Kelly Bylica, PhD
Educator, Scholar, Author
About Me
I'm a music educator, researcher, and teacher educator at Boston University, where I work with undergraduate and graduate students preparing to become educators, researchers, and leaders in music education.At the heart of my work are questions about what education is for, what music can contribute to educational experiences, and how teachers might create opportunities for students to engage critically, creatively, and meaningfully with the world. Drawing on critical pedagogy and curriculum studies, my research explores how curriculum, policy, and teaching practices shape the experiences of students and educators.Originally from Chicago, I began my career teaching general and choral music in elementary and middle schools, alongside work in community-based youth music programs. These experiences continue to shape my approach to scholarship and teaching, particularly my commitment to connecting educational theory with the realities and possibilities of classroom life.
Project-Based Teaching and Learning in Music Education
Cultivating Purpose and Presence
How might music educators create learning experiences that are meaningful, collaborative, and responsive to the students and communities they serve?Coauthored with Jonathan Edan Dillon, the book explores project-based teaching and learning as a way for educators to (re)claim a sense of purpose and presence in their work. Bringing together critical scholarship, practical examples, and reflective prompts, the book invites music educators across grade levels and settings to reimagine what might be possible in and through music education.
Selected Scholarship
My scholarship explores questions of curriculum, policy, and the purposes of music education, with particular attention to how educators navigate the possibilities and constraints of their work. The publications below offer a selection of these ongoing inquiries.
JOURNAL ARTICLES
Walking on Eggshells: Music Educator Perceptions of Agency in Times of Surveillance and Divisive Concept LawsBylica, Hawley, & Lewis · Arts Education Policy Review · 2024
Crossing Borders and Taking Risks: Supporting the Music Teacher as Policy PractitionerBylica & Schmidt · Arts Education Policy Review · 2021
Teaching in a Time of Crisis: Pedagogical Creativity in Music EducationBylica & Bauman Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education · 2022
Resistance Discourses in U.S. Music Education Curricular ReformPhilosophy of Music Education Review · 2026
Entangled Voicings: Rethinking Voice, Reflexivity, and Discomfort in Qualitative InquiryQualitative Inquiry · 2026
Preservice Teachers as Policy Actors: Developing Policy Consciousness in a Student-Led Arts Partnership ProgramJournal of Music Teacher Education · 2023
Examining the Nature and Function of Rules in the Music ClassroomBernard & Bylica · Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education · 2025
Hearing My World: Negotiating Borders, Porosity, and Relationality through Cultural Production in Middle School Music ClassesMusic Education Research · 2020
Singing Social Change: An Investigation of Two U.S. Children's ChorusesBylica & Bernard · Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education · 2024
BOOK CHAPTERS
Coming into Presence: The Challenges and Possibilities of Democratic Music EducationThe SAGE Handbook of School Music Education · 2024
Space to Play: Gender, Discourse, and Liveable Lives in Popular Music EducationSimpson & Bylica · The Oxford Handbook of Gender and Queer Studies in Music Education · 2026
Cultivating a Purpose-Driven Composition Pedagogy in General MusicThe Oxford Handbook of Music Composition Pedagogy · 2024
Get in Touch
I welcome opportunities for scholarly collaboration, conversation, and connection around music education, curriculum, and teaching.