Pluralism and Music Education Research: An Introduction to the Text; Jay Dorfman and Diana Dansereau.- A Path Toward Methodological Pluralism: Revisiting the Paradigm Conflicts of the 1980s through Today; Chad West.- What if Dewey Won? Forwarding Social Inquiry in Music Education; Susan Wharton Conkling.- Passion, Tensions and Quality in Research Questions; Linda Thornton.- Considering Pluralism through the Lens of Integral Research; Diana Dansereau.- Research Realities: Embracing the Complexity of Expressive-Creative Learning and Teaching; David Myers.- Identity, Legitimacy, and Language: Subtleties of Music Education Research in the Non-Singular World; Nasim Niknafs.- The Bleeding Edge: Technology in Pluralistic Music Education Research; Jay Dorfman.- The Multiple Roles Required to Conduct High-Quality Quantitative Research; Robert Woody.- Superdiversity in Music Education; Brent C. Talbot.- Uncovering Tracks and Envisioning Directions on a Pluralist Research Path; Diana Dansereau.- Researching the “Real” World of Music Education; Roger Mantie.- Professional and Personal Reflections on a Mixed Methods Journey; Kate R. Fitzpatrick.- Graduate Student Reflections, Reactions and Experiences on Mixed Methods Research; Kristin Mozeiko & Jason Rummel.- Becoming a Mixed Methods Researcher: Successes, Failures, and Lessons Learned Along the way; Chad West.- Seeing Things for the First Time: A Personal Narrative on Technology in Music Education Research; Jay Dorfman
This volume examines pluralism in light of recent music education research history and pluralistic approaches in practice. Pluralistic research holds the potential to blend frameworks, foundations, methods, and analysis protocols, and leads to a sophisticated understanding of music teaching and learning. This blending could take place in a range of contexts that may span an individual study to a lifelong research agenda. Additionally, pluralistic ideals would guide the addressing of questions as a community. The volume also illuminates the work of innovative music education researchers who are constructing pluralistic research studies and agendas, and advocate for the music education profession to embrace such an approach in order to advance shared research goals. The ramifications of this transformation in music education research are a subject of discussion, including the implications for researcher education and the challenges inherent in conducting and disseminating such research.