Towards a postmodern curriculum for music education

Abstract

Music education in the public schools of Canada and the United States has been and still is concerned with the perpetuation of the aesthetic beliefs and pedagogy of one of the last bastions of modernist practice and thought, the Euro-centric canon of 'Classical' music.

The purpose of this thesis is to question this canon and present an alternative, more 'postmodern' position which is more inclusive in its acceptance and definition of music, in addition to suggesting a pedagogy which will bring students into a more meaningfully learning process. Specifically, the thesis will: (1) examine critically our current music education practices and their underlying philosophical and aesthetic assumptions by using the concepts and principles of 'modernism' and 'postmodernism'; (2) suggest a workable 'aesthetic' and 'critical' position within postmodernism which can be utilized by music educators to develop a more inclusive view and pedagogical approach to the teaching of all musics; (3) provide a critical analysis and comparison of our current modernist practices with a suggested postmodern approach; and, (4) provide suggestions regarding the content for the development of a postmodern music education program at the universities. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)