Rut Jorunn Rønning: The legitimacy and values of music and art schools

Field of study: Music Education

The study examines how municipal Music and Art Schools (MAS) are justified by various actors within and around the institutions. The dissertation focuses on three central levels related to the operations of MAS: public authorities’ policies in this area and the practice field represented by MAS leaders and teachers. More specifically, the dissertation explores how the values of different actors underpin the justifications they offer for MAS’s existence and role.

Drawing on the core areas of the legally mandated municipal MAS—arts and knowledge—as a voluntary educational institution, this dissertation highlights MAS within cultural and educational policy contexts. Various interpretations and justifications central to both cultural policy and MAS field have been grounded in arguments tied to principles associated with the «democratization of culture».

The dissertation is titled The legitimacy and values of music and art schools. Justifications in policy and practice

It comprises three articles and a precis ("kappe"). Article 1 and the precis are written in Norwegian, while article 2 and 3 are written in English.

The dissertation is available from the National Research Information Repository (nva.sikt.no) about two weeks before the public defence.