Historical Perspective of Music Education Philosophy – Part II

By the mid-twentieth century, American society focused on education reform due to the flurry of technological advancement brought on after WWII. US Political leaders began to place emphasis on the development of science and math so that the American system could compete on a worldwide level with the organized education systems found in other countries, such as Russia. It was at this time that the elevation of the subjects such as math, science and reading created public bias towards other subjects such as music. (1) Governmental reports such as, “National Goals in Education” (1960), President Kennedy’s emphasis on educational research and development, and increased governmental funding towards scientific research education perpetuated the bias at a governance level as well.
The former progressive education movement prior to the mid-twentieth century no longer held first place in such technological advancement. This perpetuated the resultant lack of substantial for music education philosophy and direction. The 1960s brought forth a school curriculum that was more student oriented as a result of the vast displays of organized youth movements that encouraged freedom of the individual. Inductive thinking and learning became vogue in the educational setting. Overall curriculum structure and development began to concentrate on conceptual teaching.
With the lack of substantial music education philosophy at the time, the parallel resolve of lack of value and development for music education resulted. (2) Music education needed philosophical reform in order to survive. It around this time that early leaders of aesthetic education philosophy, i.e. Charles Leonhard and Allan Britton, began to present the unique qualities of the study of music that separated music from other school subjects. Aesthetic education emerged at this time as a philosophy for music education.
Heightened verbalized need for change in music education peaked around the 1970s with the publication of Bennett Reimer’s, A Philosophy of Music Education. This music education philosophy sought to transform the music classroom through valuing music from the aspect of intrinsic feeling. Such was exemplified in the 1970’s writing of Abraham Schwadron:
The real problem in contemporary music education which are daily concerns are to a considerable extent value-centered. We are coming to realize that a new or alternate approach is needed for the construction of value-oriented curricular design. The context of this emerging curriculum will focus on issues relevant to the nature of music and to the lives of the students. It will lead students to ask fundamental questions, to engage in intriguing musical activities, and to seek answers based on personal reflection, inquiry, discovery, and research; it will help them formulate their values of music on both logical and introspective levels.

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1. Michael L. Mark and Charles L. Gary, A History of American Music Education (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2007), 386.
2. Michael L. Mark and Charles L. Gary, A History of American Music Education (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2007), 417.
4. Michael L. Mark and Charles L. Gary, A History of American Music Education (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2007), 420.