J o h n Fi n n e y a n d C h r i s P h i l p o t t
B a c k g r o u n dThe recent emergence of ILP in music education can be traced to the mid 1970s. At this time various researchers began to examine educational issues from the perspective of the sociology of knowledge (see Young, 1971). Politically motivated, this work was driven by a concern for the fairer access and distribution of educational knowledge and the related distribution of success in society. In short, it problematised the school curriculum and argued that 'high status' knowledge -that which is formally assessed, 'literate' and taught to the 'ablest' pupils -was created and perpetuated by and for certain social groups to maintain the social order.In music education the sociology of knowledge was typically used to show how 'pop' music was subverted by values and knowledge surrounding 'classical' music i.e. an adherence to a notated tradition, a canon of works and a set of associated performance practices. Such values were, it was argued, unable to embrace diverse musical traditions and in particular contemporary practices, and yet success in classroom music was reliant upon compliance with them (see Vulliamy, 1977). The sociology of knowledge was thus used to explore and explain themes of pupil disenchantment with, and alienation from, school music. Pupils, it was said, had an alienated relationship with school music, making music the most unpopular subject on the curriculum, and yet paradoxically the most important to them outside of the school (Schools Council, 1971; Harland et al., 2000).Over the ensuing years the English music curriculum has responded to this critique. (DES, 1992; DfEE, 1999) and modern examination syllabi, that the school music curriculum now offers opportunities for pupils to engage with a breadth of musical style, tradition and genre including pop, jazz and world musics. In short, this is what would appear to be a more inclusive and musically relevant curriculum.
The dominant curriculum interpretation in the 1970s and 1980s was that 'pop' should be regarded as an equally valid form of knowledge and set of practices to those of the western classical tradition. The intention was that the study of other musics would eradicate pupil alienation and encourage ownership of learning. Furthermore, it is clear from successive national curricula since 1992In the early 21st century English music education is still engaged in a debate about the nature of the music curriculum, as pupil engagement, commitment and ownership of learning remains problematic. The key to an unalienated music curriculum, it would seem, is not so much curriculum content as a pedagogical orientation in which pupils are seen as curriculum makers. This is a major premise of the 'Musical Futures' 1 initiative, part of which can be traced to Lucy Green's work on how popular musicians learn. Her concluding recommendations here include:Playing music of one's own choice, with which one identifies personally, operating both as performer and composer with like minded friend...