ABSTRACT

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book is about pedagogy- what music teachers do and why. A teacher's pedagogy is influenced by a multitude of factors. The discourse around teaching as a delivery technique stems from political pressures for public services to be accountable. These pressures for accountability have inspired inspection systems and criteria. Educational research has contributed to the 'teaching as technique' discourse. The 'teaching as technique' discourse over-simplifies teaching, positioning it as a matter of 'delivery' by ignoring the fact that, at heart, teaching consists of interactions between people. The 'teaching as technique' discourse allows politicians, educational commentators and others to speak of pedagogy as a matter of 'delivery': as haulage firms deliver goods, postmen deliver letters, and service industries 'deliver' services, so teachers 'deliver' the curriculum.