How can the music education profession recruit, prepare, and support the teachers it needs for the future?

Stories of Change in Music Teacher Education offers answers. This practical and inspirational collection of true stories from educators across the country showcases how teachers are already responding to challenges in the profession with new ideas, approaches, and solutions.

Edited by Kathleen Melago and Jacob Berglin, this timely resource explores every stage of the music teacher journey.

• Part 1: Recruiting shares strategies for inspiring K–12 music students to enter the profession, with particular attention to reaching underrepresented students, community college students, and students in rural settings.
• Part 2: Training explores innovative approaches to collegiate music teacher preparation, including curriculum reform, accessibility and inclusion, and expanding musical experiences beyond traditional large-ensemble models.
• Part 3: Supporting addresses what teachers need to remain and thrive in the profession, including authenticity and belonging, mentorship, representation, supports for women, work-life balance, and sustainable career practices.

Written for music education majors, practicing teachers, music teacher educators, and administrators, this resource offers actionable ideas readers can adapt to their own settings while fostering a sense of connection to the larger community of educators working to create meaningful change.

Kathleen A. Melago is Professor in the Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Educational Leadership at Slippery Rock University (SRU). From 2009 to 2025, she served as Music Education Program Coordinator in SRU’s Department of Music, where she taught a wide range of music education courses and supervised field-experience students and student teachers.

Jacob A. Berglin is Assistant Professor of Music Education at Western Michigan University, where he teaches courses in choral music education and directs the Collegiate Singers. His scholarly interests include accessibility, diversity, and inclusion in music education, and he is active as a clinician, adjudicator, and guest conductor.

Contributors: Angela Ammerman, Matthew Arau, Tina M. Bennett, Jacob A. Berglin, Kimberly H. Councill, John Eros, Michelle Z. Gibson, Linda Voegler Granite, Alice M. Hammel, Martha Heise, Tonia Asel Kaufman, Erin Keeton-Howard, Victor Antonio Lozada, Gary Mayne, Whitney Mayo, Edward R. McClellan, Kathleen A. Melago, John Oelrich, Molly E. Perrin, K. Leslie Piña, Amanda Robinson, Mackie V. Spradley, Troy R. Thomas, Brittany Trotter