Exceptional Music Pedagogy for Children with Exceptionalities

Exceptional Music Pedagogy for Children with Exceptionalities: International Perspectives offers readers in music education, music therapy, and music in special education communities a new, important, and globally-informed resource for effective music pedagogies in theory and practice. Volume editors Deborah Blair and Kimberly McCord have assembled here a collection of never-before-published chapters written by a diverse and international set of teachers and researchers in music education for children with exceptionalities. Each working outward from their own national perspectives, the chapter authors explore the histories of legislative initiatives, discuss the implementation of both mandates and teacher led creative strategies, and provide a vast array of pedagogical suggestions and scenarios that support teachers and communities who work with special learners.

Featuring rich descriptions of music teaching and learning approaches in concert with scenarios of how practices play out in the classrooms across the globe, the book gives readers the opportunity to learn from other global settings and, on this basis, to reflect and re-envision the ways that teaching and learning may be fostered in their own music classrooms or research settings. Chapters include U. S. and international special education law, social justice and disability in music, using the Orff Approach in inclusive and self-contained classes, assistive technology and use of innovative technologies to engage children and adults in active music making. In addition, the book offers novice and veteran teachers and teacher educators alike a sophisticated understanding of specific disabilities and strategies for music classroom teaching and learning.

Throughout, chapter authors provide theoretical frames with applications for practice that readers will be able to connect to their own educational contexts. With chapters from such diverse music education communities as Finland, Taiwan, Ireland, and Germany, the book adds important new perspectives. The authors and editors represent a wide range of pedagogical approaches for learners in a variety of contexts, and this book is an important, expansive collection of practical expertise, an invaluable resource to the special music education community across the globe.