Motherhood in the Music Education Academy

Motherhood profoundly affects the experiences of female-identifying parents within the academic sphere. Featuring contributions from twenty-nine authors in music education who are mothers, Motherhood in the Music Education Academy offers new insights into a diverse array of topics and issues from gender equity to care in education. Particular highlights of the book are the distinctive "moments to pause" sections including photos, quotes, brief reflections, and stories from the authors and their children.

Issues related to motherhood affect the experiences of women within the academy profoundly and inequitably. Music education--a field in which caring is innately embedded, and which grapples with field-specific musically related gender stereotypes and roles--presents an especially intriguing context for the exploration of motherhood and academia. In this edited collection, Kate Fitzpatrick-Harnish and Bridget Sweet include both scholarly and narrative perspectives on motherhood from a diverse group of authors, delving into a variety of topics such as theoretical perspectives on the intersections between motherhood and the academy, ways in which mothers in music education experience the promotion and tenure system, intersectional experiences of motherhood, motherhood at various stages of academic work in the field, and suggestions for actionable change within the academy. In amplifying the voices of mothers in the profession, Motherhood in the Music Education Academy provides a scholarly context for motherhood experiences in order to expand notions of motherhood, to embrace and celebrate often invisible caring work that women do in the music education academy, and to ultimately enhance the visibility of mothers in music education while provoking action that supports productive and positive change.