ABSTRACT
In this chapter we will be discussing issues of class, power and culture as they relate to the formulation of the National Curriculum for Music in parts of the United Kingdom. This case is taken as usefully exemplifying relationships between political, societal and educational power. Bernstein (2000) and Bourdieu and Passeron (1990) suggested that knowledge is never neutral. Instead, it is a reflection of who controls prevailing cultural values and what type of information is considered valued by decision-makers in society.
