ABSTRACT
Writers develop theory through a combination of their own experiences and ideas and a reaction to the theorizing of others. For truly original thinkers, I suspect, the main influence is their own ideas; for lesser mortals, and certainly for myself, the writing of others has been the major impetus. This chapter charts the main influences on my development of a sociological perspective on music education. It shows how such a perspective was originally framed by the ‘new sociology of education’ of the early 1970s and how it later changed under the influence of shifting concerns in the sociology of education thereafter. The chapter illustrates the impetus to theory formation which the writings of others gives. For me this impetus has taken two main forms. First, it has involved a critique of current orthodoxies, which helps then to refine an alternative view, and, second, it has involved a search for theorizing in related areas, which shows an affinity with my own work. However, since the theme of my work and the manner in which the theory has proceeded were both heavily influenced by aspects of my own biography, it is with such aspects that I begin.
