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Teaching Multicultural Music: Thoughts and Experiences (MUSI 660)

Written by Dr. Charles R. Ciorba

This semester, I am teaching an online graduate course on the topic of multicultural perspectives in music education.  Given today’s social and political climate, I’ll start the semester by asking, how should music educators approach the subject of multicultural music in their classroom?  This question involves a complex response, and I thought it best if I opened the course by sharing some of my own thoughts and experiences.

I would like to begin by going back 22 years, when I was attending a state music education conference at the University of Michigan.  At one of the sessions, a music educator from New Mexico presented on the topic of authenticity when teaching multicultural music.  Two points of view were being debated.  On one side, there were those who were committed to true authenticity.  This group advocated for the teaching of music from other cultures in a truly authentic manner.  The other group advocated for the teaching of multicultural music using various approaches.  For example, one teacher discussed combining African folk music with hip hop rhythms.  This group claimed the music they taught was authentic because they were creating it on the spot.  In other words, it was authentic because they were doing it.  It was a lively discussion.  Philosophically, I quickly fell into the second group.  In fact, it was a pivotal moment in my history with multicultural music.  As a music teacher, I would fuse many different types of musical styles in my classroom.  Contemporary rhythms with traditional melodies, rap and poetry with traditional hand drumming; you name it, I did it.  It was all about the music, and I addressed each topic with respect and enthusiasm.  In response, the students (and the rest of the school community) responded positively.  The post-modern mind set of “anything goes” was in full force.  Of course, I was also sensitive to the need for respecting the rules and customs of the Native American community.  With proper awareness, I would teach the music representing this culture in a truly authentic manner.  It was an exciting time to teach music in Ann Arbor, Michigan. 

While living and teaching in Ann Arbor, I would regularly commute to northern Ohio (approximately 70 miles one way) while I earned my Master’s Degree in Music Education at Bowling Green State University (BGSU).  It was during this time I took my first online course, which was taught by Dr. Victor Fung.  The title of the course was Multicultural Music.  This too was a pivotal moment, as I became familiar with the term multicultural music.  Before that, the popular term was world music.  In fact, you could walk into many record/CD stores in the 1980s/1990s and see a section devoted to world music.  Dr. Fung disagreed with this term by stating ALL music is world music, and that term should not be applied to music that represents a culture that is different from our own.  Rather, he believed the term multicultural music should be used.  I also took another class that was taught by one of Bowling Green’s musicology faculty.  I quickly discovered that BGSU was one of the only universities in the United States that owned a full gamelan, which consists of instruments from Bali and Java, Indonesia.  I attended one of the gamelan concerts in the fall of 2002 and was completely impressed with the authenticity of the performance.     

Let’s now jump forward 12 years.  At this point, I’m an Associate Professor at the University of Oklahoma.  I’m no longer teaching multicultural music in the K-12 environment, but I did experience another pivotal moment that further developed my understanding of multicultural music.  The Norman Music festival is an annual event, where many bands from all over the region perform as part of a huge music festival.  During this time, Mary Fallin was the Governor of Oklahoma.  I won’t comment on her administration, but given the part of the country in which the state of Oklahoma is located, your political assumptions would probably be correct.  The governor has a daughter named Christina, who sang with a band called Pink Pony.  One summer, Pink Pony was given a headline spot at the Norman Music Festival.  Please click on the link below to find out what happened.

One of my graduate students knew some people who attended this performance.  Of course, protesters clashed with fans of the group, and it was quite a mess.  Christina Fallin’s actions were calculated, deliberate, and political. 

Within this personal story of mine, I presented several examples of people teaching and performing music from a multicultural perspective.  The first, in which I (as a music educator) embraced multicultural music in a variety of  ways.  The last, in which a state governor’s daughter used music to make a controversial political statement.  In both circumstances, cultural appropriation was being practiced, but the contexts and intentions were completely different. 

Given my professional history, I now realize it is more than just teaching the music.  It is also important to be well informed and culturally sensitive when addressing multicultural perspectives.  We should be encouraged to delve into the historical and emotionally sensitive elements behind each culture.  By doing so, we can begin to address the realities of cultural appropriation and social bias in a positive fashion.  I look forward to a fun and rewarding semester.

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Musical Identity (MUSI 660)

The term identity can encapsulate many definitions. It all depends on the context in which it is used.  For the purpose of this discussion, a quick Google search reveals that identity can be defined as, “A set of physical, psychological, and interpersonal characteristics that is not wholly shared with any other person and (b) a range of affiliations (e.g., ethnicity) and social roles.” Identity serves as a reflection of your beliefs, values, and yes, even your musical tastes and preferences.

How do you view yourself through the music you prefer, appreciate, enjoy, and love?  According to Thompson (2014), it is a fluid process: one that can ebb and flow based on your thoughts and experiences.  For example, it is well known that people can often listen to the music of their youth for their entire lives, but as we mature, our musical identities can change.  It all depends on how, or if, we allow it to change.  

From my own perspective, I listened to many different types of music when I was younger, and once I made a conscious decision to return to college in my early 30s, my musical identity continued to change.  While the musical identity I developed in my youth (e.g., The Beatles, The Stones, and The Who) will always ebb and flow for me, I also started to identify with jazz. Miles Davis, Lee Morgan, and Chet Baker became part of my daily listening.  I also drifted towards the musical stylings of John Coltrane and Arnold Schoenberg. I was studying to be a music teacher and playing my trumpet again. I wanted to be challenged, musically. In turn, my musical identity continued to evolve. It was all great fun, and to be fully aware of my own musical identity is a true a gift of knowledge. 

I have always been fascinated with the social aspects of musical identities shared among adolescents. Specifically, how they use music to identify their roles within their own cultures and subcultures. Consider the following picture:

There is no subtly, here.  These gentlemen are fans of heavy metal.  With their favorite bands emblazoned on their black t-shirts. they are proud of their musical identities. I respect their passion for music.  I can also can say the same about the next two pictures.

All three groups express their musical identity by the way they dress, the way they speak, the way they act, and who they choose as friends.  The power music plays in defining who we are is incontrovertible.  Whether it’s the hippies of the sixties, the disco fans of the seventies, the valley girls of the eighties, the grunge and hip-hop cultures of the nineties, and so forth, a good part of their social make up revolves around musical identity.

With today’s technological advances, such as (a) computers, (c) cell phones, (c) apps, (d) software, (e) the internet, and (f) streaming services, new musical subcultures will continue to form (and perhaps fragment) within the sociological framework of our society. Such change is part of our evolution, but our musical identities will continue to help define who we are. How cool is that?  Please feel free to comment, share your thoughts, and be part of the conversation.

References

Thompson, W. F. (Ed.). (2014). Music in the social and behavioral sciences: Anencyclopedia (Vols. 1-2). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

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Music in Advertising (MUSI 660)

Music and advertising can go together like peanut butter and jelly. According to Thompson (2014), advertisers use music in a somewhat subliminal manner to help communicate intricate ideas in a straightforward fashion. As a result, music in marketing can be very powerful. For example, the music used in television advertising can remain in your long term memory for a lifetime.  I am reminded of the humorous line, in which a person in late adulthood can easily remember a television jingle from their youth while simultaneously not being able to remember why they walked into the kitchen.  

I’m sure most people from my generation can remember the following commercial and be able to sing it from memory: 

Or how about this one?

Granted, these examples were taken from a specific time and place in my own childhood, but I’m sure we all have our favorites. Both songs have the following things in common: they (a) create a positive mood, (b) attract and hold your attention, and (c) place focus on a commercial product (Radocy and Boyle, 2003).  It is common to run these types of commercials during positive programming (e.g., happy shows). 

There is no denying that music in advertising is big business, and the intended audience is targeted through music. Research has shown people like to buy products that are associated with music they enjoy. Furthermore, customers react best to the music of their youth (Radocy and Boyle, 2003).  Nike hit the jackpot when they used the song Revolution by The Beatles in one of their ads.  Interestingly, Nike agreed to stop using the ad when the Beatles filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit.  This may have served as a victory for the legendary super group, but it was soon discovered that many pop and rock artists were more than happy to have their music used in commercials.

For example:

And while most Chryslers are now manufactured in Mexico, this commercial was very popular when it was premiered during the 2011 Super Bowl.

There is also the role music plays in the marketplace.  Specifically, the background music that is played in a commercial establishment.  This music is designed to be heard, but not experienced in a serious manner.  These songs are normally written in a major key and paired with a medium tempo (sedative music).  If the tempo is too fast (stimulative music), the business owners run the risk of rushing the shoppers out of the store.  The key is to use music that makes the shopping experience as long and as comfortable as possible.  When this is achieved, shoppers will spend more money. Positive Mood = Purchase.  The Muzak corporation, now known as MOOD:MEDIA has long been responsible for much of what you hear while you shop.  Today, it’s all about music streaming in the marketplace. 

Here are a couple earworms I remember from my own shopping experiences:

I heard this song in a Publix supermarket in Palm Beach County, Florida the day after hurricane Wilma devastated the region.  For some reason, I remember this moment like it occurred yesterday.

Advertising with music on the internet remains a territory worthy of further development.  Thompson (2014) indicated that advertising on the internet is more of a visual experience, but if you spend time on YouTube without a subscription, you are going to experience plenty of commercial advertisements. Personally, I associate these advertisements (many which contain music) with a negative experience.  In my humble opinion, advertisers on the internet have a long way to go if they wish to capture the magic of music in television advertising.  It will be interesting to see how it develops.  What are your thoughts?  Please feel free to comment!

References

Radocy, R & Boyle, J. (2003).  Psychological foundations of musical behavior (4th ed). Springfield, IL: Charles Thomas.

Thompson, W. F. (Ed.). (2014). Music in the social and behavioral sciences: An encyclopedia (Vols. 1-2). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

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Nostalgia: Sociology of Music (MUSI 660)

Nostalgia: a sentimental recollection.  It is a feeling that can be subtle, powerful, and certainly enjoyable.  Wisner (2014) identifies two types of nostalgia.  First, there is personal nostalgia, which is a yearning to relive your past emotionally and/or physically.  Second, there is false nostalgia, which involves a desire for a past that you have not lived.  For example, have you ever wanted to experience a particular historical period? In both cases, music is a powerful tool that can be used to help us produce feelings of nostalgia.

In terms of personal nostalgia, have you every been reintroduced to a song that you haven’t heard in years, and it immediately takes you back to a specific moment from your past?  For many of us, this can be a powerful moment that elicits detailed memories.  Music can also trigger feelings of false nostalgia, where you can perceive what you believe to be an ideal place in history.  Such feelings can certainly be drawn from music in film (which was discussed in an earlier blog), and previous research indicates that music incorporated into a film can enhance emotional responses from the viewer (Tannenbaum, 1956). The same soundtrack can evoke feelings of personal nostalgia and false nostalgia.  Which films bring up nostalgic moments for you?

I firmly believe a strong relationship exists between emotion and music.  Especially music that was important to us in our youth.  According to Stern (2014), our brains experience rapid neurological development between the ages of 12 and 22.  I know this fact does not come as a surprise to many of you, but the music we listen to during this time in our lives is strongly embedded into our memory.  It is no surprise that many of us will continue to enjoy the music of our youth well into adulthood.  The music industry is aware of this, and it is no wonder that you can usually find a classic rock radio station in any major metro area of the United States.  Rock ‘n’ roll has been used as a marketing tool towards baby boomers for decades.

While contemplating this topic, I find it interesting how music, nostalgia, consumerism, and neurological development can be combined into one sociological discussion.  For your weekly assignment, please do the following:

This week, your topic choices are:

  • Nostalgia
  • Performance Anxiety
  • Identity

This week, I chose to write about nostalgia, but you can address any of the above topics. The readings are short and interesting. I encourage you to read all three of them.

  1. Choose one of the topics and post a thread (500 words minimum) by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, November 10th. Do not attempt to summarize the entire article.  Instead, try to expand on a particular topic (or topics) within the chapter that is/are of interest to you.
  2. By 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, November 12th, please post a response (200 word minimum) to TWO threads created by your classmates.

References

Stern, M. J. (2014, August 12). Neural nostalgia: Why do we love the music we heard as teenagers? Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2014/08/musical_nostalgia_the_psychology_and_neuroscience_for_song_preference_and.html

Tannenbaum, P. H. (1956). Music background in the judgment of stage and television drama. Audiovisual Communication Review. 4(92). doi:10.1007/BF02717069

Wisner, R. A. (2014). Nostalgia. In Thompson, W. F. (Ed.), Music in the social and behavioral sciences: An encyclopedia (Vols. 1-2) (pp. 816-817). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

 

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Film Music: Sociology of Music (MUED 6032)

Who can deny the power music lends to a motion picture? I do realize there are some great movies that do not have musical scores (please refer to the following website for more information https://screencrush.com/films-with-no-soundtrack-list/, but they are the exception, and not the rule. Imagine watching one of your favorite movies with the music soundtrack removed. Do you think your movie-watching experience would be different?

Some of my favorite movie soundtracks include The Godfather, The Graduate, Help, A Hard Day’s Night, Gladiator, Pretty in Pink, and Pulp Fiction. I am also a huge fan of movies where music is central to the theme, including (a) rock operas (Quadrophenia, Tommy, and The Wall); (b) concert films and rock documentaries (Gimme Shelter, The Kids Are Alright, and Woodstock); and (c) motion pictures that revolve around the lives of famous musicians (Bird and Miles Ahead). I recently watched Born to be Blue, which starred Ethan Hawke as famed jazz trumpeter Chet Baker. The movie centered on Chet Baker’s controversial, and often painful, musical comeback in the late 1960s. While this is just my opinion, I thought Ethan Hawke gave a wonderfully convincing performance. In addition, I thought the soundtrack was excellent. I also enjoy unique soundtracks. For example, the main theme for The Taking of Pelham 123 combined a funk rhythm line with a 12-tone row melody. Check out the link below. The music works!

Academically speaking, what does the previous research have to say about film music? Tannenbaum (1956) conducted a study in which participants responded to semantic differential scales while watching several versions of a drama (i.e., staged drama, televised drama, and filmed version of the staged drama). Results indicated that background music in the production increased participants’ responses according to the bipolar adjectives of fast/slow and strong/weak. While an early study, Tannebaum was able to describe the influence music can have in entertainment.

More recently, it has been found that music depicting an exciting situation on film can heighten feelings of anger, while music depicting a sentimental situation can heighten feelings of love. Such examples show that music can help an audience to better understand, and heighten empathy, towards the characters in a film.

Today, researchers in the field of neuroscience are conducting studies to determine how a person’s brain processes audio and visual information while watching a film. The results of such research have numerous implications for the film and video game industries (not to mention the use of music in corporate advertising).

There is no denying that music provides a valuable contribution to the world of film, and while previous research in this area is rather sparse, current and future research may prove to be quite intriguing. For those of you who are interested in exploring this topic further, I encourage you to read The Psychology of Music in Multimedia by Tan, Chen, Lipscomb, and Kendall (2013).

If you have the inclination, please feel free to share your favorite movie soundtracks! I’m sure we can create quite a list. For your weekly assignment, please do the following:

  1. All of the readings are available on the course D2L site. This week, your topic choices are:
  • Film Music
  • File Sharing
  • Manipulation

This week, I chose to write about film music, but you can address any of the above topics. The readings are short and interesting. I encourage you to read as many as possible.

  1. Choose one of the topics and post a thread (500 words minimum) by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, April 14th. Do not attempt to summarize the entire article.  Instead, try to expand on a particular topic (or topics) within the chapter that is/are of interest to you.
  1. By 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, April 16th, please post a response (200 word minimum) to TWO threads created by your classmates.

Tan, S. L., Cohen, A. J., Lipscomb, S. D., & Kendall R. A., (2013). The psychology of music in multimedia. Oxford Scholarship Online.

Tannenbaum, P. H. (1956). Music background in the judgment of stage and television drama. Audiovisual Communication Review. 4(92). doi:10.1007/BF02717069

Thompson, W. F. (Ed.). (2014). Music in the social and behavioral sciences: An encyclopedia (Vols. 1-2). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

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Earworms: Sociology of Music (MUED 6032)

What is an earworm? The word alone can launch numerous conversations.  My initial thoughts, while entirely inaccurate, take me to a particular scene from the movie Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan. I won’t go into detail, but if you are familiar with the movie, you will know what I’m talking about. If not, and you are curious, please feel free to research the topic on YouTube. For the purpose of this discussion, an earworm is defined as a short musical segment that enters into your mind involuntarily. They are a phenomena that have been around for quite a while, as the Merriam-Webster Dictionary first employed the term in 1802 (Thompson, 2014).

Earworms often center around a short passage of familiar music and rarely involve an entire song or musical movement. In addition, Jakubowski, Finkel, Stewart, and Müllensiefenn (2016) stated earworms often employ an unusual or unexpected interval that lends a unique flavor to the melody. For example:

 

In another example, an earworm may employ a unique rhythmic pattern:

 

 

Or both:

 

As someone who has always been fascinated with earworms, I am happy to learn their occurrences are extremely common. When studying a large international sample (N = 5,989), 85% of participants reported to experience earworms on a weekly basis, while 51% reported to experience them daily (Thompson, 2014). In my case, I would probably fall into the daily group. With that said, it is interesting to note they are more likely to occur among those who consider themselves to be musical, although there does not seem to be a correlation between musical training and the characteristics of certain earworms. I may be wrong, but I believe this can be interpreted to mean that while a person may be an accomplished musician, the music comprising his or her earworms will be similar to rest of the general population.

It is also interesting to note that in most cases, it is best not to fight them, as it is much harder to block an earworm than to simply accept its existence (Beaman & Williams, 2010). What else do we know? Well, while earworms enter the mind involuntarily, they are most likely to occur during low stages of cognitive activity. This makes sense, as they would be quite a distraction while engaged in stressful situations or highly engaging mental tasks. So, if you find earworms to be a distraction, keep your mind working at a high level. 🙂 On the other hand, if you have time to let your mind wander, enjoy the satisfying experience an earworm can offer!

For your weekly assignment, please do the following:

  1. Since we have completed the Froehlich text, we are now going to set up a series of blogs that address a variety of topics. All of the readings are available on the course D2L site. This week, your topic choices are:
    1. Advertising
    2. Atonality
    3. Earworms
    4. Fight Songs

I chose to write about earworms, but you can address any of the above topics. The readings are short and interesting. I encourage you to read as many as possible.

  1. Choose one of the topics and post a thread (500 words minimum) by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, April 7th. Do not attempt to summarize the entire article.  Instead, try to expand on a particular portion the article  that is of interest to you.
  1. By 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, April 9th, please post a response (200 word minimum) to TWO threads created by your classmates.

Beaman, C. P., Williams, T. I. (2010). Earworms (stuck song Syndrome): Towards a natural history of intrusive thoughts. British Journal of Psychology, 101(4), 637-655. doi: 10.1348/000712609X479636

Jakubowski, K., Finkel, S., Stewart, L., & Müllensiefenn, D. (2016). Dissecting an earworm: Melodic features and song popularity predict involuntary musical imagery Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2016/11/earworms.aspx

Thompson, W. F. (Ed.). (2014). Music in the social and behavioral sciences: Anencyclopedia (Vols. 1-2). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

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Sociology Project Information

I hope all of you had a great spring break and are now ready to begin the final portion of the semester. Since the course projects are officially due on March 31, I’ve decided to suspend the blogging assignments for another week. So, if you have not yet collected your project data, now is the time to do so. Once you have collected your data, all you will need to do is create a survey database and a survey code file. Allow me to explain each part of this assignment:

Survey Database

  • You can submit your database as an Excel file or an SPSS file. If you are familiar with SPSS and have access to this particular software, that’s fine. If not, an Excel file is totally acceptable. A sample Excel database (i.e., spreadsheet) has been has been sent to you. This example should help you set up your own database. Once you open the database, you will notice that:
    • The information for each student is set up horizontally and the information for each survey item is set up vertically.
    • 117 students completed the survey.
    • The survey consisted of 10 items/questions.
    • You will also notice that each response has been coded numerically. For further explanation, let’s discuss the survey code file (which has also been sent to you).

Survey Code File

  • The first question asked participants to indicate their gender. The response codes for gender are (a) Female = 1 and (b) Male = 2. This is known as a categorical variable. For the gender column, each female participant was assigned the number 1, and each male participant was assigned the number 2.
  • For question number three, participants were asked, “How do you usually discover new music outsides of school?” The response codes for this question are:
    • Internet = 1
    • Music App = 2
    • Other = 3
    • Radio = 4
  • Once again, this is a categorical variable, which means each response represents a specific category, and the number assigned to each category is arbitrary.
  • Question number seven asks, “How happy are you with the music we perform in class?” The response codes for this question are:
    • Very Unhappy = 1
    • Somewhat Happy = 2
    • Neutral =3
    • Somewhat Happy = 4
    • Very Happy = 5
  • This question is different from the other two in that it represents a quantitative variable, and the response codes reflect an ordinal (some may say interval) scale. This means the numerical coding is ranked from lowest (Very Unhappy) to highest (Very Happy). It is important to note that each response indicates a specific level of agreement to the question.

Use the files provided as a guide to help you set up your database and coding file. Please let me know if you have any questions. If your survey includes open-ended responses, please let me know and I will help you further.

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Application of Sociological Constructs in Education to Music Schooling (Froehlich, Chapter 7)

The social realities we encounter as music educators are an inherent part of our professional lives. Froehlich (2007) magnifies these realities by outlining several of the topics we discussed this semester. They include the achievement gap, which can be a result of socioeconomics, race, gender, and culture. Fortunately, music can be integral to students’ lives outside of school. This brings us back to the differences between formal and informal music learning. Informal music learning allows students to voluntarily immerse themselves in the learning process. Such immersion entails much more than just the music, as students admire their favorite music and musicians by a variety of social factors. On the other hand, formal music learning can often seem old fashioned if not addressed appropriately. It is interesting to note that Froehlich believes formal and informal music learning can meet common ground with the introduction of instrumental music (the voice is an instrument, too) in the formal curriculum. Providing students the opportunity to learn a variety of instrumental music styles can help to build their self-esteem. This can go a long way to unite students from diverse backgrounds.

The diverse backgrounds of our students can also prompt a discussion of the hidden curriculum, which is defined as:

“The set of values, attitudes, or principals that are implicitly conveyed to students by teachers. It is believed to promote social control at school and in society at large by training people to conform and to obey authority, teaching them to regard social inequalities as natural, thereby ensuring cultural reproduction” (p. 119).

Music educators now realize that accepted traditions (e.g., how an audience responds between movements) should be explicitly taught. Addressing the relationships between musical conventions and valued behaviors versus musical preferences and cultural traditions will help us to even the playing field between students with extensive musical backgrounds and those with little or no musical experience. How we respond to the educational needs of our students help us to define ourselves as valuable members of the educational community.

These aforementioned issues are extremely important as they help us to realize that teaching and learning music are social acts. Furthermore, students who immerse themselves in a formal music education are able to develop their cultural capital. Cultural capital involves (a) musicianship, (b) music literacy, (c) performance skills, and (d) the ability to discern different musical styles. Hopefully, such capital will result in a lifelong appreciation and commitment to music, but is this always the case? How often does a committed high school musician stop performing once he or she graduates from high school? This leads us to an important question: What can music educators do to assure their students become lifelong music makers?

What we do is important. Whether you teach music as a compulsory subject in the elementary schools or as an elective in middle school and high school, it is important to remember that you are not only an educator. You are a musician. You are an advocate for the arts. You are a public relations manager. You are a liaison between the school and community. For your weekly assignment, please do the following:

  1. Read the seventh chapter of the Froehlich text, which is titled, Application of Sociological Constructs in Education to Music Schooling.
  2. Post a thread (500 words minimum) by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, March 10th. Do not attempt to summarize the entire chapter.  Instead, try to expand on a particular topic within the chapter that is of interest to you.
  3. By 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, March 12th, please post a response (200 word minimum) to TWO threads created by your classmates.

As you work on this chapter, please feel free to draw from following statements and questions:

  • What knowledge and skills would you consider to be important in a culturally literate person? Discuss strategies to teach toward such a goal for different school settings.
  • Examine the place of competitions in the world of music learning. Where is competitive behavior appropriate and where does it inhibit learning?

Froehlich, H. C. (2007). Sociology for music teachers: Perspectives for practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

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Desert Skies Symposium 2017

The 2017 Desert Skies Symposium was held this past week (Feb. 23-25) at Arizona State University. It was a wonderful location with first class hosts. All attendees presented high quality research, and it was good to see a large group of Ph.D. students in attendance. Daniel Mockenhaupt (MME student) and I went to present the results of our latest study (see abstract below), and I am happy to say our research was well received. Dr. Clifford Madsen provided some excellent insight to what we are doing (thank you Dr. Madsen!). My thanks to all the wonderful people who attended this great conference. What is next? Stay tuned as Dr. Brian Russell and I will be presenting our latest research at the ISAME conference in Birmingham, UK this April.

Music Education in the United States: Perceptions from the K-12 Educational Community

Abstract

As the United States entered the new millennium, previous research suggested that music education struggled within the realm of public education (Music for All Foundation, 2004; Council for Basic Education, 2004). Given these realities, Ciorba and Seibert (2012) sought to examine the professional self-perceptions towards music education from members of the K-12 educational community in the state of Oklahoma. Results indicated that music teachers’ overall perceptions toward music education were significantly higher than those reported by the rest of the educational community (i.e., administrators, teachers of other subject areas, and support staff). When asked how they would improve music education, adminis­trators, music teachers, and support staff reported the need for increased music education funding while teachers of other subject areas recommended improvements in curriculum and scheduling. Since the publication of this study, recent research has revealed that music education continues to struggle within the K-12 curriculum. For example, Burrack (2014) revealed that 55% of the schools in Florida were operating with budget reductions between 2011 and 2012. As a result, 375 music-teaching positions were eliminated. West (2012) reported that music teachers often faced scheduling conflicts due to the emphasis placed on standardized test subjects. Furthermore, proposed budget cuts threatened to have a negative impact on music programs in the states of Minnesota (Hansen, 2015), Massachusetts (Cole, 2015), and Pennsylvania (Sylvester, 2015).

On a positive note, 94% of elementary schools, 92% of middle schools, and 93% of high schools in the state of Michigan continued to offer arts related courses (Quadrant Arts Education Research Project 2012). In the state of California, the Val Verde Unified School District resumed music instruction in the elementary schools (Ghori, 2014). Major (2013) examined a Michigan school district to determine the process used to keep their music program intact. It was determined that positive synergy in the educational community, high quality music teachers, and strong parental support played a large influence in administrators’ decisions to keep music education within the district.

Given the results of the previous research, a need exists to further examine the K-12 educational community’s perceptions towards the importance of music education at the nationwide level. Specifically, this study was designed to answer the following research questions:

  • What are the demographics of a nationwide sample as reported by the Music Education Perception Measure (MEPM)?
  • Do significant differences exist between administrators, music teachers, teachers of other subject areas, and support staff in regards to their perceptions toward music education?
  • What suggestions can members of the K–12 educational community offer to improve music education?

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), in connection with the United States Census Bureau offers a website that includes an online database (http://nces.ed.gov), which lists all K-12 public school districts in the United States. Using this information, a stratified random sample of 10 districts per state was chosen based on the characteristics of each state population. Once a list of school districts was assembled, the researchers visited every school website within each of the chosen districts and compiled an email list of 178,444 administrators, music teachers, teachers of other subject areas, and support staff.

In January of 2016, an invitation containing a description of the study and a link to the Music Education Perception Measure (MEPM) was sent to every email address through Survey-Monkey. The MEPM consists of 17 statements designed to measure participants’ personal self-perceptions towards the importance of music education. Each statement was aligned with the following response items: (a) Strongly Disagree, (b) Disagree, (c) Agree, and (d) Strongly Agree. Those who received the email message were informed their participation was completely voluntary. Two follow-up emails were sent one week apart from the initial invitation to those who had not completed the survey. The survey remained opened throughout the Spring 2016 semester. The final sample (N = 6.089) included (a) 338 administrators, (b) 631 music teachers, (c) 4,044 non-music teachers, and (d) 1,075 support staff.

Results were similar to those reported by Ciorba and Seibert (2012) in that music teachers’ overall perceptions towards music education were significantly higher than those reported by administrators, teachers of other subject areas, and support staff. In addition, while participants representing all four groups indicated increased funding as one of their top responses, administrators, secondary non-music teachers, and support staff also indicated a need to increase students’ accessibility to music classes through improved scheduling.

 

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Sociology of Education: Major Theories and Their Connection to School Practice (Froehlich, Chapter 6)

What is the function of schools in our society? It is obvious there is no single answer to this question, although sociologists of education have produced several theories pertaining to the function and values of our schools. The primary purpose of this chapter is to illuminate the function of our schools through a discussion of functionalist theory, conflict theory, and interactionist theory.

Functionalist Theory

Society relies on its institutions, and the role of school is to teach the values and behaviors needed to be productive members of society. Education is necessary for public survival. Within this framework, students are the learners and teachers are the instructors. The educational system is made up of a variety of social groups (e.g., teachers, administrators, and students). Each group is expected to perform in a certain manner by following prescribed codes of behavior, and the expectations of behaviors for young adolescents can be quite strict. Two studies by Coleman (1961, 1966) investigated the socialization process of the adolescent population. It was discovered that the secondary socialization of adolescents has a “life of its own” (Froelich, p. 82), which is intimately connected to society as a whole. Coleman’s second study addressed the issues of achievement within a racially diverse population. To this day, Coleman’s research underlines the connection between education and politics.

Conflict Theory

The most noteworthy predecessors of conflict theory in education are Karl Marx and Max Weber. According to conflict theory, knowledge and skills are best acquired when a learner needs them. This can be accomplished in and out of the classroom. Student empowerment is key. Conflict theory also recognizes the tensions that exist between groups and individuals. According to Froehlich, such tensions can isolate the “haves” from the “have nots,” and these tensions will not be alleviated until change is brought about by force. The economic disparities between schools have brought about various efforts to marginalize the educational system. Consider the busing issue of the 1970s, or the attempts at even tax distribution in the 1990s. Today, it is quite likely we will see the issue of school vouchers (a longstanding political wedge issue) to once again predominate the headlines.

Interactionist Theory

Interactionist theory is often perceived as a combination of functionalist theory and conflict theory. School efficiency is achieved when students are allowed to learn at a pace that is comfortable and manageable. Students are empowered to attain their fullest potential. This theory also addresses the consequences that can result from a educational system the has the responsibility of teaching students who represent a variety of socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. As such, this discussion is not complete without addressing the hidden curriculum, which entails educational “givens” that send inadvertent messages. These messages may lead to hidden learning results. According to Froehlich, “Certain types of knowledge are valued over other types of knowledge” (p. 85). Students who retain the correct knowledge will attain academic success. The hidden curriculum involves teaching towards a “cultural capital” that is not accessible to all students. Can you think of any examples?

What is Our Role?

Teachers and students relate to their environment through their actions (dress, diet, music, body language, etc.).  Role-playing provides us with a means to interact with others (John Dewey was a huge advocate of this approach). Consider the roles you play as a teacher. Have you experienced conflict between these roles? As we have discussed throughout the semester, schools are complex systems that help us to maintain and advance the world in which we live. As teachers, I encourage all of us to be familiar with the discourse exhibited by our colleagues throughout the educational community. Doing so will help us to improve our role in the workplace. For your weekly assignment, please do the following:

  1. Read the sixth chapter of the Froehlich text, which is titled, Sociology of Education: Major Theories and Their Connection to School Practice.
  2. Post a thread (500 words minimum) by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, March 3rd. Do not attempt to summarize the entire chapter.  Instead, try to expand on a particular topic within the chapter that is of interest to you.
  3. By 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, March 5th, please post a response (200 word minimum) to TWO threads created by your classmates.

As you work on this chapter, please feel free to draw from following statements and questions:

  • Discuss the pros and cons of functionalism, conflict, and interaction theory in dealing with explaining the status quo of public school education on the one hand and calling for major curricular reforms on the other.
  • Discuss the meaning of ‘devaluing’ a person. Give examples where that can happen during music instruction and find hypothetical solutions to such instances.
  • Describe the relative merits of constructivism as a perspective for music education practice and compare to it current practice as you know it.

Froehlich, H. C. (2007). Sociology for music teachers: Perspectives for practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.