Music Education in the Contemporary School: Role, Necessity, and Alignment with the New Curriculum in Greek Public Education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.57125/FED.2026.06.11Keywords:
music education, narrative review, new curriculum, cognitive development, emotional intelligence, Greek education, transfer effects, educational policyAbstract
This paper presents a narrative review and theoretical-policy analysis of the role of Music as a subject in contemporary schools, with particular emphasis on Greek public education as a case study for peripheral European educational reforms. Drawing on Greek and international scholarly literature identified through systematic database searches, the paper synthesises evidence on the multidimensional effects of music education on students’ cognitive, emotional, and social development, while also engaging critically with contested transfer claims and the methodological limitations of the extant research base. The study further analyses the New Curriculum (NC) for Music introduced by the Institute of Educational Policy (IEP), examining both its alignment with contemporary research and the implementation challenges and structural gaps that may constrain its realisation. The findings support the view that music education represents a substantive component of holistic schooling; they simultaneously underscore the need for critical engagement with benefit claims, realistic appraisal of policy aspirations, and sustained investment in teacher professional development and material infrastructure.
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