Music Technology in Schools: European Perspectives

In 2012, the European Association for Music in Schools (EAS) published a book entitled European Perspectives on Music Education: New media in the classroom (Gall, Sammer & de Vugt, 2012) which reported on the position of music technology in school classrooms in 14 European countries. This built upon a previous study which researched the same subject across 25 countries (Sammer, Gall & Breeze, 2009) and which itself derived from an earlier mapping of music education across Europe (2006-2009; see http://menet.mdw.ac.at/menetsite/english/index.html). In this paper I draw upon these three sources to examine the position and use of music technology within school music in 27 countries. This will include consideration of: 1) the history of the developments of technology in schools which have impacted upon classroom music; 2) information on curriculum change that has come about either through government directives/support, or ‘from the ground up’ through teacher initiatives and developments allied to research; 3) educators’ thoughts on music and technology within schools in the future. At a time when austerity measures are impacting negatively on the arts in schools across Europe (EAS, 2013) the importance of cross-nation discussion of policy and practice is heightened. However, this is not always easy when cultural contexts are so varied in terms of music in society, and in schools. The paper discusses some of these tensions as well as noting positive outcomes that have already been achieved as a result of collaborating with music educators across Europe.