International Society for the Sociology of Music Education (ISSME) Governance Guidelines
1. Purpose and Vision
The International Society for the Sociology of Music Education (ISSME) provides a public forum for music educators and scholars at all levels of expertise and areas of specialization to share insights into their work through the lens of sociologically informed scholarship.ISSME members are committed to exploring and exchanging research, practices and ideas to examine the systemic, ideological and power relations that influence, and are influenced by, the macro- and micro-level socio-economic, cultural and political structures within societies.To support this mission, ISSME fosters international dialogue and collaboration encouraging the application of sociological questions to the diverse policies and practices of music teaching and learning worldwide.
2. Membership
All members connected to the ISSME community through regular attendance at ISSME symposia constitute the general membership of ISSME.
3. Steering Committee
The Steering Committee functions collaboratively and non-hierarchically. Contact ex-officio members with questions concerning respective responsibilities and contact any member of the Steering Committee with general questions or concerns.The committee comprises:Committee ChairCommittee Vice-ChairCommittee Past-ChairSymposium ChairSymposium Past-ChairISSME Symposium Review ManagerSymposium Publication Editor(s)Website and Social Media ManagerFinancial Oversight ManagerOrdinary Committee MembersEx-Officio Members
4. Duties
a) Committee Chair, Committee Vice-Chair, Committee Past-Chair • Coordinate, manage, and oversee all working functions of ISSME• Provide a discussion forum for issues concerning the operations of ISSME should they arise • Coordinate a general meeting during the Symposium in which all delegatesand interested attendees are invited. The Committee Chair (or delegate) willset the agenda with input from the Steering Committee, run the meeting,and distribute meeting highlights to membership. • Terms will be two years with an option to renew for a further two. TheCommittee Chair will move into the role of Committee Past-Chair. TheCommittee Vice-Chair will move into the role of Committee Chair. TheCommittee Vice-Chair will be determined by the membership at eachsymposium. In the event of a Chair resignation, the Vice-Chair will move toChair immediately.
b) Symposium Chair, Past-Chair • Coordinate, manage, and oversee all functions associated with thesymposium (e.g., theme, dates, schedule, program development, fees,advertising, accommodation details) • Collaborate with other organizations in Symposium planning (e.g. eitheravoiding or joining locations or dates) • The Symposium Chair (or delegate) will call Symposium business meetingswith the Steering Committee once a year and as needed, which shall include:setting the agenda; leading the Symposium business meeting; anddistributing meeting records to the Steering Committee • The Symposium Chair team will update the contact list to include currentSymposium delegates on the general membership • Terms will be two years. The Symposium Chair will move into the role ofSymposium Past-Chair. The Symposium Incoming Chair will move into therole of Symposium Chair. The Symposium Incoming Chair will be selectedfrom willing Symposium hosts and determined by the membership at eachsymposium.
c) ISSME Symposium Review Manager • Work with the Symposium Chair to draft a call for papers/presentations • Lead a team to review submissions from the Symposium call • Inform submitters of the results of the review team decisions • Work with the Symposium team to develop a Symposium programme.
d) Symposium Publication Editor(s) • Seek publishing opportunities for Symposium proceedings • This position has taken the form of guest editor for the ISSME special issueas invited by the editor for Visions of Research in Music Education (VRME);therefore, this position will liaise with the VRME editor at their invitation. • Maintain high ethical and professional standards in the content andpresentation of items published on behalf of ISSME. • This position is a two-year term beginning with the year of the Symposiumand ending with the subsequent Symposium. • The Publication Editor(s) will be selected from willing volunteers anddetermined by the membership at each symposium.
e) Website and Social Media Manager • Maintain and update the website, particularly with information related tothe Symposium(https://www.internationalsocietyforthesociologyofmusiceducation.com) • Handle all technical issues related to website functionality. • Promote Symposium calls for submissions and proceedings • Consult with Steering Committee on major proposed changes to websitefunctionality and social media presence that may diverge from existingpolicy or practice, or otherwise deserve consideration by and consensus ofthe Steering committee. • Coordinates with Steering Committee to develop web content that mayenrich and extend discussions begun in publications and at the Symposium. • Connect with the Financial Oversight manager to arrange payment of thewebsite platform as necessary. • Develop and maintain a repository of ISSME records via the google account(issme.contact@gmail.com) wherein we can store these (e.g. membershiplist, guidelines, meeting documents, Symposium planning documents) • Maintain high ethical and professional standards in the content andpresentation of items published on behalf of ISSME • This position is filled on a volunteer basis and is not restricted by terms ofoffice.
f) Financial Oversight Manager • ISSME has not implemented a dues structure; therefore, any Symposiumregistration fees will be collected by the institution hosting or through a hostregistration site (e.g. Eventbrite) and overseen by the Financial OversightManager. • Ideally the Financial Oversight Manager has access to and control of an institutional account at a bank, school district, or university, which can be sequestered for ISSME use. All revenue (for ISSME from any source) andexpenses (solely for ISSME projects and services) are to be received anddisbursed from that account. • The Financial Oversight Manager shall keep records of all revenue andexpenses, and will provide a basic revenue and expense report for review atthe Symposium general meeting.• Consult with the Symposium Chair to support payments for Symposiumexpenses. • Consult with the Website and Social Media Manager to coordinate paymentfor website platform. • This position is filled on a volunteer basis, approved by the SteeringCommittee and is not restricted by terms of office.
g) Ordinary Committee members• Attend meetings, contribute ideas, provide input for decision-making,support work in all areas related to ISSME tasks and responsibilities • There are no restrictions to the number of steering committee members.These seats are filled on a volunteer basis at the time of the Symposium andare not restricted by terms of office.
h) Ex-Officio members • Ex-Officio members serve as guides and resources for information,reference, and reminders
5. Operations: discussion, dialogue, and decisions • Steering Committee Meetings are held once year as well as when the needarises, in which notice and invitations are distributed through email usingthe most updated membership or Steering Committee list. • Issues/ideas can be brought to the Steering Committee by any of itsmembers at any time. • Committee Chairs are responsible to invite a discussion of issues/ideasthrough a forum in which all Steering Committee members or all generalmembers are invited to attend, as appropriate and desirable. • Decisions are arrived at by consensus, soliciting input from the generalmembership, as appropriate and desirable. • Any decisions/policies that affect the entire membership shall be announcedto the membership either through email correspondence or at theSymposium general meeting.
6. Additional Working Areas • Volunteers in each of the working areas of ISSME are under the leadership ofthe respective chair, editor or manager of the area.
2023-2025 Steering Committee Committee Chair: Jennifer Lang Committee Vice-Chair: Ailbhe Kenny Committee Past-Chair: N/A Symposium Chair: Carol Frierson-Campbell Symposium Incoming Chair: Alexandra Kertz-Welzel Symposium Past-Chair: Hector Vazquez CordobaI SSME Symposium Review Manager: Gareth Dylan Smith & William Coppola Symposium Publication Editor: Jennifer Lang Website and Social Media Manager: Gareth Dylan Smith Financial Oversight Manager: Jennifer Lang Ordinary Committee Members: Amy Catron, Edward McClellan Ex-Officio Members: Hildegard Froehlich
2025-2027 Steering Committee Committee Chair: Ailbhe Kenny - Ailbhe.Kenny@mic.ul.ie Committee Vice-Chair: Vacant Committee Past-Chair: Jennifer Lang – jennifer.lang@usask.caSymposium Chair: Alexandra Kertz-Welzel - A.KertzWelzel@lmu.de Symposium Incoming Chair: Vacant Symposium Past-Chair: Carol Frierson-Campbell - FriersoncampbellC@wpunj.eduISSME Symposium Review Manager: Edward McClellan - emcclell@loyno.edu Symposium Publication Editor(s): Gareth Dylan Smith – drumming@bu.edu Website and Social Media Manager: Austina Lee - austina.lee@uconn.edu & Gareth DylanSmith - drumming@bu.edu Financial Oversight Manager: Jennifer Lang - jennifer.lang@usask.ca Ordinary Committee Members: Amy Catron - acatron@colled.msstate.edu, amycatroncello@gmail.com, Drew X Coles - dxc2102@tc.columbia.edu, Ex-Officio Members: Hildegard Froehlich - HildegardFroehlich@my.unt.edu
Governance Consultation: June 2025 – April 2026 Final Governance Guidelines: 23rd April, 2026 Acknowledgements: MayDay Group Governance Document
