Should Children Learn Music? A Critical Analysis Under China’s New Education Policies

Abstract

With the implementation of recent education reforms in China, including the “Double Reduction” policy, the structure of educational competition has undergone significant transformation. While subject-based tutoring has been restricted, competitive pressures have not diminished; rather, they have shifted into domains associated with quality-oriented education, including music learning. Drawing on the frameworks of Education involution and Cultural capital, this study examines how music education has become a new site of educational competition. The analysis combines structural, familial, and individual perspectives to explore how policy conditions, social expectations, and educational practices interact in shaping music learning. The findings suggest that music education is increasingly instrumentalised, as its intrinsic value in aesthetic development becomes intertwined with externally driven forms of evaluation and competition. Under conditions of educational involution, participation in music learning is often sustained not by intrinsic motivation, but by the need to maintain relative advantage within competitive environments. At the same time, music education functions as a form of cultural capital, contributing to processes of social differentiation and reproduction. This study highlights the tension between the intrinsic educational value of music and its instrumental role within contemporary education systems. It contributes to a broader understanding of how domains associated with holistic development are reshaped under conditions of persistent educational competition.