Which educator is widely regarded as the father of music education and introduced the music curriculum in the Boston public schools?

• A. Bennett Reimer
• B. Edwin Gordon
• C. Lowell Mason
• D. Jerome Bruner

Answer: (C)

This question tests knowledge of who first built a formal, schoolwide approach to music education in American public schools, specifically in Boston. Lowell Mason is the educator who is widely regarded as the father of music education because he transformed music from a largely informal or private activity into a structured, universally taught subject within the public schools in Boston during the 1830s and 1840s. He advocated for regular, graded instruction, trained teachers, and a standardized repertoire, arguing that music should be available to all students as part of a complete education. His reforms laid the foundation for public-school music programs across the United States, making him the most influential figure in establishing music as a core part of schooling.

Other figures contributed to music education in different ways—Theorists who later developed approaches to teaching and learning in music, and a prominent education psychologist who influenced general education—but they did not initiate the specific Boston curriculum or earn the title of father of music education for public schools.