Policy as Practice: A Guide for Music Educators

Both in concept and in practice, policy has permeated the deepest recesses of civil society and has had particular impact on the lives of those who are actively connected to the educational process. For music teachers in particular, policy can evoke images of a forbidden environment beyond one's day-to-day duties and responsibilities. Nothing, however, could be farther from the truth. In this book, author Patrick Schmidt offers a variety of ways for K-12 music educators to engage with, analyze, and develop effective policy. Schmidt first demystifies the notion of policy and the characterization that it is out-of-reach to teachers, before exemplifying how policy, both big-picture policy and policy as a daily encounter enacted at the local level, share many similarities and are indeed co-dependent fragments of the same process. The first provides extensive and detailed contextual information, offering a conceptual vision for how to consider policy in the fast-pace and high-adaptability reality of 21st-century music education environments. The second delivers a practical set of ideas, guidelines, and suggestions specific to music education for a closer and more active interaction with policy, directed at providing 'tools for action' in the daily working lives of music educators. This approach enourages those who are novice to policy as well as those who would like to further explore and participate in policy action to exercise informed influence within their field, community, and school, and ultimately have greater impact in pedagogical, curricular, administrative, and legislative decision-making.

Table of Contents:
Preface Part I 1. The Impact and Importance of Policy in the Lives of Music Teachers 2. The Need for Theory: Developing and Engaging Music Teachers in Informed Leadership 3. A New Kind of Teacher Activism: Policy as a Form of Critical Pedagogy 4. Policy Beyond Traditional Walls: Learning from the Wider Community Part II 5. Small Actions Go a Long Way! The Day-to-Day of Policy-Minded Educators 6. The Music Educator as Policy Analyst 7. Becoming Part of the Policy Process: From Standards to Rules, from Research to Practice Resources References

About the Author :
Patrick Schmidt is Chair of Music Education at the University of Western Ontario. Schmidt's innovative work in critical pedagogy, urban music education, and policy studies is recognized nationally and internationally. His most recent publications can be found in the International Journal of Music Education; Theory into Practice; Arts Education Policy Review; Research in Music Education, Journal of Curriculum Theorizing; Philosophy of Music Education Review; Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education; ABEM Journal in Brazil; and the Finnish Journal of Music Education. Schmidt serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of the Council of Research in Music Education, Arts Education Policy Review, the ABEM Journal, the Revista Internacional de Educacíon Musical published by ISME, and the Journal of Popular Music Education. He co-edited The Oxford Handbook of Music Education and Social Justice (2015) and Policy and the Political Life of Music Education (2017).

Review :
"Using a broad range of tools, stories, and examples, Schmidt unfolds policy work as innovation, as a space for music educators to reclaim, and as an opportunity for leadership and making a difference in the profession and in society. Music educators who seek not only to understand and engage with policy, but also to become catalysts for equitable and mindful change, will find this book incredibly useful." -- Sandra Stauffer , Professor of Music Education and Senior Associate Dean of Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, Arizona State University "In this remarkable text, Schmidt brilliantly knits together policy thinking and policy learning; policy is both an outcome and a process. Democratic discourse is needed to establish priorities where conflict exists among powerful forces in which policy goals have been replaced by government regulations." -- Richard Colwell , Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois "With this much-needed, thoughtful, and practical book, Patrick Schmidt provides powerful theory and practical advice for music educators at all levels. This book should be required reading in pre-service teacher preparation programs and graduate music education courses alike." -- Patrick M. Jones , Chancellor, Penn State Schuylkill