What is "School Knowledge" in Music Education? : An Analysis of G. Vulliamy's Theory of "Culture Clash"

Abstract

The Sociology of Education has undergone a far-reaching change of emphasis in recent years. The change was first heralded by the publication of Knowledge and Control (1971) edited by M.F.D. Young and, whilst the contributions to the book come from widerly diverse perspectives, two in particular serve to mark a considerable break from the most previous studies of education. The first is the application of the sociology of knowledge to education. And the second is the fleuence of phenomenology. G. Vulliamy spelled out the implications of viewing music teaching from the perspective of the New Sociology of Education. Using Young's discussion of the 'stratification of knowledge', Vulliamy has attempted to illustrate the cultural clash-a clash between subject-based high status knowledge ('serious' music), which is the musical culture of the school, and everyday low status knowledge ('pop' music), which is the musical culture of most of the school pupils. It is argued that music teaching is particularly good example of how differing definitions of what counts as music in the school setting are linked with different criteria of success, different relationships between teacher and taught, and different teachers' perceptions relating to intelligence, family background and musical ability. The purpose of this paper is to construct a framework for a theory on curriculum research in music education from the viewpoint of the New Sociology of Education. Vulliamy has attempted to show that the New Sociology of Education provided a useful perspective from which to interpret the failure of music teaching. We attempt to analyze G. Vulliamy's theory of 'culture clash' in music education, based on the New Sociology of Education. This analysis is enabled us to give the redefinition of 'school knowledge' to music education. Furthermore, it leads us to propose the significance of Vulliamy's theory in music education, particular on music curriculum research. By reviewing the Vulliamy's theory, we propose that the perspective of the New Sociology of Education is significant in constructing a theory of curriculum research in music education.