Equity in Music Education: Back to Class: Music Education and Poverty

Does Music Education Have a Poverty Problem?

“…These policies can interfere with access at the district, school, or individual student level. Teachers who work in these schools see a much higher rate of scheduling problems and lower overall program support, which can affect teacher turnover rates, program offerings, and instructional consistency (Allegood, 2016;Bates, 2018;Fitzpatrick-Harnish, 2015). Although most researchers have discussed poverty issues in urban areas, many of the patterns and suggestions can also be applied to rural poverty.…”

“…But if administrators are inflexible with schedules or performance expectations, even the best teachers may not be able to help students overcome those barriers. A lack of support from administrators can affect a teacher's willingness to continue working with students in poverty and contribute to teacher turnover (Bates, 2018).…”

Equity via relations of equality: Bridging the classroom-society divide

“…The growing attention to equity within the music education profession has led to calls for practices ranging from including more repertoire and practices from underrepresented music makers (e.g., Bates, 2018;Boeckman, 2019;Kelly-McHale, 2018) to emphasizing cooperative relations and respectful communication (e.g., Fung, 2018;Gray, 2019). For example, Fung (2018) proposes that promoting equity involves encouraging students to understand their peers' perspectives and providing them opportunities to lead various musical groups.…”

“…For example, Fung (2018) proposes that promoting equity involves encouraging students to understand their peers' perspectives and providing them opportunities to lead various musical groups. Alternatively, Bates (2018) suggests that equity involves teaching instruments, like guitar, that may foster lifelong music making as well as choosing songs "that deal with the issues of poverty and inequality" (p. 73). While important, these diverse aims suggest that equity may serve as a vague buzzword within the profession.…”

Standing at the Intersection of Race and Class in Music Education

“…Otherwise, in the North American literature on music education, one can find a series of articles seeking a causal link between music education and school achievement for students from low-income families (Fitzpatrick 2006, Tierney et al 2013, Doyle 2014, Slater et al 2015, a couple of studies linking socioeconomic status (SES) with music festival ratings (Bergee 2006, Speer 2012, and a few articles that point out the underrepresentation of poor and "minority" students in school music (Albert 2006, Elpus and Abril 2011, Antmann 2015. A handful of essays address class, poverty, or socioeconomic status in music education from a social justice perspective (Bates 2011(Bates , 2012(Bates , 2017(Bates , 2018bHoffman 2013;McAnally 2013). Finally, Joseph Abramo (2017) recently contributed an innovative essay to the Philosophy of Music Education Review in which he applies "Marx's theories of labor, value, and phantasmagoria to suggest a capitalist logic that structures [school ensemble] competitions" (150).…”