For anyone affected by the decline in uptake of Music in schools in England, a troubling trend is an apparent mismatch between students’ love of and identification with music out of school, and their disengagement with it in school. It is one symptom of a curriculum in need of reform, not just in terms of content but also in terms of process (Philpott, 2022): a change in what students learn, and how they learn it.

There are necessary questions to be posed in response to this, including who decides what constitutes ‘meaningful’ curriculum content, and how we define, value, and measure knowledge and learning. In the context of the creative components of examined courses, such as music composition, another question at the forefront of curriculum (re)design is how we can balance didactic content with learning as a process of discovery. In other words, as composition teachers, how can we teach the necessary skills for self-expression whilst respecting student ownership of their own development and output?

Viewing this as a matter of developing aspects of the ‘self’ in young composers, this paper will argue that such inner qualities as self-awareness, self-reliance, and positive self-efficacy can be nurtured not through direct focus on the individual, but through engaging in embodied and extended activities. Examples of practical, movement-based and improvisatory tasks will be shared, with reference to related research in 4E pedagogy (Schiavio et al., 2022), critical and creative thinking (Kaschub & Smith, 2022), and the importance of collaboration and communal activity (Sandel, 2020). Drawing on the presenter’s recent research and current practice with 14-18-year-old composers undertaking examination courses in secondary schools in England, the paper will demonstrate the potential value of externalising aspects of the creative process in order to nurture individual creative autonomy within a student-centred programme of learning.

In 2003, a project named “Musical Futures” was launched in England as an exploration of music teaching and learning to find a new creative and imaginative way of engaging young people in music making (D’Amore, 2011). Informal music learning approaches have been implemented and explored in the UK, Canada, Australia and the USA as part of the “Musical Futures” project, with positive research findings (Green, 2017; Hallam et al., 2011). However, there is relatively little research and literature on informal music learning in China, both at the theoretical and practical levels (Law & Ho, 2015). In this study the practice of informal music learning was introduced to explore the introduction of informal music approaches in primary school music classrooms.

A qualitative research methodology was used which focused on 2 music teachers from 2 primary schools in Beijing. In group meetings, the teachers were introduced to the theory and some practices related to informal learning in music. Then, within the context, policies and school requirements of music education in China, they designed projects that revolved around informal learning approaches; these were investigated. The case study data consisted of semi-structured individual interviews, notes from group meetings with the two teachers, classroom observation field notes and teachers' reflective journals.

At the end of the study both teachers identified positive aspects to student-centred learning. Another result is that whilst, at first, the pupils felt confused since they were used to following specific instructions, over time, they developed more confidence in sharing their own ideas, and in working with their peers with less help from the teacher.

The findings of this study suggest the importance of informal learning as part of teachers’ professional development, and also illustrate how informal learning approaches to music making can benefit students in Chinese classrooms.

Music educators have long advocated that improvisation plays a vital role in the curriculum, advocating for its inclusion to foster creativity and engagement in classroom spaces (Brophy, 2001; Burnard, 2000; Campbell, 1995; Kratus, 1991, 1995; Heble & Stewart, 2023; Hickey, 2012; Higgins & Mantie, 2013). Yet, as Larsson and Georgii-Hemming (2018) note, research on improvisation has traditionally focused on jazz, overlooking its wider educational applications. Their findings reveal that when improvisation is addressed in education, it often falls within structured, teacher-directed or free, child-directed frameworks, limiting its broader potential. This study seeks to “de-center Music” (Recharte, 2019) by positioning improvisation not solely as a musical technique but moving towards sound ways of sensing, knowing, and being in the world (Abramo, 2014; edwards, 2023; Hill, 2018; Thibeault, 2017).

Our research presentation explores improvisation not just as a musical practice but as a way of life (Nachmanovitch, 1990). This perspective frames improvisation to foster critical pedagogy, social justice, equity, and inclusion in education (Caines & Heble, 2015; Fischlin et al., 2013). Thus, improvisation is viewed as both a musical practice and a part of everyday life, enhancing teaching and learning approaches (Tomlinson & Germundson, 2007; Zorzi, 2020).

Presenters will share preliminary findings derived from interviews with seventeen Italian jazz musicians and educators, as well as eighteen practitioners from Canada, the UK, and the US. Inspired by Lucy Green's work, these thirty-five interviews explore how and in what ways improvisation can create dynamic, inclusive educational spaces. Key themes include listening, community, mistakes, and inclusion, which foster meaningful learning experiences. These insights, combined with our models and frameworks, may encourage music educators to reconsider their pedagogical approaches and highlight the transformative potential of improvisation for building an inclusive, inventive, and exploratory curriculum (Santi, 2010; Santi & Zorzi, 2016).