My Research Interests:

• Inclusive Education;
• Inclusive Music Education;
• Arts integration in the primary school;
• The social impact of music making;
• Effective teaching and learning in higher and professional education; 
• Music for health and wellbeing;
• Intergenerational music making;
• Ear-playing and vernacular performance practices;
• Choral conducting education, and instrumental tuition
• Educational Leadership

I have experience in Teaching and Learning in Higher and Professional Education in four countries (Ireland, UK, Greece, and Cyprus), and with undergraduate and postgraduate student musicians and pre-service teachers. I am currently Lecturer in Postgraduate Studies at Mary Immaculate College (MIC), Ireland, where I coordinate and teach on the Masters in Educational Leadership. I am also a Visiting Professor at the University of Macedonia, Greece, where I teach on a MA in Music and Society and I supervise MA dissertations. Before joining MIC I worked as a Senior Lecturer in Music at Canterbury Christ Church University, UK, where I designed and led a Pathway on Music Education, Health and Psychology for seven years. The modules of the Pathway focused on preparing student musicians for diverse, portfolio careers in music. Between 2009 and 2012 I engaged in postdoctoral research in two high impact projects: 1. The ‘Music for Life Project’, which won ‘The Royal Society for Public Health Arts and Health Awards 2014’, for Research excellence; and 2. ‘Ear-playing in the instrumental lesson: an approach based on popular musicians’ learning practices’.

I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) in recognition of my achievements in designing and delivering high quality teaching experiences and in supporting the students’ learning and employability. I hold a Ph.D in choral conducting education from UCL - Institute of Education, UK, funded by the A. Onassis Foundation. I have also set up and conducted children’s choirs in schools and in the community. My research spans the intersection of active music making, health and wellbeing; and creative approaches to learning at school, the community and beyond, such as informal learning and playing by ear. Ultimately, motivation for my research derives from my belief that musical experiences can bring about positive change in the individual and the society. I am currently researching inclusive music pedagogies. I have a passion for applied research and a strong and international research profile including interdisciplinary collaborations. I have taken leading roles in major international music education projects such as ‘Ethno Research’, and ‘Mapping the musical lifecourse: Advancing theoretical frameworks and methodologies for understanding emergent affordances, challenges, and constraints across the musical lifecours; and in UK projects such as the Greater London Authority Music Education Audit, and the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) Music education programme. I have also been invited by the Association of British Choral Directors (ABCD); by Sing Up Canvey Island to evaluate their music education programmes; and by Oily Cart to evaluation their sensory theatre projects. I am a co-author for the books Active Ageing with Music (2014) published by the IoE University Press and Contexts for Music Learning and Participation (2020) published by Palgrave.