Introduction: New focuses in research in music education.

Abstract

Research on music education is an area of study that started its journey in the early twentieth century in the USA, around the National Association for Music Education. The first meetings of music education teachers and researchers were organised through annual conferences, at which the initial focus was on essentially musical content, such as new ways of teaching and learning rhythmic aspects (Molnar, 1955). These early stages were also marked by the need for in-depth consideration of training of music teachers in primary and secondary education, conservatories and music schools. This opened a path to study areas of learning that could favour musical appreciation and sensitivity. The aim was to actively participate in the development of psychomotor process (acquiring skills), cognitive process (acquiring knowledge), and, in particular, affective process (receiving, internalising, and sharing what is learnt), which is undoubtedly one of the dimensions that to which music contributes most (Cox & Steven, 2016).