Music Advocacy
Key areas of focus for 2019-20
- Advocacy for the importance of music as a discipline in higher education
- Broader advocacy for the value of music in society and culture
- Support for music as part of the GCSE and A-level offer in secondary schools
- Support for music provision in primary education
- Recruitment of new board members to join the newly rebranded MusicHE
- Development and promotion of the new MusicHE website
- Annual conference on the theme of ‘Supporting the health of our music education’.
Videos
As NAMHE we commissioned a range of videos that promote the value of a music degree.
Our videos represent a range of voices from students currently studying for their degree, to graduates working in a range of positions including politics, outreach and charity work, and to music industry professionals.
We are expanding this collection in hope that colleagues might utilise these videos at open days, or other events where potential students and partners and current students are seeking advice concerning the employment potential and personal benefits of studying for a music degree.
Consultation
During an average year we are sent a variety of consultation documents to which we respond and represent our wider national community.
We have led on responses to:
- The TEF green paper
- Discussion on changes to the REF
- Debates on the EBacc
- Edexcel A-Level reform
- Gender in the curriculum
- The current QAA benchmark consultation
New activity will be shared on our news, blog & events page.
Collaboration
MusicHE is part of a significant and active community of organisations promoting the discipline through a variety of channels. Throughout the year we constantly collaborate with our cognate subject association, committees, institutions and activities.
Regular critical dialogue is held with:
- Royal Musical Association
- Arts and Humanities Alliance
- The Standing Conference of University Drama Departments
- Music Mark (the UK Association for Music Education)
- Institute of Musical Research (IMR)
- Music Education Council (MEC)
- Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM)
We also work with other learned societies and subject associations in other fields where our interests and priorities overlap. We are keen to continue to expand this collaborative work.
Past Research & Advocacy Work
We have commissioned and conducted research into issues concerning music in HEIs in the present climate. We commissioned Dr Danijela Bogdanovic to research and write a report on the Gender and Equality Mark. This project included consultation with a range of staff within UK music departments.
We regularly commission specific board members to lead on responses to consultation documents, e.g.: TEF.
We have moved to a more active and personal role in presenting the work we do at conferences and events. NAMHE colleagues presented on ‘Current Issues in HE’ at the RMA Research Students’ Conference at Bangor University in January 2016. The panel included Drs Helen Julia Minors, Chris Collins and Laura Hamer, Prof. Rachel Cowgill and student representative Zaina Shihabi.
The transcript of this panel can be found here:
- Part 1 – Recruitment Context
- Part 2 – Gender and equality
- Part 3 – Teaching Excellence Framework
- Part 4 – Research
- Part 5 – Questions and Answers
A panel paper was presented at the 32nd International Society for Music in Education (ISME) conference in Glasgow in July 2016. This tackled the challenges facing music in HEIs.
Music in Schools
The 2019 MusicHE conference took place on 12th November 2019 and explored the role of HE in supporting the health of our music education ecosystem. As music education is moving out of schools and into communities supported by limited funding and volunteer passion, traditional and formal pathways into HE are being shaken up. We need to consider new access routes for applicants and how we prepare to support greater diversity of training and experience.
This conference offered examples of community engagement projects and a chance to unpack the challenges we all face, while exploring solutions that might assist our general health as a music sector. Partnerships with organisations involved in school music are essential to the work on MusicHE and we will continue to work with our colleagues to promote music education in the broadest sense.
