ABSTRACT
At the beginning of this inquiry we identifi ed two problems presently impacting music education programs in the public schools of the United States: First, we noted that the infl ux of students from diverse cultural backgrounds and the appearance of music from many different cultural traditions in the public forum has raised a quandary among music educators over what music should be included in the music education curriculum of the nation’s public schools. Second, we observed that support for school music classes has been lukewarm and often inconsistent throughout the history of the nation, since the varied, frequently ambiguous, and sometimes changing views held by the nation’s citizens concerning the personal and societal importance of music have made its inclusion in the curriculum diffi cult to justify. We pointed out that, despite the nation’s apparent ambivalence concerning music education, music has been an important part of human life throughout history and it is apparent that it remains so for citizens of the U.S. Indeed, as the sounds of music from more and more different traditions have increased in the nation’s public forum over the twentieth century, sales of recorded music have risen to a consistently high level. Faced with these quandaries, the nation’s music educators have recently been discussing in earnest the philosophical foundations of their profession and debating its purposes, practices, and societal importance. Clearly, if music education is to continue in the public schools of the U.S., the foundations and practices of the profession must be both viable and valuable to the various cultural communities comprising the nation. Conversely, if a majority of the nation’s citizens cannot collectively affi rm that the inclusion of music in school curricula fulfi lls an important societal need, its place in the public schools is likely to remain tenuous at best. In recognition of this situation, the following question presented itself to us as being unavoidable:
What is the societal role or social importance of public school music education in the United States as a postmodern society?
