ABSTRACT
For those embarking on a teaching career, it is almost instinctive to engage in historical research. New teachers will look back at their own music education, whether for inspiration or out of a determination not to replicate apparent shortcomings, and will compare contemporary practice with what they remember from their own school days. For some, this comparison will be made within a few years of completing their own secondary education, for others it might be rather longer, but whatever the reality, changes in perspective, policy and practice can make it feel like a lifetime ago. This informal investigation of the past is the first step in evaluating the changes that have contributed to the development of music education. It highlights the essential features of the best research in history of education: it is concerned with people, and the stories they have to tell about the experience of teaching and learning music; with ideas, and the way that individuals have shaped their practice to reflect their views about music and about education; and with evaluation, as the best practice of the past informs the directions of the future.
