The Influence of Selected Cultural Factors on the Environmental Teaching Preference of Undergraduate Music Education Majors

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

“…These results support previous research results suggesting either that the participants generally were ambivalent regarding the item statements or that they found the neutral response option to be a more socially acceptable alternative in light of negative attitudes and beliefs they might actually hold (Kelly, 2003;McKoy, 2006). One exception to this trend was in the response to Item 9, which assessed the extent to which participants believed that certain racial/ethnic groups had greater capacity for learning than others.…”

“…Some researchers have indicated that preservice music teachers were comfortable with the idea of teaching in ethnically and racially diverse educational environments; however, when asked to indicate in which educational environments they would prefer to teach, they demonstrated greater preference for teaching in suburban schools with student populations that reflect their own cultural backgrounds (Kelly, 2003;McKoy, 2006). Reeder-Lundquist (2002) noted that preservice music educators were expected to "operate effectively in a social, historical, and aesthetic context, which is not at all the same-and is vastly more complex-than the cultural context for which they have been prepared in typical higher education" (p. 634).…”

Motivational Constructs Influencing Undergraduate Students’ Choices to Become Classroom Music Teachers or Music Performers

“…However, in the present study, we included all 270 students and found that a little more than half of the students were female (55.4%), most of the students were White/Caucasian (88.1%), 4.1% were Hispanic, 3.0% were Asian or Pacific Islander, 2.2% were Black or African American, and 2.6% were of another race or ethnicity. Based on our general knowledge of music students at these schools, our sample seems to be reasonably representative of music students in the United States and is similar to what Kelly (2003) documented. He reported survey results from four large institutions with music education majors (n = 406) where most participants were female (59%), 84% were White/Caucasian, 3% were Hispanic, 3% were Asian, 6% were African American, and 4% were of other ethnicities (p. 45).…”

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

“…Kelly (2003) found that pre-service music teachers whose pre-college music experiences were in suburban middle class schools expressed a preference for teaching in environments that are similar to their own background. McKoy (2006) found that pre-service music teachers were ambivalent regarding their preference for teaching in culturally diverse schools, despite their claims that they believed in the value of multicultural music instruction, recognized race and ethnicity as influential factors in music and learning style preferences, and were comfortable with teaching in racially and ethnically diverse educational environments.…”

“…According to research on teacher education, teacher beliefs, orientations, and commitment can significantly influence what pre-service educators learn in their teacher training programs (Foster, 1995;Feiman-Nemser & Remillard, 1996;Gollnick, 1996;Marshall, 1999;Gay & Howard, 2000;Bradfield-Kreider, 2001;Thorsén, 2002;Villegas & Lucas, 2002;Kelly, 2003). It follows that the more teachers understand about how their own cultural backgrounds and ethnic identities influence their attitudes about other cultural groups, the more open they may be to recognizing the significance of culture and ethnicity as factors critical to teaching and learning.…”