Routledge International Handbook of Music Psychology in Education and the Community

This handbook provides an evidence-based account of psychological perspectives on issues in music education and music in the community through the life course, exploring our understanding of music learning and participation across contexts.

The contributors draw on multidisciplinary research from different cultures and contexts in order to set out the implications of music psychology for music education and music in the community. Highlighting the intersecting issues across education and community contexts, the book proposes new theories as well as offering important refinements to existing conceptual models. Split into six parts, it considers the role of music in society as well as for groups and individuals, and explores topics such as processing and responding to music; pedagogical and musical practices that support or pose challenges to the emotional, cognitive, social or physical wellbeing of learners and participants in a range of contexts; and ’music in identity’ or ’identity in music’. With the final part on future directions and the implications for professional practice in music education and music in the community, the book concludes by exploring how the two sectors might work more closely together within a post-COVID-19 world.

Based on cutting-edge research from an international team, this is essential reading for anyone interested in music psychology, education and community, and it will be particularly helpful for undergraduate and graduate students in music psychology, music education and community music.

Andrea Creech is Professor of Music Pedagogy at the Schulich School of Music, McGill University, Canada. Following an international music performance career, Andrea was awarded a PhD in Psychology in Education from the Institute of Education, University of London, UK, where she subsequently was appointed Reader in Education. Andrea’s research has covered a wide range of issues in formal and informal music education contexts, including interpersonal dynamics, informal learning, inclusion, lifelong learning and music for positive youth development.

Donald A. Hodges, formerly Distinguished Professor of Music at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, USA, is the author of Music in the Human Experience (2020, 2011) and A Concise Survey of Music Philosophy (2017). His research efforts have included a series of brain imaging studies of pianists, conductors and singers using PET and fMRI.

Susan Hallam is Emerita Professor of Education and Music Psychology at the UCL Institute of Education, UK. She was awarded an MBE in 2015 for her services to music education, a lifelong achievement award in 2020 for music and drama education, and subsequently life-long honorary membership of the British Psychological Society, the International Society for Music Education, MusicMark and the Society for Education, Music and Psychology Research (Sempre). Her research is based in psychology and education with particular emphases on music, learning and disaffection.