Postdoctoral research

Recent technological advances continually reshape the ways people engage with music, creating new opportunities for musical expression, interaction, and learning. Children growing up in today’s digital world are immersed in environments that constantly expand their musical experiences and preferences. As a result, ideas about musical practice are being redefined, gaining new significance through digital media and introducing new challenges for music education. These rapid changes necessitate the development of learning environments within a fundamentally different framework from traditional approaches.

This research focused on how learning environments emerge and evolve within the framework of the emerging theory of “Music Education 4.0”. The main objective was the design, development, and implementation of teaching scenarios for primary education that reflect the interdisciplinary perspective of the STREAM model (Science, Technology, Reading/wRiting, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics). The study explored the experiences of third- to fifth-grade primary school students, analyzing the integration of emerging technologies (music production practices, ubiquitous music computing, mobile computing, creative coding), immersive technologies (virtual and augmented reality), and artificial intelligence into music learning environments.

The practical intervention was implemented as a music club at Pierce – The American College of Greece elementary school and took place over three consecutive school years, with 30 weeks of intervention each year. The methodological framework was grounded in Design-Based Research, focusing on creating and continuously improving authentic learning environments. Students actively participated in activities that fostered creative expression, autonomy, self-regulation, sensory engagement, and collaborative problem-solving. They also developed computational thinking skills through the creative and innovative use of physical and digital tools in music teaching and learning processes.

The emerging theory of “Music Education 4.0” did not originate as a predetermined conceptual framework but was formed dynamically through a spiral process of design, implementation, and reflection. It thus constituted the ultimate outcome of the research process, proposing a pedagogically grounded and human-centered post-digital model for music education—a true paradigm shift aligned with the challenges and expanded possibilities of the contemporary digital musical landscape.

Design, development and implementation of STREAM teaching scenarios in primary music education.

The study used Design-Based Research, with successive cycles of design, implementation and reflection to continuously improve the learning environments.

“Music Education 4.0” emerged from the research practice and the successive implementation and refinement of the teaching scenarios.

The intervention took place in a music club at Pierce – The American College of Greece primary school, with students in grades 3–5. It lasted three consecutive school years, with 30 weeks of intervention each year.