This panel brings together multiple perspectives to explore how Taiwan is shaping the future of music teacher education through the interplay of policy, research, and practice. Responding to the conference theme of Music in Schools and Teacher Education: Curriculum, Assessment and Leadership, the panel situates music teacher education within broader social, cultural, and technological changes.1. IntroductionThe first researcher presents the Distinctive Features of Music Teacher Education in Taiwan as the introduction. The distinctive features of music teacher education in Taiwan, to name just a few, include the differentiation between elementary school classroom music teacher training and secondary school professional music teacher training, the progressing stages of pre-service teacher training- practicum - in-service professional development, the fact that teacher qualification examinations are led by official authorities and teacher recruitment examinations led by local governments…. In the aforementioned context, music teacher education in Taiwan has its own unique background, along with corresponding advantages and challenges. The following three presenters will, in sequence, each examine specific issues in music teacher training in depth from the perspectives of policy, research, and practice. 2. Policy-focused PresentationThe second researcher presents Taiwan’s Institutional Gaps in In-Service Music Teacher Education: Structural Challenges and Policy Implications. An enduring challenge in Taiwan’s music teacher education lies in the institutional gap between certified full-time teachers and part-time instructors. Full-time music teachers, who are few in number due to staffing quotas tied to approved subject categories, undergo rigorous preparation through teacher education programs, licensure examinations, and practicum. By contrast, the majority of music-making in schools—choirs, bands, orchestras, and arts-talent classes—relies heavily on hourly instructors. These practitioners, while musically proficient, often lack systematic pedagogical training and depend largely on experiential knowledge. This dual-track system exposes disparities in qualification, preparation, and compensation, generating long-term risks for the sustainability of music education. To address this, policy must not only regulate the supply of certified posts but also recognize and professionalize the large cohort of part-time instructors. Establishing targeted certification or professional development pathways, coupled with compensation structures that reflect the substantial hidden workload of rehearsals and performances, is essential. Bridging this institutional divide is critical for ensuring both equity and quality in Taiwan’s future music education.3. Research-focused PresentationThe third researcher presents Bilingual Music Teacher Preparation in Taiwan: Teaching Behaviors and Classroom Interactions in Pre-Service Education. As a locally trained music teacher who later transitioned into elementary teacher education at the university level, the researcher examines bilingual music teacher preparation in Taiwan. Although Taiwan promotes bilingual education as a policy to cultivate globally competent teaching, practical preparation for bilingual teachers remains limited. Drawing on her background as a non-native English speaker, the researcher shares the use of both Chinese and English in bilingual music courses for pre-service teacher education, focusing on teaching behaviors and teacher-student interactions. The study employs quantitative coding (interaction frequency, teacher-student speaking ratio, active-passive balance, and technology use) and qualitative analysis (bilingual support strategies, features of musical enactment, and characteristics of peer feedback) to illustrate how course design, language support, and technology integration collectively determine patterns of classroom interaction.4. Practice-focused PresentationThe fourth researcher presents Innovative Approaches to Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in Music Education: From Practice to Reflection. While digital technologies have significantly reshaped education, they have also introduced critical challenges to students’ attention and mental health. Despite strong academic performance, Taiwanese students lack sufficient policy and pedagogical support for social and emotional development. In response, the Ministry of Education launched the Medium-to-Long-Term Plan for Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), a five-year initiative (2025-2029). This study aims to integrate SEL into music curriculum by: (1) examining current instructional practices; (2) designing SEL music modules; and (3) reflecting on challenges during implementation. Adopting an action research approach, the study involves pre-service music teachers and elementary and secondary school teachers and students. Qualitative and quantitative data are collected and analyzed systematically. The findings are expected to reveal practices and challenges of SEL music curriculum, establish empirically grounded teaching approaches, and enhance pre-service teachers’ SEL competencies, offering references for sustainable implementation in Taiwan’s education system.5. Closing Remarks and ImplicationsThis panel brings together insights from multiple perspectives to provide a comprehensive picture of music teacher education in Taiwan, encompassing policy frameworks, empirical research, classroom practices, and future directions. It is advocated that future music educators should possess the competency of action research, enabling them to identify core educational issues and, through practice, implement discovered solutions, thereby returning to the essence of music education with students as the central subjects of learning. The panel thus seeks to foster dialogue with international colleagues, encouraging comparative reflections and the exchange of ideas on shaping the future of music teacher education.