Music Education Policy Reform in Nigeria: A Critical Policy Analysis of the National Music Curriculum 2004 to 2025

This research conducts a comprehensive critical policy analysis of Nigeria's national music curriculum from 2004 to 2025, examining the ideological assumptions, political economy dynamics, implementation challenges, and equity implications embedded within successive curriculum documents and policy frameworks across primary, secondary, and tertiary education levels. Despite Nigeria's extraordinary musical heritage and the global success of its popular music industry, music education policy has remained fragmented, under-resourced, and inadequately theorised within the broader national education system. This study employs critical discourse analysis of curriculum documents, national education policy frameworks, National Educational Research and Development Council reports, and parliamentary debates on education funding. Supplementary data are gathered through elite interviews with 20 curriculum designers, education ministry officials, music education scholars, and teacher union representatives. The study also conducts a systematic review of empirical research on music education implementation in Nigeria published between 2015 and 2025. Policy analysis is theorised using Bacchi's WPR framework and critical education policy studies adapted to the African postcolonial context. Findings will map the trajectory of music education policy, identify recurring implementation gaps, and produce an original critical framework for music education policy reform in Nigeria. Recommendations address structural, ideological, and resource dimensions of reform. Keywords: Music education policy, curriculum analysis, Nigeria, critical policy analysis, education reform.