ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents the story of a class of 13-year-olds and their teacher in a school striving to improve following the educational reforms of the 1990s. If Moore is right then there are good reasons for a study of music education in England from 1950 to the present day seen through the lens of those child-centred progressive ideas that gained momentum in the post-war period. The enquiry draws together developments of the period in a unique way, yielding fresh insights into the place of music in education. The book draws on ethnographic data as well as that gleaned through action-research making full use of the pupils' voices as they create an image of a school where, for a short time, they are seen differently and where a school might be seen differently.
