During the EMU Forum, MusiQuE engaged in discussions and sessions aimed at enhancing the relevance of music and art schools in society, as well as advancing quality assurance:
- Asbjørn Keiding, member of the MusiQuE Board, participated in a plenary discussion on strategies for strengthening the societal impact of music and art schools.
- MusiQuE made significant contributions to sessions and working groups addressing quality in music school education. Helena Maffli, former MusiQuE Board member, reflected on MusiQuE’s impactful work in quality enhancement and shared examples of how it influenced the music education sector.
For EMU, the work of the MusiQuE Board, and in particular the development of the Pre-College Standards, has been crucial.
Subsequent group discussions, led by EMU Board members, delved into how well music schools across member countries currently integrate key themes of the MusiQuE revised standards into their schools. These topics include health & well-being, digitalisation, student roles in decision-making, and engagement with the social context.
The conversations focused on how these topics influence existing quality standards at member institutions. Participants deliberated on ongoing dialogues and potential plans for adapting standards to meet evolving educational needs.
Further, the lively discussions led to a variety of ideas, among which the need for a commonly accepted definition for ‘good music school education’, as well as the possibility that MusiQuE develop standards that go beyond pre-college education and support building a central vision, shared across borders, for creating high quality musical and artistic education and for training outstanding teachers. MusiQuE Standards for Institutional and Programme Reviews were revised last year and published on the website. MusiQuE is currently working on revising the Pre-College Standards, aiming for a comprehensive update with a particular emphasis on integrating health and well-being initiatives, addressing digital challenges, enhancing student (and parental) involvement in decision-making processes, and fostering institutional engagement with social contexts.
