Mobilising the music educator of the future:Navigating the tensions of young people's lived and schooled experiences of music in contemporary mainstre

Mobilising the music educator of the future: Navigating the tensions of young people's lived and schooled experiences of music in contemporary mainstream education


The significance of music in the lives of young people is evident in popular and lived culture. However, KS4 exam entries continue to fall (OFQUAL), just 3% of students opted for GCSE music in 2016 (Johnes 2017) and the number engaged in school music ensembles is likewise declining (Sharp C. and Rabiasz 2016). Apart from recent educational reform which have demoted the position of the arts (Aróstegui 2016), music educators face a number of challenges.

These challenges include, firstly, promoting and mobilising the breadth of knowledge, insight and expertise students bring into the classroom, alongside the nature of music as a cultural practice outside of formal schooling (Hallam 2010a). Music students can demonstrate sophisticated musical skills of a different character to teachers' specialisms and that within the formal music curriculum. A second challenge is in supporting students' & teachers in accessing contemporary and technological practices central to the professional work that many young people 'consume' and often desire to emulate (Humberstone 2017). A symbiotic relationship between young people and the creative industries, alongside new modes of cultural engagement have transformed young people's interaction with music, their ways of learning, the intersections and boundaries between different disciplines, and their attitudes towards musical activities. A third challenge lies in enacting pedagogical models conducive to the development of music within the institution of formal schooling, as recent educational reforms have not focused on 'future needs of the Cultural and Creative Industries' (Neelands et al. 2015). Classroom practice is described as 'patchy' (Ofsted, 2016) and 'the quality and reach of school-based music education is still unacceptably variable and inconsistent' as a result of 'weaknesses in curriculum and pedagogy' (Zeserson et al., 2014).Fourthly, ensuring music teacher expertise, in relation to a broad range of knowledge and skills, local forms and popular global music industry demands (Welch 2010). According to Hemming and Westval a 'teacher's personal qualities, individual competence and sense of innovation, rather than the contents of the music curriculum' defines a child's music education. (2010). Yet how do isolated practitioners enable access to genres, practices and skills beyond their direct experience and avoid a 'culture of repeaters' (Green, 2005) where dominant, traditional practices are perpetuated? Underpinning these challenges is the long-contested question: 'What should constitute a music education?'. Throughout the twentieth century different models were advanced (Benedict, 2009, Gould, 2012). Green's (2005) 'Musical Futures' approach argues for a curriculum connected to and beginning from young people's experience of music, and for informal pedagogy (Zeserson et al., 2014). A proximity to contemporary cultural industry practice suggests certain economic advantages for young people's employability, but whilst all advocate a breadth of study, longstanding issues such as which (and whose) genres and musical practices are prioritised remain.
This study will investigate how music teachers and their educators do, and might further, address these challenges, and thereby better navigate the tensions of young people's lived and schooled experiences of music. The study will adopt a mixed-method, case study approach. This study will investigate how extant musician identities, networks, industry links, placements, context and dispositions, as a dynamic, inform the character and strength of music education that a teacher might facilitate. The long-term aim of the research is to develop how teacher educators are resourced to foster a thriving future music education.