Cara Bernard

Associate Professor of Music Education

Expertise: Music Education, Curriculum, Teacher Evaluation and Policy, Qualitative Research, Choral Music Education, Critical Pedagogy

Curriculum and Instruction

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Academic Degrees:
Doctor of Education, Teachers College, Columbia University
Master of Education, Teachers College, Columbia University
Master of Music Education, Westminster Choir College
Bachelor of Science, Music Education, New York University

Biography:

Cara Bernard is Associate Professor of Music Education at the University of Connecticut in the Neag School of Education, where she teaches courses in choral and elementary methods, curriculum, and supervises student teaching. Her research areas of interest include music teacher evaluation and policy, teacher education, choral music education, urban music education, and diversity and access. She is the co-author of the book Teacher Evaluation in Music: A Guide for Teachers in the US, published by Oxford University Press. A 2022 University Teaching Fellow, Dr. Bernard was a recipient of the 2015 Outstanding Dissertation Award from the Council of Research in Music Education and the 2013 Yale Distinguished Music Educator Award. 

Dr. Bernard’s work has been published in Philosophy of Music Education Review, Bulletin for the Council of Research in Music Education, Visions of Research in Music Education, Action, Theory, and Criticism, Music Educators Journal, Arts Education Policy Review, Choral Journal, and Journal of Popular Music Education. She regularly presents at various international, national, and regional conferences. Currently, she serves on the editorial committees of Music Educators Journal, Arts Education Policy Review, Journal of Music Teacher Education, Journal of Popular Music Education, International Journal of Education and the Arts, International Journal of Research in Choral Singing, and serves as editor of Visions of Research in Music Education. Dr. Bernard has served on the CT State Education Department’s Arts Equity Incentive Committee and the National ACDA Diversity Initiative Sub-Committee, where she created policy, curriculum, and outreach to make the Arts accessible and equitable for all students. Currently, she is President of CT American Choral Directors Association.

As a clinician, Dr. Bernard has been invited by choral and music education organizations across the country to give workshops and lead festival performances for students and teachers. She has conducted, performed, and prepared choruses for performances at some of the most prestigious venues, from Carnegie Hall and the Apollo Theater to the Museum of Modern Art. Dr. Bernard was the director and conductor of the Count Me In program at Carnegie Hall, where she designed and implemented a vocal and choral curriculum for beginning-level middle school music students. Additionally, she worked with the Young People’s Chorus of New York City^™ in their School Choral Program, working with New York City public schools to bring a choral experience to over 1,000 children throughout the city. Prior to these appointments, Dr. Bernard enjoyed many years of teaching high school chorus, general music, and piano in the New York City public schools. Dr. Bernard holds degrees from Teachers College of Columbia University, Westminster Choir College of Rider University, and New York University.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Book
Bernard, C. F.& Abramo, J. M. (2019). Teacher evaluation in music: A guide for music teachers in the U.S.New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

Bernard, C. F., & Bylica, K. (in press). Everyday social change: The importance of daily actions in the choral setting. Choral Journal.

Bernard, C. F. (2024). Disciplinary literacy as curricular and instructional practice in music teacher education. Journal of Music Teacher Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/10570837241279021

Bylica, K., & Bernard, C. F. (2024). Singing social change: An investigation of two US children’s choruses. Bulletin for the Council of Research in Music Education, 240, 7-24. https://doi.org/10.5406/21627223.240.01

Bernard, C. F. (2024). “Epilogue: Succinctness is next to godliness.” Visions of Research in Music Education, 45. https://digitalcommons.lib.uconn.edu/vrme/vol45/iss1/10

Garrepy, S., & Bernard, C. F. (2024). “Nobody told me’: First generation music educators’ soundtracks to navigating the academy. Journal of Music Teacher Education.

Shaw, R. D., & Bernard, C. F. (2023). Appraising metropolitan arts partnerships with Ryan Shaw. Arts Education Policy Review. 1080/10632913.2023.2277941

Shaw, R. D., & Bernard, C. F. (2023). “Turning the prism”: School improvement and the arts. Arts Education Policy Review. DOI: 1080/10632913.2023.2212183

Bernard, C. F., & Shaw, R. D. (2023). Navigating local and state policy. In K. Salvador (Ed.), Divisive concepts in music education: A report. National Association for Music Education.

Bernard, C. F. Kaufman, D., Kohan, M., & Mitoma, G. (2023). edTPA implications for teacher education policy & practice: Representations of epistemic injustice and slow violence. Education Policy Archive Analysis, 31(40). https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.31.7597

Bernard, C. F., & Talbot, B. C. (2023). Music teachers’ experiences with implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion. Music Educators Journal. 109(3), 26–33. https://doi.org/10.1177/00274321231159652

Shaw, R. D., & Bernard, C. F. (2022). School culture change through the arts: A case study of the Turnaround Arts program. Arts Education Policy Review, DOI: 10.1080/10632913.2021.2023059

Rathgeber, J., & Bernard, C. F. (2021). A critical narrative of contemporary music education curriculum through Modern Band. Journal of Popular Music Education. https://doi.org/10.1386/jpme_00063_1

Bernard, C. F., & Rotjan, M. (2021). “It depends:” From narration sickness to wide awake action in music education. Submitted to Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, (20)1, 53-84. http://act.maydaygroup.org/it-depends-from-narration-sickness-to-wide-awake-action-in-music-education/

Bernard, C. F. (2021). Book review of Oxford Handbook of Philosophical and Qualitative Assessment in Music Education. Philosophy of Music Education Review, 29(1), 123-129.

Abramo, J. M., & Bernard, C. F. (2020). Barriers to access and university schools of music: A collective case study of urban high school students of color and their teachers. Bulletin for the Council of Research in Music Education, 226, 7-26.

Bernard, C. F., & Cayari, C. (2020). Encouraging participatory music making through differentiation on the ukulele. General Music Today, 34(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/1048371320926608

Bernard, C., & McBride, N. R. (2020). “Ready for primetime:” EdTPA, pre-service music educators, and the hyperreality of teaching. Visions of Research in Music Education, 35, 1-26. http://www-usr.rider.edu/%7Evrme/v35n1/visions/Bernard%20and%20McBride_Hyperreality%20Manuscript.pdf

Churchill, W., & Bernard, C. F. (2020). Disability and the ideology of ability: How might music educators respond? Philosophy of Music Education Review, 28(1), 24–46. 

Peer-Reviewed Book Chapters

Bernard, C. F., & Sturdevant, R. (in review). On windows, mirrors, and telescopes: Elementary general music perspectives on gender and sexuality. In N. McBride & C. A. Q. Sears (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of gender and queer studies in music education. Oxford University Press.

Bernard, C. F. (in press). Interrogating the paradox of female “empowerment” in the treble chorus setting. In M. Silverman & N. Niknafs (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of feminism in music education. Oxford University Press.

Talbot, B. C., & Bernard, C. F. (2023). An ethic of expectation surrounding the virtual ensemble. In K. Hendricks (Ed.), The Oxford handbook on compassion and care. Oxford University Press.

Bernard, C. F. (2023). A disciplinary literacy approach for high-ability learners in the performing arts. In J. VanTassel-Baska & C. Little (Eds.), Content-based curriculum for high-ability learners (4^th edition).

Bernard, C. F. (2022). Critical thinking, feeling, and action. In F. Abrahams (Ed.), A music pedagogy for our time: Conversation and critique. GIA.

Journal Articles
Bernard, C., Abramo, J., & Howard, E. (2021). Reaching English-language Learners in the music classroom. Teaching Music, 29(1), 18-22.

Bernard, C. F., Kohan, M., D. Kaufmann, Mitoma, G. (2019). Confronting the edTPA in Connecticut: Recommendations for Teacher Candidate Quality, Sustainability, and Empowerment. Education policy paper.

Bernard, C. F., & Abramo, J. M. (2019). “But that doesn’t work in music!”: A guide for productive dialogue in teacher evaluation. Massachusetts Music Educators Journal.

Curriculum

Bernard, C. F., & Shaw, R. D. (2023). Navigating local and state policy. In K. Salvador (Ed.), Divisive concepts in music education: A report. National Association for Music Education.

Bernard, C. F., Abramo, J. M., & Howard, E. R., (2022). A resource guide for implementing sheltered instruction for English Learners in Music.National Association for Music Education and Center for Applied Linguistics. https://nafme.org/my-classroom-standards-standards-based-resources/

Papoulis, J., & Bernard, C. F. (2020). The Jim Papoulis songwriting workshop for choirs. Hal Leonard: https://www.halleonard.com/product/357083/the-jim-papoulis-song-writing-workshop-for-choirs

FUNDED RESEARCH:
Bernard, C. F., & Abramo, J. M. (2018). Diversifying Music Educators: Creating Frameworks and Best Practices for Recruiting and Retaining Urban and Rural    Students and Students of Color. National Association for Music Education’s Research Projects on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Music Education ($9,999).

Bernard, C. F., & Abramo, J. M. (2017). Diversifying Music Educators: Creating Frameworks and Best Practices for Recruiting and Retaining Urban Students and Students of Color. Funded by the Dean’s Research Incentive Award, Neag School of Education ($4,334).