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Imagination in Educational Theory and Practice: A Many-sided Vision
Editor: Thomas William Nielsen, Robert Fitzgerald and Mark Fettes
Date Of Publication: Jul 2010
Isbn13: 978-1-4438-2142-1
Isbn: 1-4438-2142-X
Inspired by papers developed for the 6th International Conference on Imagination and Education: Imaginative Practice, Imaginative Inquiry (Canberra, Australia, 2008), this book connects a cross-section of educators, researchers and administrators in a dialogue and exploration of imaginative and creative ways of teaching, learning and conducting educational inquiry.

Imagination is a concept that spans traditional disciplinary and professional boundaries. The authors in this book acknowledge diverse theoretical and practical allegiances, but they concur that imagination will play an essential role in the building of new foundations for education in the 21st century. From our conception of human development through our ways of educating teachers to the teaching of mathematics, they argue for the centrality of imagination in the realization of human potential, and for its relevance to the most urgent problems confronting our world.

Introduced by a wide-ranging literature review and extensively referenced, this volume makes an important contribution to a rapidly expanding field.

Thomas William Nielsen is Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education, University of Canberra, Australia, and a long-standing Associate, Visiting Scholar and University of Canberra-branch coordinator of the Imaginative Education Research Group. Thomas is also working with several schools in Australia, aiming to increase student wellbeing and achievement through a ‘curriculum of giving’ (see curriculumofgiving.wikispaces.com).

Robert Fitzgerald is Associate Dean Research and Professor in the Faculty of Education, University of Canberra, Australia, and a founding member of the University of Canberra-branch of the Imaginative Education Research Group. In 2008 he co-directed the 6th International Conference on Imagination and Education with Thomas Nielsen. Robert’s current work is exploring the ways in which educational technology and social media afford opportunities to re-shape and expand educational experiences in both developed and developing countries.

Mark Fettes is Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University, Canada, and a founding director of the Imaginative Education Research Group. From 2004 to 2008 he directed the LUCID project, a research alliance that developed and evaluated imaginative, culturally inclusive approaches to teaching indigenous children in three school districts in British Columbia. Recently he has worked on extending this approach to the field of ecological, place-based education.

Price Uk Gbp: 44.99
Price Us Usd: 67.99

Sample pdf (including Table of Contents)

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Interesting reviews

From Navigating Music and Sound Education

“We rarely have the opportunity and time to engage with the practicalities of music teaching through the lens of evidence-based practice. This book provides us with a wonderful exception that is accessible to beginning and established teachers. It contains a wide range of stimulating and thought-provoking material that draws on real-world experiences and events, which are contextualised, informed and structured by theory. This is a powerful combination that we can visit again and again for insight and inspiration. Congratulations to all involved, particularly the editors for shaping such a valuable contribution!”
—Professor Graham F. Welch, University of London; President, International Society of Music Education

“Navigating music and sound education draws together a range of issues increasingly acknowledged to be at the basis of reflective and effective music learning and teaching: social settings, cultural dimensions, gender, indigeneity, varying cognitive approaches, inter-disciplinary connections, technology, types of learning, and creativity. It opens up areas of pedagogy that go beyond classroom methodology to acknowledge student individuality and encourage music learning and teaching grounded in the reality of students’ musical and social lives. It will be invaluable for those training to become educators and for teachers already in the field.”
—Associate Professor Peter Dunbar-Hall, University of Sydney

“This book brings an important contribution to music teacher education as it challenges the readers to rethink their paradigms of music education. It highlights the importance of preparing a reflective teacher, autonomous, creative and conscious of the multifaceted and multicultural locus in which they will work. The book also draws on the importance for music teachers to consider the context in which they work, and establish a dialog between local musical traditions, informal music practices and global trends of music teaching and learning. Most importantly, all chapters are in one way or another derived from research carried out on specific areas, thus stressing the importance of the research informed practice in music education.”
—Professor Liane Hentschke, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; International Society of Music Education Immediate Past President

Many readers will appreciate Steve Dillon and Kathy Hirche’s description of the future of education in their work with dynamic technological contexts.

Navigating Music and Sound Education is a wonderful guide and resource for pre-service music teachers, for teachers in the field, and for teacher educators.

It offers a range of fresh perspectives on the state of music education as it is and as it might be. Kari K Veblen

Navigating Music and Sound Education is an ambitious project which features current research from 20 individuals whose professional identities run the gamut from musician to songwriter to student to educator to music therapist to ethnomusicologist. The book’s scope is perhaps the most exciting aspect of Navigating Music and Sound Education.
Kari K Veblen
University of Western Ontario
British Journal of Music Education
October 2011