About Me

  • I believe that music learning is for all. However, learners experience the world and gain skills and knowledge in different ways. Embracing neurodiversity can help music educators ensure that all students, especially those who are neurodivergent, receive equitable access to music learning.

    I believe that the unique expertise of neurodivergent music educators should be at the forefront of this effort. By coming together as a community, we can better support each other and our students.

  • I am an Assistant Professor of Music Education at Augustana College in Rock Island, IL. I have ten years of experience teaching general music, primarily in urban and Title 1 elementary schools. I have also taught beginning instrumental music and middle school general music, as well as onsite programming at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and music enrichment classes for children with Down Syndrome at Gigi’s Playhouse Cleveland and Quad Cities.

  • I have two primary research areas:

    1. Qualitative exploration of the lived experiences of neurodivergent music educators, students, listeners, performers, and creators.

    2. Quantitative inquiry into the cognitive processes involved in music learning.

    Both of these areas contribute to understanding how to make music education work for all brains!

  • February 2026 UDL and Beyond for the Elementary General Music Classroom, Illinois Music Education Conference

    February 2025 Musical Stimming in Autistic Adults, Suncoast Music Education Research Symposium, Finalist for Emerging Researcher Award

    February 2025 (with Anetta Fortner) Music Learners on the Spectrum: Perspectives of Autistic Adults, Illinois Music Education Conference

    November 2024 Validation of the Pitch-Height Stroop Test: A Multidimensional Measure of Cross-Modal Correspondence, Poster Presentation, Neuromusic Conference

    October 2023 Enacting the Neurodiversity Paradigm in Music, Symposium on Music Teacher Education

    February 2023 Perspectives and Expertise of Secondary Music Educators with ADHD, Desert Skies Symposium on Research in Music Learning and Teaching

    February 2023 (Webber, Samantha & Hopkins, Erin J.) Music Access in Elementary Self-Contained Special Education, Desert Skies Symposium on Research in Music Learning and Teaching

    February 2023 Multiple Pitch Perspectives: A Cognitive Perspective, Ohio Music Educators Association Conference

    *Full CV Available Upon Request

  • Webber, S. C., & Hopkins, E. J. (2025). An examination of access to music education in elementary self-contained special education classrooms in Ohio. Contributions to Music Education, 50, 141–157.

    Hopkins, E. J. (2024). Perspectives and expertise of secondary ensemble music educators with ADHD. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 33(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/10570837241269966

    Hopkins, E. J. (2024). Graduate research forum review 2024: From idea incubation to implementation: The music for childhood wellbeing initiative. Contributions to Music Education, 49, 219–223. 

    Mehr, S. A., Singh, M., Knox, D., Ketter, D. M., Pickens-Jones, D., Atwood, S., Lucas, C., Jacoby, N., Egner, A., Hopkins, E. J., Howard, R. M., Hartshorne, J. K., Jennings, M. V., Simson, J., Bainbridge, C. M., Pinker, S., O’Donnell, T. J., Krasnow, M. M., & Glowacki, L. (2019). Universality and diversity in human song. Science, 366(6468), 957–970. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aax0868

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