Abstracts of issue 17 (2003)

Alexandros Baltzis

Institutes of Music Education and their Development: Sociological Aspects

This paper – representing only a part from a broader research – analyzes the dominant institutions of private music education in Greece from 1971 to 2000 (conservatories and private music schools). The analysis extends to the social groups involved in this particular institution of Greek musical life, with an emphasis on the teachers. In the second part, the results of a sociological research carried out on 20 institutes of music education in 9 prefectures of Northern Greece are presented. Two types of questionnaire were used along with the method of participant observation. The structural changes of the social groups involved in this important institution with a history of more than 130 years have not been clarified so far. Moreover, most of the parameters of these social groups are still unknown. This may favour mistakes in music education policy with unpredictable effects on musical culture in Greece.
Even though it is clearly stated that further analysis and research are necessary, the paper is original in terms of the data it provides for a discussion of the social reproduction and cultural socialization. Actually, this is the first research report of this kind published in Greece.

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