TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................. xviii
LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................... xix
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION............................................................................. 1
The Evolution of the Questions .......................................................................... 1
Ideas, Opportunities, Demands… Lead to Questions ................................... 2
Narrowing the Questions: Toward Social Justice in Music Education ......... 4
It’s About Students......................................................................................... 5
It’s about Teachers ...................................................................................... 14
The Research Questions .................................................................................... 18
Question 1 .................................................................................................... 18
Question 2 .................................................................................................... 18
Question 3 .................................................................................................... 19
Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks ......................................................... 19
Critical Feminist Theory ............................................................................. 21
Emancipatory Education ............................................................................. 22
Inquiry as Stance ......................................................................................... 22
Theory of Change ........................................................................................ 23
The Intersection: Teacher Inquiry as Transformative Learning.................. 24
Methodology ..................................................................................................... 25
Community-based Participatory Action Research ...................................... 25
Phenomenology ........................................................................................... 26
Autoethnography ......................................................................................... 26
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Theory of Change ........................................................................................ 27
Study Design and Participants .......................................................................... 27
CHAPTER 2: A JOURNEY THROUGH LITERATURE, LEARNING, AND LIFE .................................................................................................................. 29
Becoming a Teacher ......................................................................................... 29
Digging into Music Education .......................................................................... 30
Exploring Culturally Responsive Pedagogies................................................... 32
Inclusion and Coming to Grips with Oppression ........................................ 34
Discovering Action Research ...................................................................... 39
Involving Students in the Quest for Justice ................................................. 40
Diving into Self-determination, Autonomy, and Choice ............................ 44
Encountering Love and Hate, and the Impact on Participation and Retention ......................................................................................... 46
Unmasking Trauma-Informed Pedagogies.................................................. 52
The Dirt on Critical and Activist Music Pedagogies................................... 53
And There’s So Much More… .................................................................... 55
Understanding (Music) Teaching: Realities and Potentialities......................... 58
Applying Critical Feminist and Emancipatory Pedagogies ........................ 60
Adult Learning Theory and Practice ........................................................... 61
Funds of Knowledge ................................................................................... 65
Reimagining Teachers and Teaching ................................................................ 70
Inquiry as Stance ......................................................................................... 70
Reflecting on Teaching Practice: What Kind of Teacher Am I? ................ 73
Envisioning Transformation: What Kind of Teacher Do I Want to Be? .... 77
Toward Creating a Practitioner Inquiry Community .................................. 81
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The Current and Changing State of Things ................................................. 85
Permeating Our Work with Reverence, Gratitude, and Love ........................... 86
Reverence .................................................................................................... 87
Gratitude ...................................................................................................... 88
Love ............................................................................................................. 88
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .......................................................................... 91
Introduction ....................................................................................................... 91
Practitioner Inquiry and Community-based, Participatory Action Research ... 92
Practitioner and Researcher Roles ............................................................... 93
Researcher ................................................................................................... 93
Practitioner.................................................................................................. 94
Study Group Facilitator .............................................................................. 94
Partnership and Collaboration ..................................................................... 96
Action and “Going Public”.......................................................................... 97
Subjectivity .................................................................................................. 98
Ethics ........................................................................................................... 98
Study Design ................................................................................................... 102
Study Participants and Timing .................................................................. 102
Data Collection .......................................................................................... 103
Transcripts of Study Group Meetings ....................................................... 103
Semi-structured Interviews ........................................................................ 104
Artifacts ..................................................................................................... 104
Field Notes................................................................................................. 104
Practitioner Research Journal .................................................................. 105
Trustworthiness and “Rigor with Relevance” ........................................... 105
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Dialogue .................................................................................................... 106
Extended Time in the Field ........................................................................ 106
Thick Description ...................................................................................... 106
Crystallization ........................................................................................... 107
Approach to Data Analysis ............................................................................. 108
CHAPTER 4: DATA & ANALYSIS I ................................................................ 109
Invitations and Participants ............................................................................. 109
Invitations .................................................................................................. 109
Participants ................................................................................................ 109
The Setting and Data Collection ..................................................................... 112
Transcription and Coding ............................................................................... 113
Analysis ........................................................................................................... 118
Embrace New Thinking (Let Go of the Old) ............................................ 118
Prioritize Access, Inclusion, and Interests: Serve the Needs, Desires, and Interests of Each and Every Student; Respect and Honor Students .... 119
Develop Positive and Meaningful Relationships with Students ............... 120
Trust Teachers and the Teaching Profession; Respect and Honor Teachers .................................................................................... 121
All Teachers Are Teachers; Involve Them in Everything ........................ 123
Invest in Teacher Growth and Development............................................. 124
Properly Fund Education for All ............................................................... 126
Do the Right Thing; Demand the Right Thing Be Done........................... 129
Create Environments Where Transformation Happens; Individual Transformation, Institutional Transformation ..................................... 130
Answering the Research Questions ................................................................ 132
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Question 1 .................................................................................................. 132
Question 2 .................................................................................................. 138
Question 3 .................................................................................................. 140
The Film Script/Screenplay ............................................................................ 143
CHAPTER 5: DATA & ANALYSIS II ............................................................... 146
In Their Own Words ....................................................................................... 146
CHAPTER 6: DATA & ANALYSIS III .............................................................. 154
The Study Group ............................................................................................. 154
CHAPTER 7: PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS FOR MUSIC EDUCATION .... 259
Introduction ..................................................................................................... 259
Specific Recommendations ............................................................................. 260
Embrace New Thinking (Let Go of the Old) ............................................ 260
For Teachers ............................................................................................. 260
For Administrators and Policymakers ...................................................... 262
For Curriculum Developers, Authors, Publishers, and Associations ....... 264
Prioritize Access, Inclusion, and Interests: Serve the Needs, Desires, and Interests of Each and Every Student; Respect and Honor Students .... 266
For Teachers ............................................................................................. 266
For Administrators and Policymakers ...................................................... 271
For Foundations and Associations............................................................ 272
For “Higher Education” and Teacher Preparation Programs ................ 273
Develop Positive and Meaningful Relationships with Students ............... 274
For Teachers ............................................................................................. 274
For Administrators and Policymakers ...................................................... 275
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Trust Teachers and the Teaching Profession; Respect and Honor Teachers ............................................................................................... 277
For Teachers ............................................................................................. 277
For Administrators and Policymakers ...................................................... 277
All Teachers Are Teachers; Involve Them in Everything ........................ 278
For Teachers ............................................................................................. 278
For Administrators and Policymakers ...................................................... 279
For Labor Unions and Advocacy Groups ................................................. 280
Invest in Teacher Growth and Development............................................. 281
For Teachers ............................................................................................. 281
For Administrators and Policymakers ...................................................... 282
Properly Fund Education for All ............................................................... 283
For Teachers, Administrators, and Policymakers .................................... 283
Do the Right Thing; Demand the Right Thing Be Done........................... 285
For Teachers ............................................................................................. 285
For Administrators and Policymakers, including Boards of Education ... 285
Create Environments Where Transformation Happens; Individual Transformation, Institutional Transformation ..................................... 286
For Teachers, Administrators, and Policymakers .................................... 286
CHAPTER 8: A THEORY OF CHANGE FOR ALL EDUCATION ................. 288
Preparation ...................................................................................................... 288
Formation .................................................................................................. 288
Theory and Process ................................................................................... 291
Overview .................................................................................................... 291
Context: Music Education vs. All Education ............................................ 292
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Stakeholders .............................................................................................. 292
Children as Stakeholders........................................................................... 295
Evaluator ................................................................................................... 297
Design, Development, Execution ................................................................... 297
Do We Have a Problem? ........................................................................... 298
Outcomes ................................................................................................... 299
Backwards Mapping and Connecting Outcomes ...................................... 305
Existing Education System ........................................................................ 306
Designed to Exclude People ...................................................................... 306
Designed to Serve and Preserve an Exclusive Society .............................. 307
Designed to Safeguard an Exclusive Authority ......................................... 309
Designed to Intensify Competitiveness – Another Exclusionary Mechanism ..................................................................... 311
New Education System .............................................................................. 311
Outcomes Framework ............................................................................... 320
Strategies and Interventions ...................................................................... 322
Reject All Exclusionary Practices ............................................................. 322
Reconsider Diplomas, Certificates, Promotions, Graduations, and Degrees ......................................................................................... 327
Rethink Curriculum, Subject Areas, and Core Subject Areas ................... 327
Reduce Competitions ................................................................................. 331
Unintended Outcomes ............................................................................... 331
Assumptions and Preconditions ................................................................ 335
Indicators ................................................................................................... 337
Implementation ............................................................................................... 338
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Team and Organization ............................................................................. 338
Funding ...................................................................................................... 339
Community Support .................................................................................. 342
Families ..................................................................................................... 342
Employers .................................................................................................. 342
“Higher Education” .................................................................................. 344
Community Organizations ......................................................................... 346
Transformation .......................................................................................... 346
Concerns and Potential Arguments ........................................................... 347
On Scope and Magnitude .......................................................................... 347
On Teachers and Schools with Different vs. Harmful Values and Perspectives ......................................................................................... 348
On Corruption and Profit Motive .............................................................. 351
On Dismantling and Transference of Oppression..................................... 352
Limitations ...................................................................................................... 353
Further Research Potential .............................................................................. 354
Recommendations and Next Steps.................................................................. 355
Summary and Conclusion ............................................................................... 356
REFERENCES ..................................................................................................... 358
APPENDIX A: TEACHER INVITATION ......................................................... 389
APPENDIX B: INTERVIEW PROTOCOL, ROUND 1 (“PRE”) ...................... 391
APPENDIX C: INTERVIEW PROTOCOL, ROUND 2 (“POST”) .................... 393
APPENDIX D: DATA & ANALYSIS IV – DELETED SCENES & QUOTABLES ................................................................................................. 395
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APPENDIX E: SAMPLE (OPEN) LETTER TO A MUSIC TEACHER ASSOCIATION .............................................................................................. 411
APPENDIX F: ALL THE QUESTIONS ............................................................. 414