We write curriculum documents that are full of good intentions – ambitious musical aims, the highest educational aspirations and holistic principles that place the learner at the centre. Yet, in many ways, curriculum writing is an exercise in asserting control of what and how we might teach. The notion of the intended curriculum, that is, explicit goals to determine the outcome of learning, has its roots in what became known as the Tyler Rationale and has continued to influence curriculum inquiry, planning, development, test construction and learning outcomes to the present day (Schubert, 2008). In Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction, Ralph Tyler (1949) formulated a deceptively simple structure that has guided curriculum developers and researchers for over fifty years. This entailed: (i) Defining appropriate learning objectives, (ii) Introducing useful learning experiences, (iii) Organising experiences to maximise their effect; and (iv) Evaluating the process and revising the areas that were not effective. According to Schubert (2008), many curriculum scholars and developers ignored several other aspects of Tyler's work and many of his other recommendations were lost in the tendency to follow his curriculum ‘recipe’ in schools, state departments or ministries of education. What Tyler had argued was that perspectives be sought from other philosophical and psychological positions, and that the influences of society, the individual, and other disciplines also be considered. He also believed that learning experiences were more important than activities or content. Moreover, he asserted that non-school experiences of students and their active social lives were also worthy of study and finally, he believed that the four steps in his model should not be used in the order presented in his text, but according to situation need. However, only the bones of Tyler's message survived while his more embodied emphasis on careful attention to context and nuance in student lives was overlooked in the process (Schubert, 2008).

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.

Although not the first activity that we have undertaken as incoming editors, nonetheless this editorial marks our first published statement of recognition of this, and of how we see out responsibilities and policies with regard to our custodianship of the British Journal of Music Education. We would like to begin by playing tribute to our immediate predecessors, Pamela Burnard and Gary Spruce, in whose hands the journal has flourished, with increasing contributions from all corners of the world. Together they have steered the journal through to its current internationally recognised form. We are also aware that we step into positions held by very significant figures in music education, from the early days of John Paynter and Keith Swanwick onwards. We therefore approach this task with both humility and awe, but also firm resolve to take the journal and its role in music education onwards.

Work such as that of John Cooksey on boys’ changing voices has influenced choral practice in the USA and in certain UK youth choirs, but has hitherto had little impact in UK schools where many teachers continue to believe that boys’ voices ‘break’. Different practices are found across the independent and maintained sectors of secondary education. The former draws on the choral tradition associated with cathedral music. The latter tends, with notable exceptions, to subscribe to the populist media view that ‘boys don't sing’ or that singing by boys is individualised and the exceptional result of ‘X Factor’ style talent shows. In neither case is there much evidence of a systematic attempt to apply research findings to develop a structured programme of vocal development for boys in early adolescence. The paper examines case studies of different choral practice in schools where boys do sing, but as the result of enthusiastic teachers working in isolation rather than a systematic, research-based approach to boys’ singing development.

The importance of personal practice for instrumentalists and vocalists is well established among researchers, and axiomatic for practitioners. This paper reports on a phase of an action research project, investigating student approaches to personal practice. Following a preliminary questionnaire study, a residential clinic was conducted by practitioner-researchers for eight student participants. In a programme addressing practice, rehearsal and performance, students were introduced to and supported in the development of self-regulatory skills, through generic practice strategies and tools for time-management and self-evaluation. Data were collected through questionnaires, interviews, weblogs and practice schedules. Students’ previous experience with learning about practice was characterised, and complemented by the exploration of a programme offering support for more strategic approaches, beyond the setting of individual lessons.

The purpose of this critical ethnography was to investigate how music educators can approach the development of students’ music listening abilities democratically in order to deepen students’ musical understandings and, by teaching through music, create pathways for student–teacher transactions that are inclusive, educative, ethical and transformative. Critical ethnographies utilise qualitative data collection methods (e.g. observations, journaling, interviews, audiotapes) for sociopolitical and ethical purposes. That is, critical ethnographies are ‘critical’ in two senses: (a) they are framed and carried out with a social-ethical sense of responsibility to critique and, if necessary, change the status quo of specific contexts they investigate and (b) they are grounded in ‘a self-referential form of reflexivity that aims to criticise the ethnographer's own production of an account’ (Schwandt, 2007, p. 51). One finding of this critical ethnography of my urban music classroom is that students are most apt to learn music listening effectively and enjoyably when afforded democratic and creative opportunities to express their beliefs about the natures and values of the musics they decide to select, experience and discuss critically. Another finding is that although democratic teaching and learning inevitably involves conflicts, participants can and do learn to manage and transform these conflicts constructively. One important implication of these findings is that music classrooms can be powerful contexts and means for students’ social-ethical development.

The aim of this paper is to explore perceptions of singing as a group process deriving from two research studies: (i) Study 1: CETL (Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning): C4C (Collaboration for Creativity) Research Project called Singing, Health and Well-being and (ii) Study 2: iSING. The studies consider singing in relation to health and well-being, personal ‘stories’ of singing which acknowledge the self in the process of research, and the effective use of presence in training using a lens developed from Gestalt psychotherapy. The research questions are: (a) What is the relationship between singing, health and well-being in group process? (b) How might this be researched? (c) What are the implications for pedagogic practice in music education?

This article discusses the use of gesture and body-movement in the teaching of singing and reports on a survey amongst professional singing teachers in Germany regarding their use of gesture and body movement as pedagogic tools in their teaching. The nomenclature of gestures and movements used in the survey is based on a previous study by the author (Nafisi, 2008, 2010) categorising movements in the teaching of singing according to their pedagogical intent into Physiological Gestures, Sensation-related Gestures, Musical Gestures and Body-Movements. The survey demonstrated that Gestures were used by a significant number of voice teachers to enhance explanation and/or demonstration, that a significant number of voice teachers encouraged their students to carry out similar Gestures whilst singing to enhance their learning experience and that another type of essentially non-expressive Body-Movements was also encouraged by a significant number of voice teachers to enhance students’ learning. The paper validates the author's nomenclature and offers some hitherto unpublished insights.

This qualitative instrumental case study examines collaborative composing in the operabyyou.com online music community from the perspective of learning by utilising the concept of a ‘community of practice’ as a heuristic frame. The article suggests that although informal music practices offer important opportunities for people with varied backgrounds to participate in the production of art works, and may thus represent and illustrate important aspects of the community life of the society, they do not necessarily provide ideal models for the music classroom. Based on the analysis of the operabyyou.com community, we discuss conditions for collaborative composing when aiming to design educational settings that support the students' construction of identity and ownership of musical meaning.

Participation in an ensemble is a significant aspect of tertiary music experience. Learning and assessment practices within ensembles have rarely been investigated in Australia and the perceptions of staff and students as to how they learn and are assessed within ensembles remain largely unexplored. This paper reports on part of a larger project that investigated learning and assessment practices within ensembles at an Australian Conservatorium of Music. Ensembles contribute to approximately 25% of student work in each semester, and the assessment contributes to a final grade for the semester. Using a case study methodology, four music ensembles were studied. The data generated were coded into themes including assessment practices and processes; collaborative learning practices; the development of the professional musician; and communication and transparency between participants and the institution. Findings revealed that both staff and student participants in this study perceived ensemble participation to be valuable to the development of a professional musician, but that assessment procedures did not always support this goal. Institutional demands were found to be an inhibiting factor in the assessment of ensembles, and both students and teachers had problems with current assessment procedures, resulting in confusion and lack of transparency about how ensembles are assessed. Approaches to the development of the professional musician became a dominant discussion point and a substantial finding of the research. By examining dominant and subjugated knowledge in this domain, institutional power relations were interrogated, existing practices were challenged, and assessment practices rethought.

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.

Conceiving the construct ‘social-emotional learning climate’ as an embodiment of Illeris’ contemporary learning theory, this paper serves dual purposes. First, it examines recent music education literature, which identifies issues of competence and institutionalised pedagogic practice in secondary school music settings that result in adolescents’ inability to target and develop personal locus of control over learning, and the subsequent rejection of the learning environment. Second, it details findings, discussion and pedagogic implications from the author's dissertation study exploring music teacher formative influence upon and student experience of Illeris’ theory of learning process within three Canadian secondary school learning settings integrating informal learning practices.

Informal learning has become a prominent theme in music education literature in recent times. Many writers have called for a new emphasis on informal knowledge and pedagogy as the way forward for music education. The position taken in this paper is that a central issue for music education is the accommodation of a tension between types of knowledge and the ways of knowing strongly associated with popular and classical of music – socially acquired informal knowledge and socially developed but formally acquired disciplinary knowledge. Approaches to curriculum conception and realisation observed in a recent series of case studies in New Zealand secondary schools suggest that a key factor in student engagement is the degree to which teachers can create links between informal and formal knowledge so that students’ understanding and conceptual abilities can be extended across these knowledge boundaries. The teaching approaches of two recent graduates in rock music are discussed to support the social realist argument that a ‘progressive’ approach to curriculum involves creating links between informal and formal knowledge rather than replacing one with the other or dissolving the boundaries between them. Through seeing the two types of knowledge as necessarily interconnected within educational contexts, the epistemic integrity of classroom music is maintained. In this way students are able to recognise themselves and their aspirations while also recognising the potential and power of the foundational knowledge of the discipline.

The purpose of this investigation is to evaluate whether or not the allocation of time proposed in the Music Study Guide, adapted from the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) guidelines, is consistent and adequate for students with minimal musical knowledge. The report takes into account the importance of students’ previous knowledge and the relation this has to the time and effort expended by students in acquiring appropriate knowledge and skills. This is related also to the adequacy of the course specification to meet the demands of university study and the labour market. Results show that those students who enrolled at university without any previous musical knowledge are likely to experience significant difficulty in the acquisition of certain musical and professional competences. This highlights a need to reinforce the music curriculum, or establish zero-level courses, in order to enable such students to succeed in the subject.

While many piano students successfully progress beyond beginner status to reach what is commonly referred to as the intermediate stage, there is minimal research specific to this area of practice. This is despite the fact that there is a high drop-out rate at this stage. This research study therefore set out to develop an in-depth understanding of the key issues of relevance from the perspective of the teachers who work with intermediate piano students. In order to develop a substantial body of data and therefore increase the validity of the findings, a comprehensive e-survey was developed and distributed to practitioners in the UK, USA and Australia, with 583 practitioners participating in the research. The findings highlight some of the key challenges teachers face when working with intermediate students, one of which is the priority students place on their piano studies, with teachers arguing that external commitments have a negative impact on commitment and progression in piano lessons. The data also reveal that repertoire is a major factor of relevance, with teachers citing popular music styles as of more interest to most students than traditional Western art repertoire, yet it is the least studied area in lessons. Given the impact that these two issues have on teachers' experiences of working with piano students and relevant drop-out rates at this stage, it is clear that there is a significant need for further research by engaging other key stakeholders, in order to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the complexities involved in this area of music education.

This paper presents new data extracted from the National Survey of Jazz Instrumentalists and Vocalists. The survey was administered to 209 professional jazz musicians who resided and performed in Australia during 2009–2010. Presented here are five statistically significant characteristics which differentiate vocalists’ experiences from other jazz musicians. These are: the singers’ preference for learning by imitation, their use of chords to find starting notes, their reliance on aural feedback, their greater sense of personal risk in improvisation, and their desire to be comfortable when performing lyrics. The results are accompanied by suggestions as to how jazz educators may respond to the findings.

This study presents a qualitative investigation into the effects of enforced occupational change on a professional musical identity. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) is used to explore the meaning of redundancy for six professional opera choristers. The paper highlights aspects of career disruption that are unique to singers who make their living using a biologically embedded instrument. Findings show the ‘opera singer’ identity to be a professional identity which consists of several subjective sub-identities. Adaptation to change is dependent on the salience given to these subjective identities. It is suggested that if more attention is given to these subjective sub-identities during a professional career, musicians may be better prepared for unexpected disruption to an established career pattern.

In 2008, 201 beginning generalist teachers throughout Queensland, Australia, responded to a questionnaire intended to create a snapshot of current self-efficacy beliefs towards teaching music. Beginning teachers were asked to rank their perceived level of teacher self-efficacy for music, English and maths. Results were analysed through a series of repeated measures ANOVAs to compare the mean scores for statistical difference. Findings suggest that generalist beginning teacher self-efficacy for music declines as years of teaching experience increase, while teacher self-efficacy for English and maths increases during this period. Results provide key insights for teacher educators, school administrators and policy makers into the likelihood of long-term music teaching in the generalist classroom. Greater support is required to reverse the documented snapshot of low teacher self-efficacy for music education in Queensland generalist teacher classrooms.