Equity and access in music education: conceptualizing culture as barriers to and supports for music learning

Abstract

A conceptual model designed specifically for the investigation of issues surrounding race, ethnicity and culture in relation to music learning will best serve our profession as we attempt to understand how these issues may impact music learning among diverse populations. This paper proposes such a model, depicted as a concept map, featuring five primary categories: teacher, student, content, instruction, and context. Focusing research according to this model will serve to categorize current knowledge, clarify factors and constructs involving music learning, and formulate predictions of specific learning outcomes, thereby facilitating the development of hypotheses and theories that support a research agenda devoted to examining the barriers to and support for music learning as influenced by race, culture and ethnicity.

Access to Music Education with Regard to Race in Two Urban Areas

“…In addition, we did not attempt to gauge the quality of the music instruction to which students had access-we only aimed to indicate a relative degree of available programming. Moreover, structural access in the form of program availability does not necessarily ensure equitable access, because race, ethnicity, gender, and cultural factors also impact access to music instruction (Butler, Lind, and McKoy 2007;Gustafson 2009;Wheelhouse 2009). …”

“…Descriptions of "access" include sociological, psychological, and structural components. For example, by analyzing sociological factors (i.e., interactions among race, ethnicity, and culture with regard to teachers, students, content, instruction, and context), Butler, Lind, and McKoy (2007) demonstrated that the existence of a music program in a school did not necessarily mean that all students in the school had access to music instruction. Taking a more structural approach to describing access, Elpus and Abril (2011) found that students enrolled in high school performance ensembles were not representative of the general U.S. population.…”

No Longer Silent: An Autobiographical/Biographical Exploration of a School Desegregation Experience

“…It is important to acknowledge my (Vicki) work in teacher education, specifically in the area of culturally responsive pedagogy and music learning (Butler et al 2007). My interest in culturally responsive teaching influenced my questions and was frequently the topic of our conversations.…”

“…The theory of culturally responsive pedagogy is based on the belief that students' cultural orientations must be taken into consideration when designing and implementing classroom practices. Butler et al (2007) specifically looked at music learning and culturally responsive pedagogy in a 2007 study, investigating how race, ethnicity and culture can mediate and impact the interactions among teachers, students, content, context, and instruction and thus influence music learning.…”

Instrumental Teacher Education and the Incoming Tide of Information Technology: A Contemporary Guitar Perspective.

“…Australian research findings implore universities to explore emerging digital technologies to keep abreast with both the competition and opportunities of global accessibility (Baker, 2013;Klopper, 2010) and to re-examine the European model typically found in contemporary music education to enhance cultural inclusion (Butler, Lind, & McKoy, 2007). Some Australian researchers advocate for informal pedagogy (Ballantyne & Lebler, 2013;Moorhead, 1998), peer to peer learning and assessing (Lebler, 2008) and selfdirected learning (Lebler, 2007).…”