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Choosing music: exploratory studies into the low uptake of music GCSE

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 November 2008

Alexandra Lamont  and
Karl Maton
Alexandra Lamont
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, UKa.m.lamont@keele.ac.uk
Karl Maton
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Sydney, RC Mills Building, Sydney, Australiakmaton@usyd.edu.au
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Abstract

School music has a comparatively low take-up rate as a qualification among English secondary school pupils. Existing research on the issue has proffered possible reasons for this phenomenon but has generally been piecemeal and undertheorised. This paper sets out a fresh theoretical perspective capable of providing a basis for systematic empirical research, and discusses the results of two exploratory studies. Drawing on legitimation code theory, a new approach in the sociology of education that focuses on the basis of achievement within educational contexts, the paper analyses National Curriculum, GCSE syllabi and pupils' attitudes towards a range of school subjects, including music. The documentary analysis highlights that earlier stages of the music curriculum emphasise either musical knowledge or musical dispositions of knowers, but music at GCSE level represents an ‘elite code’ where achievement depends upon both possessing specialist knowledge and being the right kind of knower. The study of pupils' attitudes suggests this code shift is recognised by pupils and may play a role in the low uptake of music for GCSE study. This new framework offers a firmer foundation for future empirical research into attitudes towards school subjects and subject choices.

Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Music Education , Volume 25 , Issue 3 , November 2008 , pp. 267 - 282
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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