In The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy in Music Education, editors Wayne D. Bowman and Ana Lucia Frega have drawn together a variety of philosophical perspectives from the profession's most exciting scholars from all over the world. Rather than relegating philosophical inquiry to moot questions and abstract situations, the contributors to this volume address everyday concerns faced by music educators everywhere. Emphasizing clarity, fairness, rigour, and utility above all, The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy in Music Education will challenge music educators all over the world to make their own decisions and ultimately contribute to the conversation themselves.

Why is music significant in life and education? What shall we teach? How? To whom? Where and when? The praxial philosophy espoused in Music Matters: A Philosophy of Music Education offers an integrated sociocultural, artistic, participatory, and ethics-based concept of the natures and values of musics, education, musicing and listening, community music, musical understanding, musical emotions, creativity, and more. Embodied-enactive concepts of action, perception, and personhood weave through the book's proposals. Practical principles for curriculum and instruction emerge from the authors' praxial themes.

The author constructs a new concept of music education, one designed to stimulate, guide, and support the efforts of pre-service and practicing music teachers as they tackle the many theoretical and practical issues involved in music education. He provides rigorous reflections on the "why, what, and how" of music teaching and learning that serve as catalysts for critical thinking and individual-philosophy building.

Preface. Introduction: Why Study Foundations of Music Education? 1. History of Music Education. 2. Philosopbical Foundations of Music Education. 3. The Musical and Aesthetic Foundations of Music Education. 4. The Role and Purpose of Music in American Education. 5. Sociological Foundations of Music Education. 6. Social Psychological Foundations of Music Education. 7. Psychological Foundations of Music Education. 8. Application of Psychology to Music Teaching. 9. Curriculum. 10. Assessing Musical Behaviors. 11. Research and Music Education. 12. Teacher Education and Future Directions. Index.

Music and Music Education as Social Praxis is a brief introduction to a praxial theory of music education, defined by author. It is grounded in an interdisciplinary approach, for undergraduate and graduate students in music education. Drawing upon scholarship from a range of disciplines, including philosophy and sociology, the book emphasizes and highlights thinking of music as an active social practice and offers an alternative to existing approaches to music education. This text advocates for an alternative approach to teaching music, rooted in the social practice of music, and will supplement Foundations or Methods courses in the Music Education curriculum.

Praxial Music Education is a collection of essays by nineteen internationally recognized scholars in music education. Each essay offers critical reflections on a key topic in contemporary music education. The starting point of each essay, and the unifying thread of this collection, is the "praxial" philosophy of music education explained in Elliott's Music Matters: A New Philosophy of Music Education (OUP, 1995). This philosophy argues for a socially and artistically grounded concept of music and music education, challenging the field's traditional "absolutist" foundations. Praxial Music Education is both a critical companion to Music Matters, and an independent text on contemporary issues in music education. Among the themes discussed are multicultural music education, the nature of musical understanding, early childhood music education, the nature and teaching of music listening, music curriculum development, and musical creativity. Praxial music education is a living theory. This unique collection will not only enrich discussions that already use Music Matters as their core, but will globalize current discussions and applications of the praxial philosophy and emphasize the positive and practical values of collaborative efforts in music education.

Music Education: Historical Contexts and Perspectives provides a comprehensive exploration of public school music in the United States. It reviews the history of music education in America from the 1600s through the present, offers a working philosophy of music education, examines the role that this philosophy plays in developing and implementing music curricula, and presents a thorough discussion of music teaching and learning. Chapter instructions suggest relationships between the topics presented in the text, and study and review questions at the end of each chapter promote investigation, synthesis and critical thinking. The final chapter encourages readers to use information presented in the text as the basis for speculation about the future of music education in the United States.