Abstract
This paper offers a review of the literature concerning how music is taught to school-aged children in America, in terms of frequency and content of instruction. It then outlines how music should be taught to children to optimize both the musical and the extra-musical benefits of music education, according to current research. A number of music education programs that successfully incorporate some elements of these research findings are then discussed. Finally, a model that incorporates the best elements of these programs is presented, along with guidelines for implementation. Throughout, the discrepancy between how music is taught and how it should be taught is presented as a matter of inequality. A lack of teaching standards in music leads to highly variable music programs by state and indeed by districts within a single state. This variability inherently generates inequality, for some programs adhere closely, either by design or coincidence, to the guidelines of how music should be taught, while others fail to meet these guidelines in any meaningful fashion.
Recommended Citation
Holochwost, Steven J.
(2002)
"Equality in Music Education: An Analysis and a Model Program,"
Visions of Research in Music Education: Vol. 2, Article 5.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.lib.uconn.edu/vrme/vol2/iss1/5