The Ideology of Competition in School Music

by Sean Robert Powell

The Ideology of Competition in School Music explores competition as a structuring force in school music and provides critiques of that system from multiple philosophical and theoretical perspectives. Competition is seen by many music teachers, students, and supporters as natural and inevitable--a taken-for-granted aspect of music education or an irresistible force, rather than a choice. This book uncovers this ideological nature of competition and examines its effect on student learning, teacher agency, and equity within music education. It considers ways in which music educators might reconsider the role of competition in their teaching practice and offers alternative frameworks for organizing school music.

In this book, author Sean Robert Powell views competition as a microcosm of the wider neoliberal capitalist society, in which subjects are interpellated in an antagonistic competitive field as market logic dictates a system of accountability, reduction, and audit culture. Music teachers, students, and education administrators, consciously and unconsciously, reinforce, replicate, and sustain the competitive structure, even if they do so while expressing a cynical disavowal. Powell considers competition broadly, including, for formal competitions between schools in which ensembles are given numerical scores and ranked; "festivals" in which groups are given ratings based on pre-given criteria; state, regional, and national honor ensembles; hierarchical arrangements within school music programs; or simply the pursuit of social prestige, reputation, and ever-higher performance standards. Although the book provides examples from the competitive landscape of school music in the
United States (and, especially, Texas, considered a "hyper" example of competitive culture), Powell's analyses and discussions are relevant to readers in any context around the world. Although the degree to which competitive achievement as an explicitly-stated aim of instruction varies from program to program and location to location, the "realism" of neoliberal capitalism--and its effect on all aspects of education--is a global phenomenon.

Genres: Philosophy

184 pages, Paperback

Published March 6, 2023

Reviews

[Drew]

A well-structured piece of critical theory, but don’t expect solutions. That’s not the point. This book exists to prompt reflection and deconstruct “the way it’s always been” in competitive music. The ideas here are important and challenging, though I couldn’t help but feel as if one group of people was left out of having a say about competition’s role in school music - the students.

This book speaks to the top-down pressures and motivations for competitive programs quite well, but only sparingly mentions students’ desires and expectations for competition in a program. For many teachers, the student expectation to be competitive can create as much (or more) pressure than societal structures, parents, or administrators, especially given the recent shift in many districts to open enrollment in public schools. Another point re:students that could’ve used more attention is the structure of admissions for college schools of music (who tend more and more to use competitive honor ensemble audition pieces as entry requirements, rather than standard literature) and students’ expectations to be well-prepared by their secondary music teachers for success in competitive scholarship and admissions auditions.

Overall, a good work that’s worth a read and serious contemplation.

[LP Smith]

This book makes many important and thought-provoking points, and I appreciated the challenge to the status quo; it gave some of my own less-developed thoughts a voice.
That being said, there is much in here that is demeaning and offensive. The hypothetical scenarios and archetypal characters in the examples given are insulting caricatures of music educators. Also, like most other writing in this vein, there is much detail in the criticism and very little when it comes to offering solutions. That’s framework is expected in these circles but is infuriating for us little people not in the ivory tower. And this guy is the epitome of the ivory tower.
Is there some wannabe Zizek in here? Sure. Powell is careful, though, not to suggest burning the whole thing down and abandoning capitalism altogether. After all, the tenure system that he defends so strongly in his own career is competitive and hegemonic (clearly a favorite word). Not a bad read, but insufferable at times.

[Joe]

This book is not precisely in my own field. However, it was recommended on a blog by a respected colleague drawing attention to the excesses of competition, so I took it up. In my opinion, the central thesis is indisputably true, and the author’s plan for action as summarized in the concluding remarks is a model of cogency. However, the book is clearly directed at professional educators personally acquainted with current practices in high school bands as well as the scholarship and methodology relevant to them. Consequently, some preliminary reading may be of benefit to community partners and others who are not educators. (My own doctoral research stood me in good stead here.) One caveat: the author will occasionally flip-flop on a concept, so the ideal reader should be prepared to follow the greater logic involved, which may appear esoteric to those outside the profession.

[Sarah Peszka Walton]

This should have been a paper, not a whole book. The author made the same point over and over and over again. Was it an interesting point? Yes! Competitive school music is deeply intertwined with American capitalistic ideals, and for a subject that does not partake in state standardized testing, we’ve created our own prison by utilizing competition as an arbitrary way of measuring success. Would’ve been a great thesis paper. But for a whole book? I was bored.

[Tara Christine]

Read it for grad school, gotta make it count