The discipline that never was: current developments in music technology in higher education in Britain

Abstract

This article discusses current issues around the provision of music technology in British universities. The discussion is based on the most current results from the project ‘Betweening’, funded by Palatine (Higher Education Academy). The aim of the project was to explore the educational landscape of music technology in HE and to provide an oversight of the different models used. The way a particular discipline – music technology – becomes established and how it evolves has as much to do with institutional and governmental politics, social constructs and pedagogical methodologies, as it does with the discipline itself. As well as an overview of the findings from quantitative studies (published in detail in Boehm 2006), this article discusses the findings from the qualitative information gathered from the Betweening project in order to provide an overview of the educational landscape of music technology in higher education in Britain today.