When people hear the term “music education”, their first association is frequently with a concrete practice: that of music teaching and musical learning in classrooms, at music schools, in workshops, or in work with people of various backgrounds and ages ranging all the way from kids and teens to seniors. Initially less present in their minds is the research accompanying this practice—research that analyses it, critically scrutinises it, and advances its development. In actual fact, music education as a research field in its own right is comparatively young. An early signal in this regard came from Sigrid Abel-Struth in 1970 with her essay entitled “Materialien zur Entwicklung der Musikpädagogik als Wissenschaft” [Materials on the Development of Music Education as a Research Discipline], which is now regarded as a milestone. Since then, the field has grown considerably broader and more nuanced: while it was long mainly teaching in formal educational contexts that was central, here, research on music education today covers a wide spectrum in terms of spheres of activity and questions—especially questions concerning artistic, pedagogical, and societal themes.
IMP: The Productive Linkage of Research and Practice
The Department of Music Education Research and Practice (IMP) reflects the dynamics and multifariousness of this development in a special way. Alongside the two classic fields of research and practice—namely school-based music education and instruction in instrumental and vocal music-making—the fields of elemental music education, music mediation, and community music as well as education sciences are likewise anchored here. This breadth gives rise to an understanding of research that features an accordingly broad conception of music education and processes of musical learning, thereby also doing justice to the fluidity of formal, non-formal, and informal learning contexts—research that relates to musical practice in a special way and is interested in its reflection and theoretical penetration/grounding as much as in its further development.
Characteristic of IMP’s understanding of research is also a clear stance with respect to broader society: we regard music, music-making, and (musical) education as fundamental rights of all people—independent of social, ethnic, religious, or ability-related characteristics. Our research stands for a diversity-aware and inclusive conception of music education and for a pedagogy that aims for cultural participation and sharing as well as critical reflection on power relations while also integrating postcolonial perspectives.
Research Emphases
Research at IMP addresses central questions pertaining to both music education and musical practice as well as to their societal relevance. The topics covered include musical learning in various phases of life, the conditions governing and effects had by processes of music teaching and musical learning, and the diverse forms of music-making that exist—from elemental music-making to school- and institution-based instruction to new concert formats and dialogue-oriented projects involving diverse communities. Special scrutiny is devoted to the role of music schools within the educational landscape, the professionalisation of music educators in light of evolving occupational fields, and innovative mediatory and concert formats as well as questions relating to inclusion, diversity, and participation. Tying together all of these thematic fields is an interest in how artistic practice, pedagogical design, and social transformation interact. The various volumes of IMP’s book series wiener reihe musikpädagogik reflect both the breadth of the research interests that are in play here and the ongoing engagement with such interaction.
Interdisciplinarity
Research on music education at IMP is often interdisciplinary in nature. It involves perspectives from fields such as music sociology, ethnomusicology, and musicology as well as education sciences, cultural institutions studies, cultural studies, and gender studies. Methodologically, research on music education ranges from theoretical, quantitative, and qualitative studies to work of a historical, cultural studies-based, and ethnographic nature, also extending to philosophical and hermeneutic, critical, and comparative approaches as well as developmental, design-based, and artistic research.
Internationality
A further hallmark of our research activities is close international networking. This can be seen not only in numerous lectures, publications, and third party-funded projects (such as the current projects CC-ECME and TEAM co-funded by Erasmus Plus) but also in terms of our faculty members’ active functions in important research networks such as AMPF, EAS, Forum Musikvermittlung, SIMM, and MERYC. In this, IMP helps to shape music education-related and profession-specific discourses across national borders, thereby injecting its own impulses into European and global debates. With its journals b:em – Beiträge empirischer Musikpädagogik (Bulletin of Empirical Music Education Research) and the International Journal of Music Mediation (IJMM), IMP is also home to two internationally recognised channels of publication that lend visibility to current research findings as well as encourage processes of academic exchange.
An Open Invitation to Dialogue, to Collaborate, and to Continue Reading
IMP conceives of itself as an open place of exchange and cooperation in numerous respects: within the mdw, with other institutions of (music) education, with the various relevant professions, with school authorities and education policymakers, and with further institutions active in social, cultural, and other areas. We hence invite colleagues from the realms of research, art, education, and broader society to engage with us in forward-looking contemplation of music education-related questions and in the development of new cooperative relationships and projects. After all, music education is more than just an object of research; it is also a lively contribution to building an open, solidarity-minded, and diverse society.
In upcoming issues, we’ll be introducing individual IMP research projects in detail—so stay tuned!
Authors: Eveline Christof, Michael Göllner, Isolde Malmberg, Axel Petri-Preis, Werner Rohrer
