Since its inception in 1997, the SCARLATTI Project at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow has sought to investigate and document the teaching approaches and methodologies adopted by music teachers in Scottish secondary schools and to share good practice, findings and thoughts among the profession. Here, as a follow-up to a previous article (Byrne & Sheridan, 1998), readers are brought up to date on developments since then, highlighting some problems and some successes. The article also focuses on issues related to the delivery of core or key skills through music and introduces a new composing thinking tool for novice composers. Finally, a report on a small-scale study on music teachers' teaching styles is given. Having collected ‘data on the teachers' backgrounds, qualifications, experiences and accomplishments in the creation of music through improvising and composing’ (Byrne & Sheridan, 1998: 299) these are analysed and some initial thoughts offered.

Early in my career as a music teacher I was very focused on providing my students with what I believed at the time were a range of musical experiences that broadened their understanding and appreciation of music from a variety of cultures and traditions. However, as I gained more experience, I was able to spend a greater amount of time reflecting on how the pupils were learning as well as what they were learning. Through my engagement in practitioner research I also became more aware of the musical experiences my pupils were having away from school and this led me to realise that an increasingly large number of pupils were already passionate about music but this interest was not necessarily transferring to music within a classroom context. For example, students who were often self-critical about their abilities during classroom music tasks were actually able to demonstrate an increasing level of knowledge and understanding of the music that they were involved in as listeners or performers away from school.

This article examines the musical enculturation and early education of Wagogo children of the Dodoma region in central Tanzania. In support of the enculturation premise, long-standing practices in musical enculturation among the Wagogo are described, most of which are continuing today. The Wagogo hold to the belief that the behaviours of both mother and father affect the proper development of the young child prior to birth and this sense of joint child-raising responsibilities continues even as they enter into their school years. The intent of the article is to argue that the facilitation of musical experiences for young children and teachers through music and dance is a vital component of their holistic development, and to offer an understanding of how teachers and parents might incorporate daily singing, dancing and drumming experiences into the lives of children. By providing occasions for music in the lives of young children, and by nurturing their natural musical proclivities, the traditional music of the Wagogo of Tanzania remains a living tradition, a critical component of the identity of young Wagogo children, and an important means of human expression.

The authors of this paper have been involved in the setting up, development and teaching of the U.K.'s first postgraduate Music Technology course at the University of York. Ironically neither author was permitted to study both the component subjects (music and technology) at secondary school due to the manner in which the school timetables separated these apparently ‘non-related’ subjects. This paper explains the ways in which technology, music and computing can be very closely related from a higher education perspective. It is hoped that it may be of equal interest to musicians and technologists working within institutes at various levels in the educational hierarchy, and may be instrumental in encouraging collaboration between them.

This philosophical essay is a meditation on the multiple and contested meanings of the concept of democracy with the aim of redirecting dominant discourses in music education practices and building new capacities for democracy's practical use in music classrooms. Inspired by philosopher John Dewey's travels to China, and his influence on major Chinese thinkers like Hu Shih and Tao Xingzhi, the author plays with the etymological origins of the term ‘democracy’, finding limited value in its Greek origins, but inspiration in the many ways of referring to democracy in Chinese [Minzhu: 民 主 / Pingmin: 平 民 / Shumin: 庶 民 / Minben: 民 本] each of which has the potential to direct and enlarge contemporary instructional practices in formal music education settings.

It might be presumed that a journal which contains the words music education in its title, might have a coherent view as to what its main topic of interest ought to be! But as we have often said in these pages, BJME is a ‘broad church’, and all sorts of interpretations of the terminology are welcomed. But sometimes, especially for students embarking on academic study of the domain, definitions can be helpful. With this in mind, let us think about what the terminology might mean nowadays.

Over the past three decades it has become customary to regard music education as a form of aesthetic education. Recently a number of writers have expressed some objections to this view which they maintain has acquired the status of an accepted orthodoxy. In a healthy educational climate it is right that any orthodoxy should be questioned and aesthetic education has often become the subject of an international debate The purpose of this paper is not to add another voice to that debate but to re-examine the concept of aesthetic education with reference to the teaching and learning of music in educational institutions.

Many discussions on this issue become clouded because the term ‘aesthetic education’ is used in different ways and in different contexts In a broad sense the aesthetic is not necessarily associated with the arts and is taken to be a dimension of experience in any discipline; accordingly, aesthetic education is across the curriculum. Most frequently, it implies an education in the fine arts, the aim of which is the development in children of a particular style of thinking or mode of intelligence. A third view arises from the notion of aesthetics as a form of enquiry best described as the philosophy of art; aesthetic education thus conceived involves the study of topics such as artistic meanings, judgements and values.

An examination of these different conceptions of aesthetic education raises a number of philosophical and educational issues that have implications not only for the organisation and practice of music education in schools but also for the education and professional development of teachers.

This paper explores the relationship between school music and community music in Australia. While many Australian schools and community music activities tend to exist in relative isolation from one another, a range of unique school–community collaborations can be found throughout the country. Drawing on insights from Sound Links, one of Australia's largest studies into community music, this paper explores three case studies of these unique school–community collaborations. These collaborations include a community-initiated collaboration, a school-initiated collaboration and a mutual collaboration. The author brings these collaborations to life for the reader through the words and experiences of their participants, and explores their structures, relationships, benefits, and educational and social outcomes. These descriptions feature important concepts, which could be transferred to a range of other cultural and educational settings in order to foster more vibrant school–community collaborations.

This article reports on a retrospective study of Finnish pre-service elementary teachers' assessments of their musical experiences in nursery school and elementary and secondary school and real-time study of their experiences in teacher training. The participants (N = 590) had received musical instruction in five age groups (4–6 years, 7–12 years, 13–15 years, 16–19 years, 20–25 years). The assessments were most positive in the 4–6 years group and thereafter declined until puberty in the 13–15 years group. A change in a positive direction was perceived in the 16–19 years group and also in the 20–25 years group (during teacher training). Gender differences were statistically significant except during upper secondary school. The most enjoyable activities in formal music education were singing and playing; music theory was experienced most negatively.

This article explores children's reflections on the value of their participation in In Harmony, a social and music education programme whose approach and philosophy derives from the Venezuelan ‘El Sistema’ (‘The System’) model. More specifically, through an analysis of participating children's accounts (n=111) and an exploration of the key patterns evident within children's attribution of value to their In Harmony participation, the article highlights a series of ways in which the initiative's approach to music and musical learning threaten to undermine its core aims.

South African Higher Education Institution (HEI) Music Education (MusEd) lecturers’ perspectives regarding the contextual, institutional, biographical and programmatic forces that stem from the theoretical framework Samuel’s (2008) Force Field Model (FFM) were explored. The study was approached from an interpretivist paradigm and conceptually drew qualitative data generated from eight case studies to gain an in-depth understanding of the push and pull factors that influence professional practices. The major findings of the study indicated that lecturers should embrace transformation principles to decolonise the national curriculum. Biographic viewpoints have to be modified from a singular Western Classical viewpoint to integrate African Indigenous perspectives. To teach MusEd, elements and activities from diverse cultures as well as teach student teachers from diverse cultural backgrounds result in MusEd as a change agent to develop social cohesion between multicultural communities. Theoretical knowledge integrated with practical activities where the focus changes from achieving an individualistic perfect end product to the continuing process of ‘musicking’ together are proposed. The lecturers as facilitators, therefore, focus on a student-centred philosophy to guide student teachers’ development in MusEd. Insights gained from this study propose a future cosmopolitan teacher training framework.

Social activism and education have been associated with hip-hop since it emerged in New York City 38 years ago. Therefore, it might not be surprising that universities have become interested in hip-hop. This article aims to highlight this ‘hip-hop academisation’ and analyse the discursive mechanisms that manifest in these academisation processes. The guiding research question explores how hip-hop scholars talk about this academisation. The theoretical framework is informed by the scholarship of sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. Hip-hop scholars were interviewed in New York City during 2010. The results demonstrate themes of hip-hop as an attractive label, a door opener, a form of ‘low-culture’, a trap and an educational tool.

Although musicians have always had portfolio careers, the discourse in conservatoires around training musicians specifically for portfolio careers is relatively new. This is partly because of increasing opportunities in the workplace for entrepreneurial and multi-faceted musicians and partly – in the UK at least – because of educational policy and practice. This article incorporates narratives provided by professional portfolio musicians and students and teachers at a single conservatoire in the UK, to illustrate disjunctures between the expectations fostered by conservatoires undergoing changes in their culture and the lived experiences of teachers and students responding, in real time, to changes both within the conservatoire and in the wider society. One of the key findings of the research is that teachers and students have qualitatively different conceptions of what it means for students to be trained for portfolio careers. The paper concludes by considering the implications of their different understandings for initiatives to reform conservatoire curricula.

I am a composer, producer, pianist and part-time music lecturer at a Further Education college where I teach composing on Music Technology courses at levels 3 (equivalent to A-level) and 4 (Undergraduate/Foundation Degree). A ‘Music Technology’ course, distinct from a ‘Music’ course, often attracts applicants from diverse musical backgrounds; it is not uncommon for a typical class to contain a majority that cannot read staff notation and have taught themselves to play their instrument. Sometimes the student's only experience of music-making prior to the course has been sequencing beat patterns using computer software. Potential students are drawn to music technology courses for many different reasons – perhaps their individual interests lie in sound engineering, acoustics, live sound reinforcement, computer programming or software application design. As a teacher of composing in this context, I am faced with a challenge: how to bridge the knowledge and confidence gaps that exist between students with more and less formal musical experience? I believe that music technology applications can help in this area, particularly with fostering confidence and motivation in less-experienced students. What follows is a student profile and a case study of one assessment task in composing, which will illustrate how such strategies can work.

This practitioner-based research, undertaken by the author in her own teaching context with herself as participant, explores how autonomous learning skills and motivation can be fostered in primary-aged instrumentalists. A primary school extra-curricular recorder group was observed participating in two stages of lessons: the first, teacher-directed and the second, focused around group learning. Lessons were videoed and transcribed for analysis and pupils’ views on the two styles of lessons gained through interviews. The teacher-directed lessons were considered in the light of the apprenticeship conception of the teacher's role, with its potential to balance direction and facilitation, and scaffolding was observed to be used in various ways, both promoting and restricting pupil autonomy. The group learning lessons used aspects of the Musical Futures1 informal learning approach, particularly self-directed learning in friendship groups, using aural models on CD, with the teacher's role facilitative rather than directive. These lessons were considered in the light of theories of group learning, with pupils observed providing mutual support, scaffolding in different ways to a teacher, and engaging in transactive communication. Pupils, though positive about both stages, valued the opportunity to learn independently in the group learning lessons, gaining a sense of flow through the challenge involved. Findings suggest that whilst both teacher-directed and group learning can be effective, music teachers could develop their pupils’ capacity for autonomous learning by taking opportunities to adopt a more facilitative role, providing the learning context and assistance when required, but allowing the pupils to direct their own learning.

A UNESCO Commission reported that many conflicts originate from cultural incompatibility. One of the four principles drawn up in Chicago (1993) by leaders of the world's religions was that people must commit themselves to a culture of tolerance. Such a commitment would improve our capacity to move towards greater understanding. Wide ranging views of recognized educators and ethnomusicologists lend support to the notion that increased comprehension, sensibility, even unity, is derived from intercultural education through music.

The objective of this study is to address the important questions raised in literature on the intersections between formal and informal learning. Specifically, this will be discussed within the concept of ‘productive dissonance’ and the pedagogical tensions that arise in the effort of experienced teachers to transition from the formal to the informal. This case study discusses the issues that ensue when strict demarcations between formal and informal are perceived, and demonstrates that the former is vital to the facilitation of the latter. The blurring of formal and informal pedagogical approaches has shown that the concept of ‘critical musicality’ becomes more apparent in student learning and that engagement increases especially among at-risk students.

For a practicing arts educator, the relationship between theory and practice is often unproblematic: theory is considered to be irrelevant for the good practice. Considering the matter from an academic standpoint, one faces the distinction between poietic, or productive, and contemplative, or responsive, mindsets stemming from the classical philosophical tradition. Still more confusing is the question of the relationship between theory and philosophy; one's theory seems to follow one's chosen philosophical commitment, even to a degree that advocates of different philosophical stances do not necessarily understand each others' conceptions of theory.

In this article,1 we examine the complex relationships between philosophy, theory and practice in music education. We shall begin with analysing different approaches to philosophy of music education. Proceeding towards more general conceptions of the relationship between theory and practice, we will examine the work of some of the well-known authors within the field of music education in order to pave way to a philosophical outlook that conceives the role of philosophy of music education as a form of cultural critique. The suggested alternative approach mediates between contemplative and poietic fields in pedagogical praxis. This guides us towards an understanding that considers theoretical concepts as philosophically loaded pragmatic tools that serve critical rationality embedded in practical action. From this standpoint there is indeed no need to cut theory apart from a good practice: both can be taken to serve the same master, philosophically informed way of living meaningfully.

This article presents the results of research into methods and scorings for jazz assessment in Trinity College of Music, London, focusing on the possibility of introducing group assessment. It considers the advantages of group assessment methods, contrasting these with the more traditional approach, firmly established in conservatoires, of evaluating individual musicians. We question the role of jazz within the conservatoire, exploring not only the way institutions may transform jazz practice, but also the ways jazz may contribute to the evolution of higher education. The research formed part of a larger grant aimed at curricular development at Trinity College of Music. As such, we present it as an example of research's potential for immediate impact upon education policy. The project is also unusual in its use of students and instrumental professors not only as subjects of research but as participators fully involved in their own self-assessment and development.

This article grew out of a study of four preservice teacher education courses available in New South Wales for the secondary music specialist. Although the secondary syllabuses prescribe an integration of the activities of performing, composing and listening, tertiary teacher education courses are for the most part are based on the conservatoire model that compartmentalises aural, performing and musicology studies and almost entirely neglects composition. There also appears to be a lack of knowledge of and interest in general teacher education trends and their application to the above courses. It seems that the general structure of these curricula is out of step with current research in music and teacher education and desperately needs reviewing as we continue to produce teachers that perpetuate the model, both in high schools and at a tertiary level.