Preferred Name
Ben Luna
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Date of Graduation
12-17-2021
Semester of Graduation
Fall
Degree Name
Master of Music (MM)
Department
School of Music
Second Advisor
Bryce Hayes
Third Advisor
Amy B. Lewis
Abstract
Benjamin Joel Luna, M. M.
James Madison University, 2021
Supervisor: Lisa M. Maynard
The purpose of this study was to examine the Multicultural Music Education (MME) practices of established (i.e. more than three years of music teaching experience) Elementary Music Teachers in the state of Virginia by examining their responses to a series of survey questions specific to the topic. Participants (N=18) were all current Elementary Music Teachers in the state of Virginia with more than three years of experience.
Participants were asked to use Likert-scale ratings for the majority of the questions but were also given the opportunity to provide optional additional input for each question if they should choose to do so. Subtopics within the questions included the following areas of focus: teacher preparation; teacher perceptions of preparedness to incorporate multicultural music into their classes; pedagogical practices used by current elementary music educators; access and availability of resources specific to multicultural music education; and administrative and parental influences in relation to the topic.
The survey questions were administered using QuestionPro. Results were analyzed within the QuestionPro software and re-examined by the researcher-practitioner to identify existing trends and/or themes within the data. Optional responses and comments provided by the participants were also examined to further illuminate the survey findings.
Findings indicated that participants held generally positive feelings and beliefs concerning MME and racial/linguistic/cultural diversity in ways that surpass historical references to a politically correct and ambiguous MME, reported a lack of preparation to teach from an MME perspective, were ambivalent toward racially and linguistically diverse repertoire, and held contradictory beliefs concerning the role of Western European notational decoding. Implications for future research include the need for replication of previous studies, meta-analysis of current trends, and investigation of the intersections between race studies, ethnomusicology, and music pedagogy best practices.
