In this chapter, we unpack the complex politics of popular music education (PME) in schools through an examination of the ways in which youth and youth culture are represented in the Finnish National Core Curricula (2004 and 2014). Interrogating commonly held conceptualizations of diversity in music education, we identify a paradox in school-based PME which, on the one hand, aims toward democratic classroom practice yet, on the other, neglects diversity by approaching youth as a homogenous group. Challenging common analytical points of departure in PME research, we argue that scholars and educators need to recognize the multiple and intersecting identities of students if PME is to afford them equal opportunities for participation. Overall, we suggest that through the analytical lens of intersectionality, PME may be better positioned to take into account students’ own experiences of inequalities, providing new perspectives on diversity at the policy level. Thus, intersectionality could provide a useful analytical frame in the process of furthering further democratic practice in the classroom.
In this article, we use intersectionality as a theoretical lens to explore the negotiations in popular music education (PME) in one Finnish upper elementary classroom. By considering the hegemonic position of PME in Finnish schools, two researchers engaged in inter-reflexivity in order to shift the focus from popular music ‘itself’ to the sociocultural structures and conditions in which PME is implemented. PME has often been treated as the democratizer of music education. In this article, however, we argue that the democratic potential of PME depends on the pedagogical implementation of the practice. Furthermore, we argue that for such education to become democratic, the teacher needs to identify the intersectional power structures that shape interaction between people so as to become aware of the school culture and its norms. In this process, the ongoing development of teacher reflexivity plays an essential role.
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