Leading and Supporting Music Education Worldwide
(Board Approved version, July 15, 2006)
ISME Mission
The International
Society for Music Education (ISME) believes that lived experiences of music, in
all their many aspects, are a vital part of the life of all people. ISME’s
mission is to enhance those experiences by:
-
building and
maintaining a worldwide community of music educators characterized by mutual
respect and support;
-
fostering global
intercultural understanding and cooperation among the world’s music educators;
and
-
promoting music
education for people of all ages in all relevant situations throughout the
world.
Core Values
To build and
maintain a worldwide community of music educators the ISME affirms that:
-
there is a need
for music education in all cultures;
-
effective music
education depends on suitably qualified teachers who are respected and
compensated properly for their work;
-
all teacher
education curricula should provide skills in and understandings of a selection
of both local and international musics;
-
formal and
informal music education programs should serve the individual needs of all
learners, including those with special needs and exceptional competencies; and
-
music education
programs should take as a point of departure the existence of a wide variety of
musics, all of which are worthy of understanding and study.
With respect to
international and intercultural understandings and cooperation, the ISME
believes that:
-
the richness and diversity
of the world's music provides opportunities for intercultural learning and
international understanding, co-operation and peace; and
-
in music
education everywhere, respect for all kinds of music should be emphasized.
In its promotion
of music education worldwide, the ISME maintains that:
-
access for all
people to music learning opportunities and to participate actively in various
aspects of music is essential for the wellbeing of the individual and
Society;
-
in teaching the
musics of the world, the integrity of each music and its value criteria should
be fully respected; and
-
access to music,
information about music, and opportunities to develop musical and related
skills can occur in a range of ways, that are essential in satisfying peoples’
diverse musical needs, interests, and capacities.
This statement,
formally accepted by the ISME Board on July 15, 2006, updates and builds on the
achievements of two previously approved policies:
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