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Music Education as Craft

Reframing Theories and Practices

  • Discusses the Craft of Music Education, bridges this profession to the past, present and future practices and theory in music education
  • Examines substantial challenges for music education in a globalized world
  • Suggests viable onward paths in music education practices as well as rationale for students and teachers in music education

Part of the book series: Landscapes: the Arts, Aesthetics, and Education (LAAE, volume 30)

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Table of contents (17 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvii
  2. “Music Education” as a Sustainable Craft in Society

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 25-25

About this book

This book is a collection of leading international authors in the field of music education taking the concept of 'craft' as a starting point to deconstruct and reconstruct their understanding of the practices and theories of music education. Their insights draw from deep wells of resources located in historical, philosophical, epistemological, musicological and educational traditions that lead to rich and complex insights on the evolving field of music education. In so doing, they generate a constellation of new understandings and illustrations of what crafts can mean in this field. Historically, the idea of craft was typically associated with a skill or experience in knowing how to do or make something, or an activity of some kind that requires specific professional skills. In Old Norse, the  concept for craft was kraptr, meaning strength and virtue, while Old English and continental use was associated with power and physical strength, as well as skill. When these definitionsof ‘crafts’ are infused into contemporary understandings of the field of music education as a professional field, a whole new set of possible interpretations are unearthed. Such insights are not exhaustive, but rather, point the way in which this professional, diverse, inclusive and ambiguous field might continue to evolve in the 21st century.

Editors and Affiliations

  • Department of Arts Education, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Stord, Norway

    Kari Holdhus

  • School of Arts Education and Movement, DCU Institute of Education, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland

    Regina Murphy

  • Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Stord, Norway

    Magne I. Espeland

About the editors

Kari Holdhus, PhD is Professor of Music Education at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences. Her research interests include relational pedagogy, dialogic musical encounters, creative teaching and learning as well as pedagogical improvisation. As a teacher, Kari emphasises research-based approaches, which means that her teaching and supervision is often based on recent research deemed relevant for student discussion and critique. Conversely, many of the research projects that Kari engages with focus on practical applications to educational contexts.

Regina Murphy, PhD is Associate Professor and Head of the School of Arts Education and Movement at the Institute of Education, Dublin City University. As a teacher educator at undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral levels, she is concerned with the interplay between teacher knowledge, teacher identity, inquiry and critical reflection, and its expression through a range of subject matter.Her most recent research focuses on the development of social inclusion and social justice in music education. Regina served as an elected board member for the International Society for Music Education (ISME) from 2008-2012. In 2016, she hosted the ISME Commission Seminar: Music in Schools and Teacher Education (MISTEC) at St Patrick’s Campus, DCU. 


Magne I. Espeland is Professor of Music and Education at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (WNUAS). His areas of specialisation include curriculum development and innovation in music and arts education, educational design studies, quantitative and qualitative research methodologies for education, masters and PhD supervision, and research project leadership. He currently leads the Center of Creativities, Arts and Science in Education (CASE), which is home to research at the intersection of arts, science and creative education. He is one of the founders of the Grieg Research School in Interdisciplinary Music Studies, a multi-institutional cooperation in Western Norway. Internationally, Magne has had a long relationship with the International Society for Music Education (ISME). He has researched and published in a variety of fields within music education and beyond, spanning music listening, music composition, creative pedagogies, pedagogical improvisation and relational pedagogy. 

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Music Education as Craft

  • Book Subtitle: Reframing Theories and Practices

  • Editors: Kari Holdhus, Regina Murphy, Magne I. Espeland

  • Series Title: Landscapes: the Arts, Aesthetics, and Education

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67704-6

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Education, Education (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-67703-9Published: 09 May 2021

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-67706-0Published: 09 May 2022

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-67704-6Published: 08 May 2021

  • Series ISSN: 1573-4528

  • Series E-ISSN: 2214-0069

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XVII, 239

  • Number of Illustrations: 10 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Creativity and Arts Education, Philosophy of Education, Teaching and Teacher Education

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access