The Music, Gender and Education Conference was organised jointly by Women in Music and Bristol University and held as a weekend event with contributors from a wide field of working contexts and interests in music education. The group of papers which follows is indicative of the breadth of standpoints and approaches to research which were represented.

The GCSE was greeted by many teachers and educationists as a major reform in music education. A survey of students who proceeded to advanced musical study since taking the examination has revealed less enthusiasm. Whilst appreciating its practical and creative character, the majority perceived the GCSE as an inadequate preparation for the demands of subsequent courses, particularly A-level. The survey also reveals a mismatch between the broad and balanced view of music which the GCSE seeks to promote and the somewhat narrower view of the subject held by many students.

In January, as we were in the final stages of putting together this issue of BJME, we learned of the death of Dick Addison. He was among the first in this country to produce books on children's musical creativity and the impact of his work in music education was very widely felt. Andrew Cresswell writes:

The article explores reasons for the absence of women from the world of professional music making. The processes of women's music making are examined, especially oral transmission, communal creation and ownership, its relation to everyday living, and holistic approaches to its role in education. These are illustrated by examples drawn from composers such as Hildegard of Bingen and Clara Schumann, and traditional sources, together with education and good practice in a variety of areas.

The article contains the results of a survey (1991) into electro-acoustic music studios and courses in higher education in the UK. Not only is there an ever-increasing profile of information technology in music, but also unprecedented speed and scale of advances in music technology which question not only what is taught, but how. By surveying the state of the nation's studios and courses, the authors seek to suggest strategies for future studio- and course-design that take into account these rapid developments as well as the fast growing demand for studio access and tuition.

The articles in this Issue of the BJME are all focused on the education of music teachers, though from different parts of the world. Betty Hanley, writing from Canada, is concerned especially with students' involvement in their own learning and with the development of student competencies and the ability to be critical; while another Canadian colleague, Hugh Johnston, investigates the importance of feedback and peer-assessment in teacher education, with special reference to acquiring the skills of rehearsing and directing performance groups.

In our efforts to break the vicious circle of gender inequality in the culture of the classroom, we need to pay attention particularly to the implications for music of the statutory requirements for Equal Opportunities in schools, and also to those elements of teacher training that will equip musicians to deal with this aspect of the curriculum. The author emphasises the importance of teaching from a feminist standpoint, wherever possible using examples of women's music for analysis and for historical and ethnomusicological studies. Possibly the most problematic area – and one that now clearly needs research – is the identification of a female aesthetic in the repertoire of music for study and performance.

Research about the delivery of music teacher education programs indicates a number of areas which should be addressed. The report below describes innovative practice in an advanced elementary methods course at the University of Victoria, British Columbia. In Music Education 306, theory and practice were connected through student-directed discussions of foundation issues; the development of personal musical competencies; observation, teaching in the schools, and reflection on practice; the challenge to examine issues critically; and student involvement in the planning of their own learning and assessment. Excerpts from student reflections illustrate some of the learning which occurred.

Schmidt (1975) postulates that motor skills are learned as schemas, which should be better learned if built up from experiencing a wide variety of actions. This variable practice hypothesis is tested in teaching string pupils selected skills, namely the ability to control loudness, tempo and intonation. Results suggest a positive conclusion in the first two instances, but are more ambivalent in the third. There is some discussion of the implications for developing effective practising skills, to help learning become more productive and interesting, and in the application of such skills to the goal of musical and expressive performance.

The encouragement of aural methods should be basic to any fostering of musical experiences and understanding. This basis has been lost in European formal music education largely because of the all-pervading influence of musical literacy. Efforts to retain some importance for the aural experience through examinations have mostly been unsuccessful. If music is primarily an aural experience, then it is this that should govern the work of teachers at all times. A case is presented for both class and instrumental teachers to recognise the importance of psychomotor skills and the value of imitative methods for all pupils, enabling improvisation on all instruments. The argument draws on some examples of teaching and learning from other cultures.

This paper will examine the wide variety of musical needs which manifest themselves in the relatively small community of Worcester College of Higher Education. The various ways in which these needs are met will be discussed. Contacts with groups and individuals outside College will be considered, as will the role of the local media in both providing information on College activities and acting as a stimulus for further development within College.

The essay sets the context and identifies some possibilities this music educator/feminist theorist currently finds in music, whilst applying the framework of sociologist Dorothy Smith's standpoint feminism to music as constituted within the ideology of particular institutions and practices. Contributions of feminist musicology, in terms of documentation of women's experience in and with music, women's status, and perspectives of feminist music criticism, are summarized. Considering these contributions and framework as a basis to this contextualized critical stance leads to further questions. For example, just as feminist musicology provides music education with the possibilities of new content, is it not likely that feminist criticism in music education could assist musicology in coming to terms with making musical sense, collectively, through cultural institutions? In beginning to work with such a question of criticism, it is suggested that institutional issues of power, as played out through who teaches and sexual harassment of student, are evident and require attention.

Ghana, a former British colony, has, since 1987, embarked on a massive programme of educational reform. With regard to music education, there seems to be a conflict of opinions and objectives; between those of the curriculum planners on one hand, and the music teachers on the other. This paper examines recent literature on this topic, together with current debates about how music is to function at the basic level in the new system.

Many women have led successful lives as professional musicians, but their contributions to our cultural heritage have largely been ignored. This article describes a project, at the University of Huddersfield, designed to redress the balance by systematically presenting the case for the work of women composers to be recognised in the University's History of Music courses and Compositional Studies lectures.

Recent national and international documents dealing with education and the arts have attributed poor teaching of music in primary schools to inadequacies in the training of primary teachers. The most frequently reported problems associated with the training of teachers in music education were students' lack of confidence and their low musical ability.

Against this background, a study was undertaken to examine further the extent to which participation in a music education course during pre-service training advanced the musical skills, music teaching ability, musical sensitivity, and attitudes towards music of students who become general primary teachers. It was hypothesised that the quality of music education was influenced by the multi-dimensional interactions of a range of factors. These included: attitude towards music and to music education; musical achievement; the classroom learning environment; students' preferred learning styles and their previous musical background. This paper reports data on these factors and the influence of preservice training on attitudes to music and to music teaching.

The investigation confirmed general primary pre-service teachers' low perception of their competence and confidence as music teachers, and established that any limited gains in music and music teaching skills were offset by their enjoying and valuing music and music education less. Causal explanations for the findings are discussed and a model of music education is proposed both as a further means of interpreting the data and a basis for the potential re-focussing of the music curriculum.

This article grew out of a study of four preservice teacher education courses available in New South Wales for the secondary music specialist. Although the secondary syllabuses prescribe an integration of the activities of performing, composing and listening, tertiary teacher education courses are for the most part are based on the conservatoire model that compartmentalises aural, performing and musicology studies and almost entirely neglects composition. There also appears to be a lack of knowledge of and interest in general teacher education trends and their application to the above courses. It seems that the general structure of these curricula is out of step with current research in music and teacher education and desperately needs reviewing as we continue to produce teachers that perpetuate the model, both in high schools and at a tertiary level.

Amongst the most fascinating discoveries made in recent years was the identification of the Egyptian songstress Iti (2450 BC) as the first woman composer to have been mentioned by name in musical history. This paper examines the status of professional women musicians in Ancient Egypt, their role in society and their contribution to various aspects of life and death. Reviewing the range of styles, practices and variety of instrumental and vocal ensembles in which women took part as composers, performers and instructors, the author traces the development of a musical tradition which would appear to throw light upon some long standing prejudices, and to have important implications for music education in multi-cultural schools today.