Abstract
John Kratus’ 2019 Music Educators Journal article "A Return to Amateurism in Music Education" contained what many may interpret as radical ideas to focus music education curriculum and instruction on amateurism. But upon further research, leaders within the profession have consistently affirmed the goals of amateurism. The purpose of this study was to analyze and compare themes of Kratus’ concept of amateurism with declarative statements of the two most recent National Association for Music Education leadership summits, which charted the profession's future. Directed content analysis method and deductive content analysis of Kratus’ "Amateurism" article, compared to declarative reports of the 1999 Housewright Symposium and the 1967 Tanglewood Symposium, revealed the following themes of amateurism in common between the documents: 1) Lifelong music learning for all people of all ages should be a primary goal; 2) The curriculum should include all styles of music including popular music; 3) Teachers should utilize new technologies in the music classroom; 4) There is a need for more diversity in music teacher training. Kratus’ proposed way forward, a strong emphasis on amateurism, coalesces the common themes of Tanglewood, Housewright, and many NAfME publications into curricular focus, giving action items grounded in sound pragmatic philosophy.
Recommended Citation
FitzStephens, Tom
(2021)
"Amateurism in Music Education (1967-2019): Three Calls to Action,"
Visions of Research in Music Education: Vol. 38, Article 5.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.lib.uconn.edu/vrme/vol38/iss1/5