Debra Hedden

EdD The University of Northern Iowa; MA The University of Northern Iowa; BM The University of Iowa

Debra Hedden, professor of music education, received a BM in music education from the University of Iowa, an MA in music education from the University of Northern Iowa, and an EdD in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis in music education from the University of Northern Iowa. She has been recognized as an outstanding teacher in Iowa by MENC and IMEA, named in MENC's Teaching Music, October 2000 and received various teaching awards at UNI.  She recently received the Byron Shutz Excellence in Teaching Award given to one KU faculty member annually. 

At KU, Hedden teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in music education and founded the KU Youth Chorus (KUYC) in which both undergraduates and graduates work with her in conducting weekly choral rehearsals.  She is the director of music education and supervises all student teachers/interns. 

In October of 2010, she served as a curriculum consultant for the Vilnius Pedagogical University (now the Lithuanian University of Education Sciences) in Vilnius, Lithuania. In 2012 she received a Fulbright Scholar Award to return to Lithuania to serve as a curriculum consultant, to teach music education courses, and to conduct research in music education at the Lithuanian University for Educational Sciences in Vilnius. In the fall 2015 she received a second Fulbright, the Senior Specialist Award, for work with the undergraduate methods students at Lithuanian University of Education Sciences and collaborate on research with the chair of the music department at LUES, Dr. Asta Rauduvaite.

Publications to her credit include the following:  Journal of Research in Music Education; Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education; Music Education Research; Update: Applications of Research in Music Education; The Choral Journal; The Australian Journal of Music Education; The Orff Echo; General Music Today; Children and Music: Developmental Perspectives; Contributions to Music Education; Teaching Music; and The Music Educator's Journal. Hedden has given presentations at various international and national conferences such as Festival 500: The Phenomenon of Singing in Newfoundland; Research in Music Education Conference in Exeter, England; College Music Society; International Society for Music Education; the Mountain Lake Colloquium; the Syllabus Conference; the Second National Symposium on Music Instruction Technology in Florida; the National Association for Music Education Conference; the American Choral Directors North Central Conference the International Music Education Research Symposium in Tasmania; and a host of state conferences in Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Texas, and Arizona.  She has also conducted classroom teaching via video teleconferencing and distance learning systems to the University of Western Australia, Arizona State University, and several conferences with IUPUI in Indianapolis.  Presentations at various institutions in China, Kazakhstan, and Australia are also to her credit.  In addition, she has conducted numerous choral festivals in Kansas, New York, Wisconsin, and Iowa.

In terms of service, Hedden has served as Chair of MENC's Society for General Music, as a member of the editorial board for the Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education and the Journal of Music Teacher Education.