Susan Hallam MBE
Emerita Professor PhD MSc BA FRAM Cert Ed CPsychol AFBPsS FRSA AcSS Hon FBPS
Susan Hallam is Emerita Professor of Education and Music Psychology at the Institute of Education UCL. She studied the violin at the Royal Academy of Music subsequently working as a professional musician with the BBC before studying for a BA in Psychology externally with London University. She later completed a MSc and PhD in the psychology of education at the Institute of Education London University where she became an academic in 1991. She was awarded an MBE for her services to music education in 2015, a lifetime achievement award by SEMPRE in 2017, a lifelong achievement Music and Drama Education Award in 2020, became an honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in 2023 and has honorary life membership of the British Psychological Society, the International Society for Music Education, and SEMPRE.
She has received extensive research funding from ESRC, government departments, major charities and Local Authorities. Her research interests include a range of psychological and educational issues, for instance disaffection from school, learning, homework, ability grouping, assessment and pedagogy, while in music she focused on the effects of music on a wide range of human activity across the lifespan and how the whole range of musical skills are acquired and maintained.
She has published extensively in academic and professional journals and in book chapters. She is author of a range of books relating to education in general and music education in particular including: Here today here tomorrow (with Caroline Roach) (1995); Homework: the evidence (with Lynne Rogers) (2018); Ability Grouping in Education (with Judith Ireson) (2001); Ability Grouping in Schools: a Literature Review (2002); Effective Pupil Grouping in the Primary School: a Practical Guide (2002); Improving behaviour and attendance at school (with Lynne Rogers) (2008); Instrumental Teaching: A Practical Guide (1998); The Power of Music (2014); Music Psychology in Education (2005); Preparing for success: a practical guide for young musicians (with Helena Gaunt) (2012); The Psychology of Music (2019); Contexts for Music Learning and Participation: Developing and Sustaining Musical Possible Selves (with Andrea Creech and Maria Varvarigou) (2020); and The Power of Music an exploration of the evidence (with Evangelos Himonides, (2020). She is editor of Practice makes perfect: Understanding the acquisition of musical expertise (2026); co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Psychology of Music (2009, 2016, forthcoming); Music Education in the 21st Century in the UK (2010); and The Routledge International Handbook of Music Psychology in Education and the Community (2021).
She has extensive experience in management roles as head of department and notably as Dean of the Faculty of Policy and Society at the Institute of Education, University of London (2007-2014). This included managing a budget in the region of £30 million, responsibility for 200 staff and representing the faculty at institutional meetings and the institution at external events when required. She was a subject reviewer and subsequently an auditor for the Quality Assurance Agency for higher education, has chaired sub-committees and been treasurer of various professional organisations including the British Psychological Society (BPS) and the British Educational Research Association (BERA). She has undertaken consultancy work for schools, local authorities and a range of charities. Her work has been reported in the print media and she has appeared on radio and TV relating to her research. She is a Chartered Psychologist; an Honorary Fellow of the BPS; Fellow of the Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education and became a Fellow of the Royal Society for the promotion of the Arts, Manufacturing and Commerce in 1996.