How Informal Learning Improves Music Education
16th September 2026
This week, I spoke with Dr Anna Mariguddi about her recent publication, ‘Informal Learning in Music Education: Exploring Theory in Practice’. The book traces the development of informal learning in music education through the means of two research projects, exploring how the phenomenon has been understood, implemented and experienced.
The research traces the evolution of informal learning in music education, explored within the context of the Musical Futures approach. Two projects were conducted, pre- and post- pandemic, seeking to tell the story of informal learning as it became adapted in practice over time. The first project included in-depth case studies of secondary schools in England where informal learning was being facilitated, plus interview data from key figures relating to the development and promotion of the approach. The second project included interviews with music educators who facilitated the approach in primary schools, secondary schools and international contexts.
The research has generated several key findings, including the main benefits and affordances for students (for example, increased agency, resilience, inclusion, accessibility and collaboration). Some of the challenges of facilitating informal learning in practice have also been noted (increased teacher risk, negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, external pressures, and a lack of resources). Anna’s research discovered that informal learning has become adapted (and sometimes misconceived), and that educators often adopt a blended and balanced pedagogical approach in practice. Musical Futures can act as a translator between Green’s original theory and teacher practice, but it was proposed that the pedagogy has more recently evolved beyond the original ‘informal learning’ terminology.
The research is important and relevant for anyone with an interest music education. The book illuminates some of the complexities of music education, in addition to touching upon important elements associated with classroom music lessons, such as student motivation, authenticity, inclusion and the role of the teacher.
I asked Anna about her background and the kinds of research she carries out:
‘As a secondary school teacher, I had noticed a positive change in student motivation when I welcomed popular music into classroom music lessons. However, as an NQT (as it was called in those days), I often reproduced the formal practice that I had experienced as a musical learner. When I encountered Green’s theory of informal learning during the early days of my PhD study, I experienced a lightbulb moment and have enjoyed exploring how the pedagogical approach is facilitated in practice ever since.
In the final chapter of the book, implications for practice have been offered, including suggestions for policy-makers, music educators and students. New terminology and a model have been proposed, grounded in the research findings, to more closely capture and represent how informal learning is currently implemented in contemporary music education: ‘a pedagogy of formal-informal equilibrium’. Overall, the book aims to highlight the value of informal learning in music education and promote the sustainability of the pedagogy, as part of a balanced approach.’
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Written by Kerry Bunkhall – Research Manager for Music Mark
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