Across Europe and beyond, performing arts education is asked to demonstrate its relevance for learners and society (Winner et al., 2013). While curricula and policy recommendations suggest that arts education is tasked with strengthening participation and social cohesion (UNESCO, 2024), little is known about what performing arts educators actually aim to achieve and why, and how policy and cultural contexts shape those ambitions. This study maps educators’ aims, motivations, and perceived challenges across countries and sectors, asking: (1) What aims and motivations drive performing-arts educators’ work? (2) How do policy or cultural contexts mediate democratic ambitions in performing arts education? 

Method

The study is part of the Horizon Europe project dialoguing@rts (d@rts) which aims to investigate how a dialogue-based and participative performing arts education advances cultural literacy, social cohesion and inclusion. We conducted 29 semi-structured interviews and seven group discussions with performing arts educators in music, dance, and drama from Norway, Finland, Italy, Germany, Serbia, Uganda, and New Zealand, who work in formal and non-formal educational settings. We coded the data following the qualitative content analysis approach by Kuckartz and Rädiker (2024), integrating deductive, theory-driven codes with inductive, data-driven codes, refining them in an iterative cycle.

Results

Preliminary results show that across countries, shared aims cluster around participation and community building, yet educators report pursuing them amid funding cuts and a polarized political public opinion. We anticipate completing analyses by early 2026 and we expect to offer practice-based insights on how music education can cultivate participation and social cohesion in diverse contexts—and what institutional supports are required.

This paper presents the formation of the Music Education 4.0 framework, which emerged as a local theory from a three-year Design-Based Research initiative conducted in a private elementary school in Greece. Through iterative cycles of design, implementation, analysis, and redesign, the study aimed to develop a coherent, human-centered, and post-digital perspective on music learning that integrates emerging and immersive technologies, artificial intelligence, and the pedagogical principles of STREAM education.

Cross-cycle analysis identified four interconnected dimensions of learning that accounted for students’ engagement and development—creative autonomy, collaborative problem-solving, computational thinking, and sensory-emotional immersion. These were underpinned by transversal mechanisms of learning through artifacts, embodied engagement, meta-narration, and mediated collaboration, which together functioned as analytic categories and design drivers for subsequent iterations. Building on these mechanisms, a coherent set of actionable design heuristics was established, including participatory co-creation and role rotation, multimodal making for public audiences, scaffolded progression with gradual fading, authentic tasks and process documentation, artifact-based assessment through co-created rubrics, and the cultivation of critical post-digital literacy.

Grounded in constructivism and constructionism, sociocultural theory, cognitive apprenticeship, pragmatism, conceptual change, and creative learning, Music Education 4.0 articulates a coherent set of design principles and practical heuristics for curriculum design, assessment, and classroom orchestration. The framework reconceptualizes the learner as an active agent and the teacher as a designer-researcher, positioning physical–digital hybridity as a catalyst for inclusive participation and deeper musical understanding.

In conclusion, the paper highlights implications for curriculum development—through the integration of making-centered, STREAM-aligned learning sequences—teacher education—through designerly inquiry and reflective iteration—and school-based innovation—by emphasizing scalable design patterns. It further outlines directions for the continued validation and contextual adaptation of the framework, contributing to broader discourses on participation, inclusion, and social cohesion in contemporary music education.

This paper aims to present and compare the public music education systems in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia. Particular emphasis is placed on their historical foundations, main characteristics and development prospects in the context of democratising music education. The analysis draws on the theoretical concepts of cultural democratisation (Dubois, 2012), community music-making (Veblen, 2007, 2012) and inclusive pedagogical practices (Burnard et al., 2008; Green, 2008). These frameworks emphasise accessibility, participation, and inclusivity, offering a means of examining regional systems.

Public music education in these countries began in the early 20th century and developed through a network of schools, later expanding to higher education in some countries. These systems' value lies in public funding: while modest tuition fees may exist, education is largely publicly financed and widely available, with active involvement of diverse social groups. However, the realisation of the ideal of music education for every child is still limited by socio-economic factors, parental/community support, and societal awareness of its value (Bačlija Sušić, 2018).

Methodologically, the paper draws on a comparative analysis of legal frameworks, cultural policy documents and scholarly sources. Despite organisational differences and transitional challenges, the analysis shows that public music education systems in the region have strong potential for development through curriculum modernisation, embracing digital teaching methods, and fostering international cooperation. Teachers and schools play a pivotal role in promoting cultural democratisation and inclusivity (Westerlund & Partti, 2018). The findings show that music schools’ engagement with communities through projects, festivals, and concerts enhances the vitality and social contribution of music education.

It can be concluded that music education in these countries is an important model of cultural democratisation, sustaining artistic vitality while promoting equal participation. The core values of accessibility, openness and inclusivity could form the basis for a more equitable music education approach across Europe.