The Formation of the Australian Arts Education Practice and Research Special Interest Group (AEPR SIG)

The Arts Education Practice and Research (AEPR SIG) is a special interest group in the Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE). AARE is a national organisation for researchers and educators and plays a critical role in supporting and strengthening major research partnerships and networks for the Australian educational research community. The AEPR SIG is a relatively new group within AARE and reflects the commitment of teacher educators working in the arts to strengthen their voice at the national/international level. This paper provides an overview, through narratives from the three co-convenors, of the AEPR SIG’s purpose, their collaborative approach, and the overall impact it has made since its establishment in 2011 and thus benchmarks its development to date.