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MUS 584: Seminar in Music Education

A guide to help Dr. Russell's students write their literature reviews.

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IJME Recent Articles

  • Capacity building and professional development in contemporary music careers: An Australian contemporary music case studyThis link opens in a new windowJul 13, 2023
    International Journal of Music Education, Volume 42, Issue 4, Page 511-522, November 2024.
    This paper examines capacity building and professional development in Western Australia’s contemporary popular music sector. It reports on a mixed-methods qualitative-quantitative study into the lived experiences and needs of musicians and industry practitioners alike. It examines learning which is undertaken outside of formal education settings, and includes conferencing, one-on-one mentorship and other workshop based modes of delivery. As is reported, participants are overall positive about their experiences when engaging in such activities however several barriers exist as they relate to the required investments of time and money, modes of delivery and the focus of specific opportunities. A range of recommendations are made in order to address these barriers and support a diversification within the capacity building and professional development space.
  • Music teacher identity: Reassessing perceptions during a global pandemicThis link opens in a new windowJul 8, 2023
    International Journal of Music Education, Volume 42, Issue 4, Page 523-534, November 2024.
    From 2020 to 2022, a global pandemic caused schools to pivot from primarily in-person instruction to all-virtual or hybrid instruction, creating a shift in contextual learning environments that made it necessary for experienced music teachers to become more adaptable and flexible within their already established expertise or leave the profession. Those teachers who stayed in the profession during the pandemic had additional stress, which resulted in trauma. This article reassessed the perceptions of experienced stringed instrument teachers from a previous study (N = 3) through the lens of their music teacher identity expertise. Reassessing changes in experienced music teachers’ teaching identity expertise during the pandemic could help preservice teachers enhance their creativity, resilience, and flexibility to face future environmental shifts of any proportion. Experienced music teachers’ outcomes could result in more meaningful and relevant curricula as well as a framework for implementing professional self-care to heal from the trauma of this global pandemic and prevent burnout and attrition.
  • Digital competencies of music teachers under the ‘new normal’ in Hong KongThis link opens in a new windowJul 12, 2023
    International Journal of Music Education, Volume 42, Issue 4, Page 535-549, November 2024.
    The COVID-19 pandemic has posed challenges to education systems around the world, resulting in a ‘new normal’ for school music education in which teaching and learning can no longer rely only on conventional classroom practices. Concerns have also been raised over music teachers’ digital competencies, given the perceived importance of the use of technology within the new educational landscape. This article presents the results of a study that examined the challenges and experiences associated with the digital competencies of music teachers during the pandemic period. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with full-time music teachers (N = 18), all of whom taught music as a subject at mainstream primary or secondary schools in Hong Kong. The findings revealed challenges and upskilling of music teachers during the lockdown period, including the technological constraints imposed by the school and the online environment, how they made use of technology to teach music online, and the different ways they developed their digital competencies. Alongside with the catalyst effect of the pandemic that stimulated their upskilling, curriculum changes in teacher training programmes are necessary to better prepare music teachers for the digital transformation of music education and future challenges under the post-pandemic ‘new normal’ situation.新型冠状病毒肺炎(COVID-19)對全球教育系統造成衝擊,導致學校的音樂教育進入了一種「新常態」,令教學不能只依賴傳統的面授課堂。鑒於「新常態」下的教學非常倚重科技的運用,音樂教師的數碼技能尤為重要。本研究旨在考察音樂教師在疫情期間運用數碼技能的經驗及其所面臨的挑戰,對18名在香港主流小學或中學教授音樂課程的全職教師進行了半結構化訪談,調查結果顯示在實施新冠肺炎封鎖措施期間音樂教師所面臨的挑戰和技能提升,包括線上教學環境及學校面授課堂的限制,科技的運用,以及他們學習數碼技能的方法。除了疫情的推動之外,課程改革及教師培訓也是必要的,以便音樂教師在數位化音樂教育和後疫情「新常態」下的未來挑戰做準備。
  • The many ways of Puerto Rican community musicThis link opens in a new windowSep 30, 2023
    International Journal of Music Education, Volume 42, Issue 4, Page 550-567, November 2024.
    For several decades, scholars in the field of community music have largely concentrated on community music practices in the Global North. Such interest has not been as prevalent in certain parts of the world, like the Caribbean. Consequently, this qualitative multiple case study focuses on three Puerto Rican community music initiatives that foster the country’s indigenous music: Bomba, Plena, and Música Campesina. Scholars have documented the evolution and characteristics of these musical traditions. In contrast, this article centers around the practices of Taller Tambuyé, a female-led Bomba organization, Decimanía, a national Música Campesina initiative that funds other community music projects, and La Junta, a community-based project tied to the sector of El Machuchal in the capital of Puerto Rico. This paper presents and analyzes their practices through the lens of Australia’s Sound Links project and its nine domains of community music. The multiple case study methodology’s cross-case analysis revealed notable divergences among the projects in terms of learning practices, promotion of the indigenous music tradition, and the connection between the musical initiative and their community. Additionally, researchers found the framework established by Sound Links to be a comprehensive tool to analyze community music practices outside of Australia.
  • Music education instructors’ perceptions about pre-service music teacher education in SpainThis link opens in a new windowJul 22, 2023
    International Journal of Music Education, Volume 42, Issue 4, Page 568-583, November 2024.
    In this paper we report the results of a questionnaire administered to university faculty members in charge of the initial training of music teachers in Spain at both primary and secondary levels. For this purpose, an ad hoc questionnaire was used to collect information on issues such as access to the degree, programme design and evaluation, students, faculty members, as well as teaching conditions and availability of resources. By means of a descriptive statistical analysis, the results obtained show, in general, the programmes to be rated ‘acceptable’. An inferential study was also carried out on the basis of various demographics, and very few differences were found, which indicates a homogeneous perception of programmes. The article concludes with a reflection on what the results indicate about the poor role that research plays in programmes development, as well as the subtle but evident differences found among male and female faculty members, and other topics.