Constructing Communities of Scholarship in Music Education

Abstract

This article discusses how music educational communities can be a mixed blessing. One of their disadvantages is that they can ossify musical beliefs and practices. They may be so focused on traditional practices that insularity, closed-mindedness, and parochialism on the part of community's members may make it difficult to adapt when changing circumstances and contexts require alternative ideas and practices. While forged around shared purposes and methods, communities also need to foster specialized functions and segmented groups that arise in the midst of specific and differing interests. The interplay of these forces can energize the system and open creative possibilities between sometimes contradictory purposes and approaches. The challenge for organizations is to find a balance between these forces. The creation of an international framework or organizational structure for music education scholarship is also discussed.