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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Despite strong philosophical arguments supporting the inclusion of music in all students’ education, declining student participation rates in school music activities during the middle years of schooling remain an ongoing issue for music education researchers. This paper presents the findings of a case study examining the motivational factors influencing student enrolment behaviour in the elective classroom music curriculum within the social context of an independent secondary school in regional Australia. The analysis discussed in this paper focuses on the socio-cultural contexts of school culture, peer group, family values and student perceptions of teachers as factors shaping student academic motivational orientations.

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.