Effects of Selected Demographic Variables on Music Student Teachers’ Self-Reported Cross-Cultural Competence

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of race/ethnicity and school community setting for early field experience practica and student teaching on music student teachers' self-reported cross-cultural competence. Participants (N = 337) from 36 colleges and universities across the United States completed a survey designed to examine the extent of cross-cultural competence as specified by three constructs: (a) factors fostering readiness to teach in culturally diverse educational environments, (b) factors constraining readiness to teach in culturally diverse educational environments, and (c) educational experiences during teacher preparation relative to multicultural education and multicultural music education. The "Foster," "Constrain," and "Teacher Preparation" dimension subscales served as the dependent variables. Results indicated no significant main effect of school community setting on participants' cross-cultural competence; however, a significant main effect of race/ethnicity (p < .05) was observed for the Constrain subscale of the survey.

Band Project: A Model for Service Learning

“…Growing evidence has pointed to service learning as a means toward developing cross-cultural awareness (Kilgo, 2015; McKoy, 2013); however, the extent to which discussions about their experience led to cross-cultural awareness on the part of apprentice teachers was uncertain. In general, apprentice teachers’ comments were not focused specifically on their students as underserved, but they did indicate a growing understanding of students’ strengths, needs, and interests.…”

“…On a larger scale, service-learning efforts have been found to foster an awareness of inequality, providing pathways to issues such as cross-cultural competence, social justice, and civic engagement (McKoy, 2013). As a result of their involvement in a university-sponsored service-learning program, participants developed skills including empathy, patience, respect, and trust (Einfeld & Collins, 2008).…”

“…According to McKoy (2013), “Developing cross-culturally competent music teachers goes directly to the heart of what it means to prepare music teachers who recognize and value” the experiences and knowledge students bring to the music learning process (p. 389). Service learning, then, can translate knowledge gained in the classroom into real-world settings as new teachers enter their classroom amid a growing diversity of student backgrounds and increasing number of students of low socioeconomic status.…”

Music Teacher Educator Perspectives on Social Justice

“…Due to the parameters of the Kruskal-Wallis H test, seven tested characteristics were identified and run individually: (a) gender = male, female, transgender; (b) SES = lower third, middle third, high third, no response; (c) race = majority, minority, no response; (d) music teacher education experience = 1-10 years, 11-20 years, 21+ years; (e) PK-12 experience = 1-5 years, 6-10 years, 11-20 years, 21+ years, no PK-12 experience; (f) university/college setting = rural, suburban, urban, no response; (g) university/college affiliation = public, private, religious, no response. The race/ ethnicity characteristic was collapsed into the majority/minority category due to the small response rates across the various options (McKoy, 2013). The no response option was provided because of the desire to help respondents feel that they could be anonymous due to the possibility of social desirability bias.…”

Cuando el barrio educa: aprendizaje situado y creación artística colaborativa como herramienta en la formación musical del futuro docente

“…De acuerdo con algunas investigaciones relacionadas con la participación en experiencias reales, las personas pueden mostrar altos grados de motivación, a la vez que experimentan un sentido de compromiso y conexión con la comunidad escolar (Reynolds, Preston y Haynes, 2005). Son oportunidades que contribuyen a desarrollar la competencia cultural y la socialización de los profesores (McKoy, 2013).…”