from Nelson, Rolland and Suzuki, supplemented by Kodály's hand-signs. Findings from informal trials at Lancaster University (1995–7), which also adapted material for other melody instruments and keyboard, strongly support this perceived symbiotic relationship.

The study reported in this article investigates students’ experiences (n=41) of their primary school songcrafting, examining the potential to support creative agency within school music education programmes. Songcrafting refers to a collaborative composing practice in which everyone is considered to be a capable creator of melodies and lyrics, and where negotiation, collaboration, and openness to the situation are essential. Through semi-structured individual interviews with students who had experienced songcrafting in the past, analysed with qualitative methods, it was found that the students' narration of songcrafting included meanings related to general agency, creative agency, musical participation within the classroom community, and documented and shared collaborative musical products, or ‘oeuvres’.

The results of this study illustrate the various often unforeseeable meanings produced through participation in collaborative musical activities. Furthermore, they highlight the potential to enrich meaningful teaching practices and pedagogy through the examination of students' experiences, and exploring the potentials in narrating one's musical stories. These findings suggest that music education practices could benefit from the inclusion of a broader range of opportunities for the students to create their own music, and the sensitive facilitation of collaborative music creation processes.

We know that pupil talk is an integral part of the learning process. Previous research has not viewed affective engagement in a music composing task as a vehicle for developing higher order discourse skills. The aim of this study is to evaluate the significance of teacher questioning in encouraging quality dialogue with children during music composing. This paper reports on an empirical study investigating dialogue with young children during an imaginative music composing task. Pairs of children aged 6 and 7 years were audio recorded as they talked to each other and the researcher about the task. The dialogues between the researcher and the pupils highlight the importance of teacher questioning in encouraging young children to engage in evaluative talk and problem solving, through discussion and musical experimentation. Significantly, the findings suggest that young children are able to reflect on the learning process through meta-cognitive thinking. The findings highlight the significance of the role of the teacher in scaffolding and encouraging children's thinking and learning through dialogue, and the importance of talk and evaluation as a part of reflective music composing activities.

This article compares two very different GCSE compositions, and various ways to assess them. The type of emphasis which examination boards, teachers and moderators place upon different musical styles, and different musical skills, has radical consequences for the type of marks we are likely to allot; and the system of music education itself throws up some significant ironies concerning the future opportunities of candidates.

With the support of the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), the life histories of five visually impaired (VI) musicians were collected and analysed between November 2011 and August 2012. This research was conducted as a pilot for a two-year, national investigation of VI musical participation, ‘Visually-impaired musicians’ lives’ (VIML) funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC, 2013–2015), which has brought together the Institute of Education, University of London, the RNIB and the Royal Academy of Music, London as project partners. In this instance, life histories were co-constructed narratives – foci were the self-identities of this unique group and ‘insider’ perspectives on education, musical participation and society. Analytic induction of the biographies revealed that a perceived barrier to lifelong learning was having the ability to read notation, either adapted print or in Braille format, and the access to educators who had expertise to teach musicians with visual impairments. The respondents commented on the great value of ensemble participation and adopting teaching roles too. With widespread lore in society about the exceptional musical abilities of those with visual impairment, longstanding traditions of blind musicianship, plus evidence of distinct neural development and hearing, they acknowledged the cachet associated with blind musicians but, regardless, wished to be considered musicians first and foremost. The findings raise questions about social and music educational inclusion.

What is composing and how is it valued? What does a good education in composing look like; what constraints hinder it and is it possible to overcome such constraints? Can composing be a personal, creative and valuable activity for the school student? What role does the teacher play in all of this? These are questions that I discuss in this reflective study of composing in the classroom.

This paper explores the preliminary outcomes of research into the place and role of cultural diversity in primary music classes at five International Schools in Singapore. It highlights the ways in which school philosophy, policy, curriculum and in-service training influence teacher practice. The research provides insights into the challenges teachers face when diversifying their music programmes in addition to the areas of support that allow a programme based on cultural diversity to flourish and remain successful. The results of interviews with music specialists at these schools suggest that music programmes at International Schools in Singapore provide examples of best practice in culturally diverse music education. The success of these programmes is due to several identifiable factors such as strong philosophical and curricula foundations, quality in-service training and the regular involvement of culture bearers and visiting artists.

The history of music in Ghanaian school programmes can hardly be separated from the general history of education in Ghana. Since the time of colonial administration in Ghana, music (especially as manifested through singing) has formed part of the educational curriculum for different reasons, one being a tool for promoting the culture of the colonialists. Several advances (particularly after independence in Ghana) have been made to incorporate aspects of the Ghanaian culture into the educational curriculum. Over 50 years down the line, what is the extent to which Ghanaian (African) music is studied in Ghanaian schools? In this paper, the extent to which African music is taught in African (Ghanaian) universities is analysed by looking at the undergraduate music course content of two Ghanaian public universities. Although African music is taught, it only forms an infinitesimal proportion of the total music courses that are offered to music students in these two universities. Considering that the process of music education is also a process of enculturation, the concluding recommendation is that although a multicultural music programme is necessary, the teaching of African (Ghanaian) music in Ghanaian universities should be the dominant feature.

The longstanding debate within Islam about the legitimacy of performing and listening to music is now being heard within the British Muslim community, and some parents are expressing misgivings about the compulsory status of music within the National Curriculum. The paper explores the diversity of Muslim attitudes towards music and argues that teachers in Britain have a responsibility to respond to Muslim sensitivities as far as possible.

This article originates from a research project investigating the effects of gender on achievement in music education in one secondary school. The study showed a correlation between gender and achievement in music with some surprising insights into possible causes of male under-achievement in education at Key Stages 3 (11–14 years) and 4 (14–16 years) generally. It is argued that because of national testing and school performance tables, the debate on male under-achievement in this country may have become so focused on core subjects that a very important link in the argument is being overlooked – a link provided by music and the other creative arts.