Book: Integrated music education: Challenges of teaching and teacher training

There is growing acknowledgment of the long-term academic and cognitive, socio-cultural and economic, and physical and mental health benefits that can arise from active engagement in the arts. Nevertheless, music and the arts are still among the first subjects that schools cut so they can balance their budgets, especially during a politico-cultural swing towards a “back-to-basics” education that focuses on “core” academic subjects. Against this challenge, educators and researchers have long tried to keep the creative arts in the curriculum, for example through initiatives such as STEAM, which aims to teach concepts in science, technology, engineering and mathematics through integrated arts and creative problem-solving activities.