Introduction

Kurzfassung/Abstract

Music education in present-day South Africa has several related functions and purposes. Politically, it has the potential to contribute substantially to healing the rifts of the past and towards an intercultural understanding, tolerance and respect among South Africa’s many ethnic and cultural groups. Aesthetically, it is likely to draw awareness to the vast array of musical traditions appreciated and practiced in South Africa today and, indeed, to stimulate a grasp – if not a profound enjoyment – of these different and diverse musics. Educationally, it has the potential to be immensely enriching and rewarding – axiologically, cognitively, emotionally and in terms of personal creativity and originality. A philosophy of music education (PME), arguably, serves to provide a conceptual, theoretical and (especially) critical framework for music education and for thinking about its various functions and purposes.