University News Last updated 25 April
Associate Professor of Music Adam Whittaker, Associate Professor of Music Education Anthony Anderson and Associate Professor of Arts, Creativity and Education Victoria Kinsella-Hadjinestoros have been awarded Research England Support Funding to create briefings and guides for policymakers about their research in the field of music education.
The three academics from Royal 探花直播 Conservatoire and 探花直播鈥檚 Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences (HELS) respectively are members of the University鈥檚 探花直播 Music Education Research Group (B-MERG), which is a cross-faculty initiative exploring music-based teaching and learning.
B-MERG champions music education research for a better understanding of musical thinking and music-making to enable enriched educational experiences for young people. The group works with a diverse range of children and young people, including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and experiencing barriers to learning.
The Government noted the importance of musical activities in its manifesto pledges, and the work of the group has been used to provide the statistical basis of ministerial responses in Parliament. This is important work, as policymakers need access to more information about music education research to broaden their views and develop deliverable policy to support the complex musical lives of young people.
To achieve this, B-MERG has been engaging directly with policymakers for the last three years, producing tailored briefing documents to help decision-makers prepare for parliamentary debates on music education research that could improve policy. Just this week (w/c 22 April), the group was referenced in a contribution to the House of Lords.
The funding from the Research England Support Fund will enable the team to continue to translate their research into accessible and succinct formats that will provide greater insight for policymakers in the form of research briefings and summary guides.
Dr Adam Whittaker said: 鈥淭his is a great opportunity for RBC's work in music education to underpin robust policy briefs that can help to influence the national conversation. This is particularly timely as the Government is announcing a new National Centre for the Arts and Music Education, so sharing our findings at the development stage will be important.鈥�
Pictured: Associate Professor Adam Whittaker.