Policy and the Political Life of Music Education is the first book of its kind in music education. It brings together expert voices, defining a critical new arena for action in the field: policy. It is essential reading for anyone hoping to better understand the contingencies of change and decision-making.

About the Companion Website Foreword - Peter Webster Introduction - Patrick Schmidt & Richard Colwell Part I. Policy Foundations 1. Why Policy Matters: Developing a Policy Vocabulary within Music Education, Patrick Schmidt 2. Arts Policies and their local importance: From History to Practice, Richard Colwell 3. The Context of Education Policy in the United States and the Intersection with Music Education Policy, Ross Rubenstein 4. Policy and Research Endeavours, Katherine Zeserson and Graham Welch 5. Policy and the Question of Assessment, Martin Fautley Part II. International Perspectives on Policy 6. Revisiting Bildung And Its Meaning For International Music Education Policy, Alexandra Kertz-Welzel 7. Policy and Governmental Action in Brazil, Sergio Figueiredo 8. Music Education for Both the Talented and the Masses: The Policy of Assessment-Based Reform, Mei-Ling Lai and Yao-Ting Sung 9. Curriculum as Policy: State-Level Music Curriculum Creation and Reform, Stephanie Horsley Part III. Policy in Context 10. Policy and the Lives of School Age Children, Margaret Barrett 11. Policy and the Work of the Musician/Teacher in the Community, David Myers 12. Policy, Access and Multicultural (Music) Education, Sidsel Karlsen 13. Can Music Education Policy Save American Orchestras? Alan Fletcher 14. Policy and Higher Education, Patrick M. Jones 15. K-16 Music Education in a Democratic Society, Robert A. Cutietta

"[It] not only provides the general readership with a well-rounded basis for comprehending music education policy in various regions, but it also offers music education stakeholders' perspectives regarding the meaning, value, and the importance of participating in policy development and its implementation ... This book provides comprehensive academic insights. It would be not only an entry point of readers' approach on music education policy, but also a scholastic discourse for further debate and research." -- Hung-Pai Chen, Philosophy of Music Education Review "Schmidt and Colwell's Policy and the Political Life of Music Education provides a thorough introduction to many of the historical, contemporary, and global issues surrounding music education policy. Additionally, the book encourages music educators of differentiated experiences in policy to further explore new ideas not fullyextrapolated in the text." -- David Potter, Michigan State University, Arts Education Policy Review "Policy and the Political Life of Music Education maintains that every music educator is essential to the process and progress of policy in the United States. These writings allow each of us to become active policy makers by finding a common vocabulary for discussion, goal-setting, and decision making that will influence the quality and nature of our music programs for years to come." -- Kodaly Envoy "Policy guides and informs curriculum, thus discourse about curriculum in the academy should have as a prerequisite a course in policy. This handbook-rich, intelligent, and diverse in its offerings-should be the textbook for such a course as problems are grappled with and considered."--Betty Anne Younker, Dean, Professor of Music Education, Don Wright Faculty of Music, Western University, Canada "Policy and the Political Life of Music Education superbly illustrates how critical policy is to the field. It underscores the importance of understanding how policy is developed and implemented and how it affects both music educators and the children we teach."--Hal Abeles, Director, Program in Music and Music Education, Teachers College, Columbia University

Selling point: Provides new ways to conceptualize and understand policy Selling point: Connects policy conceptualization and examples in the field Selling point: Presents policy in various facets from curriculum to research to legislation Selling point: Presents policy in various spaces from school to higher education to the orchestral world Selling point: Provides a rationale for policy as a significant part of the daily lives of individuals, from children, to teachers, to traditional decision-makers. Selling point: Introduces 15 new, unpublished, chapters that serve both as an introduction to the field and a way to re-imagine how we may engage with Policy. Selling point: Essential tool for educators who are experience the growing impact of policy issues on their teaching lives

Patrick Schmidt is Chair of Music Education at Western University, Canada and co-editor of the Oxford Handbook for Social Justice and Music Education. Richard Colwell is Professor Emeritus of Music Education at the University of Illinois and the New England Conservatory of Music. He is also a Guggenheim scholar and a member of MENC's Hall of Fame.

Selling point: Provides new ways to conceptualize and understand policy Selling point: Connects policy conceptualization and examples in the field Selling point: Presents policy in various facets from curriculum to research to legislation Selling point: Presents policy in various spaces from school to higher education to the orchestral world Selling point: Provides a rationale for policy as a significant part of the daily lives of individuals, from children, to teachers, to traditional decision-makers. Selling point: Introduces 15 new, unpublished, chapters that serve both as an introduction to the field and a way to re-imagine how we may engage with Policy. Selling point: Essential tool for educators who are experience the growing impact of policy issues on their teaching lives