The development of music education philosophy in mainland China during 1990–2022: A corpus-based thematic review

This study used corpus-based text analysis to examine the discourse on Music Education Philosophy (MEP) in 346 Chinese scholarly articles published after 1990. Applying topic modelling techniques, the study identified 685 key terms in the corpus that collectively established six prevailing themes: Aesthetics, Praxis, Confucianism, Teaching and Learning, Values of music education, and Influence factors of music education. It was discovered that Aesthetics, Praxis, and Confucianism were three streams in Chinese literature that significantly influenced the MEP study landscape. In contrast, the other three topics served as the ‘battleground’ for these competing philosophical paradigms. The study discussed the sources of contemporary MEP in China, where combined influences from European North American Chinese philosophies are evident. It was argued that music, education, and philosophy emerge as three equally critical components that collectively define the inherent ‘nature’ of MEP. Thus, while the nature of music does not predetermine the nature of music education, the foundation of music education was shaped collectively by understandings, judgements, and expectations of music and education in the Chinese context. In addition, corpus analysis presented a promising methodological approach for tracing the evolution of discourse over time and facilitating critical inquiries in MEP discourses.