MSCA - PostDoctoral Fellowships - Music Education and Social Impact: Service-Learning and Community Programs in Schools to Promote Social Inclusion

What are the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships?

MSCA Postdoctoral fellowships support the career development of researchers for enhancing their individual competence diversification in terms of skills at multidisciplinary level and intersectoral experience. The MSCA-PF grant provides a competitive salary plus mobility and family allowances if applicable, as well as research, training and networking costs. There are 2 subtypes: European Postdoctoral Fellowships (12 to 24 months of duration in Europe); and Global Postdoctoral Fellowships (12 to 24 months outside Europe –outgoing phase- plus 12 months in Europe - returning phase-).

What are the eligibility criteria?

• Hold a PhD at the call deadline (12/10/2021) and have 8 years maximum of research experience after the PhD.
• Mobility rule: the candidate must NOT have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the beneficiary (for European Postdoctoral Fellowships), or the host organisation for the outgoing phase (for Global Postdoctoral Fellowships) for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the call deadline.
• For European Postdoctoral Fellowships candidates can be from any nationality. For Global Postdoctoral Fellowship candidates must be nationals or long-term residents of EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries.
• Strong publication record with at least 5 publications as first author.

Description of the Research Group

The research group, named Education, Art and Society (EDARSO) focuses its core activity on educational research in contexts where music and art aims at social transformation. The analysis of artistic processes as an educational instrument in formal and non-formal contexts is crucial to be able to understand the role of education in our societies. Key aspects such as pro-social education, the study of artistic heritage and cultural participation, the concern for an egalitarian education and the inclusion of diversity, and education for peace are the main axes of our educational lines. At EDARSO we develop and implement artistic-social projects and study their impact on education. Since our group is composed of interdisciplinary researchers who are experts in education, music education and socio-community intervention, the studies we carry out aim to shed light on the educational dimension of participation in community initiatives in which art becomes a means for attaining students’ development.

Contact Person/Scientist in charge/Supervisor

• Name and Surname: Alberto Cabedo Mas, PhD.
• Email: cabedoa@edu.uji.es

Project description

Music education cannot live with its back turned to society, and in accordance with the UNESCO objectives for Arts Education in the 21st Century, the music classroom must be a space for facing contemporary social challenges. From this perspective, we seek to analyse educational programs which aim to build spaces of participation. Specifically, we focus in initiatives based on musical practice, in which actions of Service-Learning are promoted. Therefore, while learning music, students perform a service to society. Furthermore, we focus on community actions that are promoted by schools, in order to engage families and different community actors’ participation in the school activities.

The research that we conduct adapts mixed methods and combine qualitative and quantitative approaches to analyse different aspects of reality. Research instruments such as questionnaires, interviews and focus groups are used to investigate variables such as musical self-concept, motivation towards music, emotional competencies, attitudes towards school, diversity, solidarity, cohesion, cooperation and coexistence, attitudes towards gender equality, image of the centre, participation and involvement of families, satisfaction with the program and sense of belonging to the community.

All of this makes this project a multidisciplinary proposal where researchers from various fields have room: from music education, educational research, social work, psychology, musicology, etc. Furthermore, we welcome expertise in research methods in education, having possibility to include researchers with previous experience in either quantitative or qualitative analysis.

How to apply

Interested candidates are invited to contact by email (cabedoa@edu.uji.es and opei@uji.es) before 30^th August 2021 and provide the information below (Please, indicate in the email subject “MSCA-PF-2021_Music Education”):

• CV of the applicant (including the publications)
• Recommendation letters