We've been looking at ways that music educators working in international schools can engage with research and current academic literature.
Here is our list of FREE and PAID options for educators. Have some other ideas? Get in touch here!
Free Options
There are lots of fantastic ways to freely engage with research.
1. British Journal of Music Eduction (BJME) blogging project
Overview:
Dr Steven Berryman, Curriculum Lead for the Music Teachers Association (MTA), has launched a collective blogging project working with the editors of the British Journal of Music Education (BJME), Martin Fautley and Ally Daubney.
Martin, Ally and Steven have curated a selection of articles from the Journal highlighting some of the key debates in Music Education in the classroom.
Teachers have an article to read each week, and can submit a response by the end of the week. Responses are gathered together to form one blog post shared on MUSIC:ED.
Link: https://musiceducation.global/the-place-of-composing-in-curriculum-design/
2. The Conversation
Overview:
The Conversation is a network of not-for-profit media outlets that publish news stories on the Internet that are written by academic experts and researchers, under a free Creative Commons licence, allowing reuse but only without modification.
There are some excellent articles on music education here. Follow the link below and ensure that you have the country set in the top left corner to access relevant articles.
Link: https://theconversation.com/au/search?q=music+education
3. RIPE (Research Informed Practice in Education)
Overview:
The purpose of the RIPE network is to bring together university researchers and classroom practitioners with the aim of promoting robust research informed practice in international education while providing the opportunity for all participants to benefit from a rich exchange of views and a broad range of experience.
Links:
RIPE website for all downloads: https://www.ecolint-institute.ch/publications
Direct link to the Spring 2021 Edition: https://www.ecolint-institute.ch/sites/default/files/resources/research_journal_spring_2021_0.pdf
4. EDDi – Educational Digest International
Overview:
EDDi is designed to keep you up-to-date with current research and best practice - with a heavy focus on international education.
Alongside opinion pieces, practical teaching advice and leadership guidance, we distill lengthy peer-reviewed and published academic articles (each article we read often running to 8,000 words), giving you the key highlights and takeaways.
What it takes us hours to digest each week, you can read in 20 minutes.
Collated and edited by a team of experienced international school leaders and university academic staff, EDDi gives you access to vital educational research.
5. ISC Research
Overview:
ISC Research is the leading provider of English-medium K-12 international school data, trends and intelligence. We have been collecting market intelligence and data on international schools throughout the world since 1994.
ISC Research can be accessed by most international schools through a school portal that is usually granted to the principal of your school. Schools are able to extend this access to a number of additional members for free, but can also pay for more detailed information. This data can reveal fascinating insights into your country and context. ISC Research also release a bunch of white papers that can be accessed for free! Sign up to their mailing list for updates on when these are out.
Link: https://iscresearch.com
6. Seek out free online conferences hosted by universities
I've attended the Trinity Laban Postgraduate Research in Music Education Symposium a couple of times and loved it. These conferences provide opportunities for current researchers in music education to present their work/findings. Some wonderful new ideas are being explored in these spaces. Here is the link to the conference I attended.
You can follow them to find out when the next one takes place. You can also join a mailing list to find out about other conferences of a similar nature.
7. Follow some Music Ed. scholars on Twitter
Overview:
Twitter can be a useful way of keeping up-to-date with current debates, ideas and new research in music education. Here are some suggestions of individuals (in no particular order) who you may find value in following. They’ve either conducted interesting research (usually in the UK context), or they post about it:
Dr. Ally Daubney - @AllyDaubney
Prof. Martin Fautley - @DrFautley
Gary Spruce - @GarySpruce1
Dr. Elizabeth Stafford - @DrLizStafford
Dr. Adam Whittaker - @DrAdamWhittaker
Nate Holder - @N8Holder
James Humberstone - @JamesHumbers
Dr. Steven Berryman - @Steven_Berryman
Dr. John Finney - @Johnfinney8
Jon Silpayamanant - @Silpayamanant
Steve Jackman - @sjeeves
8. Podcasts
Overview:
Podcasts are a great way to digest current debates and research without the reading! Here are my top picks (all are available on major streaming platforms):
Music Teachers In International Schools Podcast:
The Music Education Podcast:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1335544
WISEducation Podcast:
https://wiseducationblog.com/wiseducation-podcast/
International Schools Podcast:
Paid Options
Just a thought: maybe you could consider using some department budget to access these resources?
1. International Journal of Music Education
Overview:
The International Journal of Music Education (IJME) is a peer-reviewed journal published by the International Society for Music Education (ISME) four times a year. Manuscripts published are scholarly works, representing empirical research in a variety of modalities. They enhance knowledge regarding the teaching and learning of music with a special interest toward an international constituency. Manuscripts report results of quantitative or qualitative research studies, systematically summarize bodies of research, present theories, models, or philosophical positions, etc.
2. Journal of Research in International Education
Overview:
The Journal of Research in International Education is an international, peer-reviewed journal in international education for schools, examiners and higher education institutions throughout the world.
3. Research Studies in Music Education
Overview:
This internationally peer-reviewed journal, published on behalf of SEMPRE, promotes the dissemination and discussion of high quality research in music and music education. The journal encourages the interrogation and development of a range of research methodologies and their application to diverse topics in music education theory and practice.
Link: https://journals.sagepub.com/home/rsm
Article by Chris Koelma
Founder of Music Teachers In International Schools (MTIIS)
https://chriskoelma.com