Paul Doerksen

Dr. Paul F. Doerksen is a Professor of Music Education at Duquesne University. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Western Washington University, a Master of Music in Instrumental Conducting from Northwestern University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Music Education from The Ohio State University. Dr. Doerksen also holds a Diploma of the Faulty of Fine Arts in Music from The University of Calgary, with a specialization in Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble.

At Duquesne, Dr. Doerksen works with pre- and in-service teachers in the areas of instrumental music education, K-12 school music curricula, and assessment of music learning. Prior to Duquesne, Dr. Doerksen was on the faculties of the University of Oregon and Ball State University. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Dr. Doerksen began his teaching career in the public schools as Director of Bands in the Tukwila (Washington), Federal Way (Washington), and Corvallis (Oregon) School Districts. While teaching in Federal Way, Dr. Doerksen also conducted the Federal Way Community Band.

Dr. Doerksen is an active clinician, guest conductor, and adjudicator-traveling extensively to present at conferences such as College Music Society, College Band Directors Association, Society for Music Teacher Education, American String Teachers Association, Instrumental Music Teacher Educators, National Association for Music Education, Desert Skies Symposium on Research in Music Education, and International Symposium on Assessment in Music Education. Among his recent publications are The Use of Student Assessment in Music Teacher Evaluation: Consequences, Perceptions, and Recommendations (in Context Matters: Selected Papers from the Sixth International Symposium on Assessment in Music Education, GIA, 2018); Curricular Frameworks in Preservice Music Teacher Education (in The Oxford Handbook of Preservice Music Teacher Education in the United States, Oxford University Press, 2020); A National Study of Required Student Growth Measures in Teacher Evaluations: Perceptions and Recommendations of PK-12 Public-School Music Educators (in Advancing Music Education through Assessment: Selected Papers from the Seventh International Symposium on Assessment in Music Education, GIA, 2020); and a co-authored chapter, Measuring Professional Dispositions in Preservice Music Educators (in The Oxford Handbook on Assessment Policy and Practice in Music Education, Oxford University Press, 2019).

Supporting local arts-education organizations, Dr. Doerksen recently served on the Teacher Advisory Committee of the Pittsburgh Youth Chorus, and currently serves as President of the Board of Directors for the Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestras.

• Ph.D., Ohio State University
• Diploma of the Faculty of Fine Arts in Music, University of Calgary
• M.M., Northwestern University
• B.M.E., Western Washington University

View C.V.

• Music Teacher Education
• Instrumental Music Methods
• School Curriculum Development
• Assessment Policy & Practices