Music Education

I From Dewey's naturalistic standpoint, 1 culture develops from nature, and critical communication is one of its possible operational modes. It is this fact of the contingency of cultural cultivation that makes pedagogical critique indispensable: in order to make a home in the hazardous world, human beings have to learn to reflect in advance on the possible outcomes of their choices and to deliberate their co-operative actions accordingly. Hence, there arises a commitment to develop critical consciousness, for without the will to deliberate, we are at the mercy of our impulses. Here the pragmatic humanism of Dewey's naturalism becomes explicit: in order to flourish, human culture has to be able to use critical reflection in communication. Cultural formation is realized in the shared creative drive towards the unforeseen.

Notes 1 I use the term "postpositivist" here in a very general manner, as referring to a diversity of positions, which since the early 1960's have tried to formulate options for (1) positivistfoundationalist epistemology, (2) referentialist philosophy of language, and (3) atomistic-

in English LAURI VÄKEVÄ Kasvatustieteiden tiedekunta, Kasvatustieteiden ja opettajankoulutuksen yksikkö, Oulun yliopisto OULU 2004 LAURI VÄKEVÄ KASVATUKSEN TAIDE JA TAIDEKASVATUS Estetiikan ja taidekasvatuksen merkitys John Deweyn naturalistisessa pragmatismissa Esitetään Oulun yliopiston kasvatustieteiden tiedekunnan suostumuksella julkisesti tarkastettavaksi Linnanmaan Kuusamonsalissa (YB210) 16. huhtikuuta 2004 klo 12.00.

The content of this article is the sole responsibility of the author. The ACT Journal and the Mayday Group are not liable for any legal actions that may arise involving the article's content, including, but not limited to, copyright infringement.

From Dewey's naturalistic standpoint, 1 culture develops from nature, and critical communication is one of its possible operational modes. It is this fact of the contingency of cultural cultivation that makes pedagogical critique indispensable: in order to make a home in the hazardous world, human beings have to learn to reflect in advance on the possible outcomes of their choices and to deliberate their cooperative actions accordingly. Hence, there arises a commitment to develop critical consciousness, for without the will to deliberate, we are at the mercy of our impulses. Here the pragmatic humanism of Dewey's naturalism becomes explicit: in order to flourish, human culture has to be able to use critical reflection in communication. Cultural formation is realized in the shared creative drive

John Dewey has been widely accepted as a modern classic in educational philosophy. Dewey's general philosophy has gained new interest lately, as well. This interest reflects both a need to find alternatives for analytic and continental philosophies, as well as a need for a naturalistic critique of the modernist presuppositions of Cartesian and transcendental philosophies. Dewey's reconstructive philosophy has encouraged the approach of this study. The reconstructive approach combines the synchronic and diachronic analyses of philosophical concepts with a pragmatist critique that trusts in the power of philosophy to guide human practice. The possibility of such pragmatist critique explains the central role of pedagogy in Dewey's philosophy: Dewey saw pedagogy as a social laboratory where philosophical concepts are tested for their pragmatic potential in enhancing democratic cultural formation. The present study is guided by the central idea that the naturalistic outlook of Dewey's mature philosophy can serve as a thematic framework for contemporary philosophies of art and music. Recent readings of Dewey's work suggest important links between his pedagogy and aesthetics. If Dewey's later philosophy is examined systematically, it becomes clear that his concept of (a)esthetic experience has an important summative function; it unifies his ideas concerning epistemology, ontology, and moral theory in a "soft" naturalistic anthropologic-pedagogical perspective. Dewey finds the core of existence in the process of human growth where experience is continually transformed into culture through communicative practice. Ideally, human growth involves both an immediate, aesthetic dimension, as well as a mediated, instrumental dimension. An important function of art is to bring out the aesthetic moments of growth. With this thesis in mind, Dewey radically extends his concept of art to comprise all cultural practices that balance their means with their ends. Art educates as it is worked out in means-ends-praxis, that is, in social practice that aims both at mediate and immediate good. In the framework of Dewey's naturalistic pragmatism, art education has two crucial functions: (1) to work out the possibilities of aesthetic expression and perception in a pragmatic process of learning by doing; and 2) to point out the paradigmatic moments of meaning making in the best of art. To the philosophers of music education, Dewey's philosophy can open up a new critical horizon where both aesthetic and praxial outlooks can meet in the experimental terms of naturalistic pragmatism.

kindly replied to a series of questions concerning the role of pragmatism in contemporary philosophy, the new approaches to John Dewey’s thought, pragmatist aesthetics in art and music education, and the Finnish-translated book, Pragmatist Aesthetics (Shusterman 1997a). LV:: There seems to be a general renaissance of pragmatism gaining hold within many disciplines, including aesthetics and educational philosophy. Why do you think pragmatism has attained new popularity both sides of the

The goal of the project was to develop and implement a master program for "rytmimusiikki" (lit. "rhythm music") in Seinäjoki, Finland-a musically active provincial area previously without music-related higher education programs. In the program, research and professional musicianship were combined in the frame of a student-centered curriculum that also emphasized active work-life connections and flexible study options. Aiming at developing a new kind of expertise in Finnish work market for non-classical musicians, the project sets out to explore the combined ideals of "researching musician" and "musicing researcher". We will discuss the points of departure of this premise, map the developmental phases and outcomes of the project, as well as highlight some of the problems that arouse during the process. The findings of this developmental research are based on student and teacher interviews, feedback surveys and personal experiences of the planners.

Recent reforms in England and the USA give evidence that teaching methods and content can change rapidly, given a strong external pressure, for example through economic incentives, inspections, school choice, and public display of schools’ and pupils’ performances. Educational activities in the Scandinavian countries have increasingly become dominated by obligations regarding assessment and grading. A common thread is the demand for equal and just assessment and grading through clear criteria and transparent processes. Torrance states that clarity in assessment procedures, processes, and criteria has underpinned widespread use of coaching, practice, and provision of formative feedback to boost achievement, but that such transparency encourages instrumentalism. He concludes that the practice of assessment has moved from assessment of learning, through assessment for learning, to assessment as learning, with “assessment procedures and practices coming completely to dominate the learni...

This chapter surveys the history of popular music education in Nordic countries and explores scenarios for possible interpretations, resulting in a rich and informed critique of the field. The chapter offers a comparative overview of approaches to popular music education in the Nordic countries, focusing on the rationales for including popular music in the curriculum. A dominant rationale has been that popular music has unique democratic potentials. The analysis brings nuance to the situation, arguing that popular music genres “are not necessarily democratic in and of themselves.” Popular music education policies can, in fact, be instruments of social exclusion.