Learning to Teach Music in the Secondary School

This fourth edition of Learning to Teach Music in the Secondary School has been thoroughly revised to reflect the latest changes, initiatives, research and scholarship in music education. By focusing on overarching principles, it aims to develop reflective practitioners who will creatively and critically examine their own and others’ ideas about music education.

The new edition seeks to prioritise understandings of young people’s musical lives―including their cultural experiences, digital competencies and individual needs―as the context in which to reflect on teaching and learning within and beyond the music classroom. Providing an overview of contemporary issues in music teaching and learning from a range of perspectives, this book focuses on teaching music musically and enables the reader to:

• place music education in its historical and social context;
• consider the nature of musical knowledge and how teachers can facilitate young people's musical learning;
• critically analyse the frameworks within which music teachers work;
• develop an understanding of composing, performing and responding to music, as well as key issues such as creativity, individual needs and assessment;
• examine aspects of music beyond the classroom and how effective links can be made between curriculum music and music outside school.

Including a range of case studies, tasks and reflections to help integrate the theory and practice of music education effectively, this new edition will provide valuable support, guidance and challenges for teachers at all stages of their careers, as well as being a useful resource for teacher educators in a wide range of settings.

Anthony Anderson is Associate Professor in Music Education and co-lead of Birmingham Music Education Research Group at Birmingham City University.

Carolyn Cooke is Senior Lecturer in Education at The Open University.

Victoria Kinsella is Associate Professor in Arts, Creativity and Education and Director of the Centre for the Study of Practice and Culture in Education (CSPACE) at Birmingham City University.

Elizabeth MacGregor is Teaching Fellow in Music Education and Performance at the University of Leeds.