Effective partnership working in music education: Principles and practice

Abstract

Successful partnerships between policy makers and deliverers, providers and recipients can be both strategic and operational. Partnerships can operate in several different ways at the same time. Joint programmes achieve more than each organization or individual can achieve separately. The impact on children and young people can be profound if the quality of musical experiences provided is high; and there is benefit to young people, their families, musicians and teachers, the whole school and the community. Effective partnership working takes account of context; requires good communication, time, leadership, mutual trust, clarity of roles and responsibilities, and the support of senior management. Training needs must be identified and addressed. Planning, monitoring and evaluation are crucial and a shared ethos and sense of purpose are essential. The article draws on evidence for effective partnership working in music education and concludes that young people can access a more meaningful and worthwhile music education programme if the strengths of different partners are effectively harnessed and deployed. Practical suggestions are offered.

Teacher and student perspectives on one-to-one pedagogy: practices and possibilities

“…For this reason, throughout the larger research project of which this study is a part, the research team was eager to foster a sense of partnership, encouraging teachers in particular to adopt a degree of ownership and control of the research direction. The researchers have prioritised open communication, trust-building and identification of clear roles and responsibilities – all hallmarks of beneficial partnerships in music education itself (Hallam, 2011). By working with and for , rather than simply on or about , teacher-participants in this way (Carey et al ., 2012), it was also hoped the research design would limit teacher scepticism and reluctance to participate in research on one-to-one that has been observed in the context of other research projects (Gaunt, 2008, 2011).…”

One-to-one pedagogy: Developing a protocol for illuminating the nature of teaching in the conservatoire

“…Thus, the consideration of ‘voice’ was the primary driver of the decision to work with teachers not just as research subjects, but as active participants in designing and implementing the research. In this regard, Hallum’s (2011) observations on the nature of beneficial partnerships in music education might be invoked to suggest characteristics of effective partnerships between the researchers and teacher-participants: among other things, they are built on good communication, time, trust, and clear roles and responsibility; they take account of context; and they result from careful planning and evaluation.…”

Professional collaboration in the Wider Opportunities instrumental programme

“…Neither of these studies made detailed reference to collaboration. A study by Hallam (2011) on partnership working in music education concluded that young people can access a more meaningful and worthwhile music education programme if the strengths of different partners are effectively harnessed and deployed well (2011, abstract).…”

“…The term 'partnership' was referred to in the Bamford and Glinkowski (2010) study and by Hallam (2011) and is a theme that has been evident in several government publications.…”

“…This study provided a broader picture of collaborative practices in the Wider Opportunities programme and supported the previously quoted evidence identified by Bamford and Glinkowski (2010) that there should be more collaborative planning and shared delivery. It also found that the strengths of the different partners through partnership working (Hallam, 2011) were not being successfully combined.…”