Running Head: Facilitating and Adapting to Social Justice, Anti-racism and Multiculturalism in

the Music Classroom

1

Facilitating and Adapting to Social Justice, Anti-racism and Multiculturalism in the Music

Classroom

Jamiah Harrison

James Madison University

Running Head: Facilitating and Adapting to Social Justice, Anti-racism and Multiculturalism in
the Music Classroom
2

Music educators need to understand that discussing current events with their students is

important for their knowledge. However, how and to what extent can music teachers foster social

justice in their practices while being responsive to students' developmental needs? A major flaw

in some areas of music education is that educators aren’t openly discussing topics that need to be

discussed within our area. Multiculturalism, social justice, and anti-racism are all topics that lack

energy in the music education department. Well, what is the significance of all these topics? In

general, These topics signify the changing world of music and music education. In music

education, we are late to being involved in this discussion. These concepts are seen as aspects

that shouldn’t be discussed in specific areas that are seen as not ethnically diverse. Because this

is so, What can music educators do to foster social justice/anti-racism and multiculturalism in a

context in which the community might not value these issues? This essay will expose the ideas

on how the importance of social justice issues, anti-racism, and multiculturalism should be

considered major topics of discussion in music education.

​Social justice is about diverse points of view, so what better way to hear those points of view

than to encourage students to put them into song? (Berman 2015). Many people believe that

social justice can be seen as too complex to understand. However, as educators, we should be

able to obtain creative ways to teach it through music. The idea is to have a curriculum that

comes from the world. This concept of this curriculum transfers what happens in the classroom

within the context of what is going on beyond the schoolyard. This approach is fundamental on

how to teach social justice. Very simply put, social justice is the view that all people deserve the

same rights, opportunities, and advantages (Berman, 2015). Well, How do we find Social justice

in music? Music is considered the medium of self-expression for marginalized people of

Running Head: Facilitating and Adapting to Social Justice, Anti-racism and Multiculturalism in
the Music Classroom
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different cultures. In essence, introducing such music to the classroom can expose students to

different points of view as well as getting them to see the world in a different way. However,

there are some challenges within teaching social justice. Teaching social justice needs to be

handled delicately. Not every topic is appropriate depending on age group and classroom.

Moreover, the idea of social justice being taught in a curriculum should also be seen as

something that is beneficial to the teacher. However, a teacher should not show that he or she

takes a certain political stance on a social justice issue. Similarly to the students, they should be

open to different ideas while teaching. In the long run, introducing social justice in a curriculum

can be valuable to the students and the teachers.

Anti-racism: An action-oriented, educational and political strategy for institutional and

systemic change that addresses the issues of racism and the interlocking systems of social

oppression (sexism, classism, heterosexism, ableism) (Bradley, 2005). Racism in general, is a

topic that is seldom discussed in music education. If we as educators are interested in critical

education, we need to start “decolonizing” our speech, our thoughts, our methods of teaching and

our pedagogy. Decolonization is a process that engages with imperialism and colonialism at

multiple levels. Decolonization links to anti-racism in a very concrete way. It is tied to

anti-racism because it allows us to talk freely on the topic. However, when people discuss the

topic of racism, they tend to adhere to a coded language because of common culture and

colonization. In addition to this coded language, people are often silenced at the idea of racism

and race. Because we as educators are willing to broaden our horizons, we need to condemn

racism as a topic that students and educators don’t find difficult to discuss. Educators can use the

Critical Race Theory (CRT) as a foundation in the conversation of racism. The CRT is a theory
Running Head: Facilitating and Adapting to Social Justice, Anti-racism and Multiculturalism in
the Music Classroom
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that enables educators to put race and racism at the center of critique analysis. A lot of critical

race theorists define racism as a firmly entrenched structure that systematically benefits Whites

at the expense of people of color (Brown, 2017). Ultimately, the goal for CRT is to work toward

freeing people of color whose voice and experiences of oppression are frequently ignored in U.S.

society. Some people, don’t believe that racism is a real concept that occurs in the world. Some

refer to racism as an idea rather than a concrete occurrence. The issue with this way of thinking

is that it hides the truth behind why we teach in a critical manner. We can acknowledge that

these ways of thinking permit racism to be hidden in plain sight. Our students need to explore

ways to crack these hiding places. Once these hiding places are recognized, we may begin to

engage in a music education that values all students and all musics (Bradley 2015). Our goal as

music educators should be to teach with authenticity, truth, and respect. We must refrain from

the normalcy of this colonized world and work on making our students be curious yet

considerate.

In American education, Multiculturalism is the most talked about topic. Multiculturalism in

education has always been based on two premises. 1. the acknowledgment of the diverse

population in the United States and 2. the intent to help students understand the world and the

American society in which they live in (Volk, 1998). In the 1920’s Multiculturalism was noted

as “intercultural education” and in the 1960’s it was noted as “ethnic studies.” In the 1960s was

when music educators realized that we needed to introduce different music to students. Later the

term Multiethnic came about, and today is only used when discussing multiple ethnic

backgrounds. Ultimately, even though all these terms mean the same thing, they didn’t account

for the overarching goal of “multiculturalism education.”The goal was in order to learn and
Running Head: Facilitating and Adapting to Social Justice, Anti-racism and Multiculturalism in
the Music Classroom
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physically grasp the concept of all countries and cultures around the world, we need to expose

the cultures beliefs, values, and environment of that culture. As we can see from this analysis

that the goal of multicultural education has changed over time. Because of this shift in the

changing times, how do we know that teach multiculturalism in music education is taught to its

full potential? Here is and example of what the typical curriculum of multiculturalism should be

in the U.S. Furthermore, In another point of view, we seek the primary schools of Cape Town,

South Africa. The South African Department of Education expects general class teachers, who

have no or little-specialized music training, not only to teach musical concepts to their classes

but also to integrate the expressive arts into other non-music learning areas such as “numeracy”

and “literacy (Herbst, de Wet, & Rijsdijk, 2005). Even though this is a different country, it still

underwent a fall and rise of government power towards education and also changed with the

times. Because the teacher are inexperienced in music the don’t really have a curriculum that

flows with different types of cultures and music. From this chart, the teachers in South Africa
Running Head: Facilitating and Adapting to Social Justice, Anti-racism and Multiculturalism in
the Music Classroom
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have shown that multiculturalism in music education is at an all-time low because they focus on

more religious songs. This mainly could be because the teachers are not experienced or don’t

think that multiculturalism is important. Needless to show, it lets us as educators understand that

we need to find ways to introduce Western music and multicultural music without generalizing it

and hiding it from our students. No matter where in the world, music education is deeply

involved in all aspects of learning and multiculturalism should hold a considerable position in

this process of teaching.

Teaching our students to make a positive change in the world while still incorporating

music, above all, is a great way to truly connect with them (Dell’angelo 2014). With that being

said, How can a teacher prepare for this lifestyle of teaching? The idea is to be a culturally

responsive teacher. We should understand the six salient characteristics that define the culturally

responsive teacher. 1. A teacher that is socioculturally conscious. He or she recognizes that there

are multiple ways of perceiving reality. 2. Has affirming views of students from diverse

backgrounds. See these views more as resources rather than them being a problem. 3. Sees
Running Head: Facilitating and Adapting to Social Justice, Anti-racism and Multiculturalism in
the Music Classroom
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himself or herself as both responsible for and capable of bringing about educational change that

will make schools more responsive to all students (Villegas & Lucas, 2002). 4. The teacher

understands how learners construct knowledge 5. The teacher is connected to his our students by

knowing about their lives. And 6. The teacher uses his or her knowledge about students’ lives to

design instruction that builds on what they already know and what they can become familiar

with. As a music educator, there is a possibility that you need to be able to adapt to this lifestyle.

In a survey done in 2006, it stated that 94.0% percent of students are middle-class white people

who don’t understand the concepts of teaching to people of color or people that have different

backgrounds. As teachers, we are responsible to research the area around potential school we

will that we may teach at. Additionally, Teachers of Color are likely to know and understand the

feelings of racism and injustice, and therefore, are valuable assets for teaching understanding and

awareness of the social dynamics of race in order to create a more just society (Palmer, 2011).

Ultimately, the goal is to become a culturally responsive teacher to students that way they find an

escape in music as something that they can relate to.

As a recommendation, Deborah Bradley was a key factor to this essay. She goes more

In-depth with the discussion of race and racism and how it is a concept that needs to be discussed

frequently in our music teaching. Learning to bring race into the dialogue is, I believe, absolutely

necessary for those educating for social justice (Bradley, 2006). In reference to race, it is also

important to explore the Critical Race Theory more in depth so that it allows us, educators, to

apply it to our views on like. Ultimately it should allow educators to be open to other views and

ideas. CRT, as a method of analysis, applies critical theory to social issues in explaining why the

modern civil rights movement produced minimal advances in terms of legal, educational, and
Running Head: Facilitating and Adapting to Social Justice, Anti-racism and Multiculturalism in
the Music Classroom
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economic progress (Brown, 2017). Furthermore, to understand the idea of race and racism their

specific source will help further guide the educators understanding.

Discussing current events and the complications with the country is an important thing that

educators can do for their students. In this essay, I have exposed ideas from educators on the

topics of social justice issues, anti-racism, and multiculturalism and how these topics should be

considered major topics in the music education curriculum. These ideas are important to me

because I believe I’m scared that I might get ridiculed as a teacher because of the color of my

skin and my beliefs. I have an abundance of cool ideas that I want to incorporate into my

teaching, however, I want to make sure that they are doable and ethical. I want to form a positive

relationship with my students. It is crucial that they are educated on these topics so that they

aren’t left in the dark or left having someone else make their decisions for them due to ignorance.

We as educators are also sometimes afraid of parents. However, I am hopeful that by the time I

am a music educator parents will respect us music educators no matter what. I would never do

anything that would jeopardize or compromise a student learning. All things considered,

diversity is a very important and personal topic to me and I think it should be expressed more

through the way every music educator teaches.

Running Head: Facilitating and Adapting to Social Justice, Anti-racism and Multiculturalism in
the Music Classroom
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References

Berman, A. (2015). Teaching social justice in the music classroom - NAfME. Retrieved

from​ ​https://nafme.org/teaching-social-justice-in-the-music-classroom/

Bradley, D. (2006) Music education, multiculturalism, and anti-racism: “‘Can we talk?””​Action,

Criticism, and Theory for Music Education,​ ​5(​ 2). Retrieved from

http://act.maydaygroup.org/articles/Bradley5_2.pdf

Brown, C. (2017). Critical Race Theory - SAGE Research Methods. Retrieved from

https://methods.sagepub.com/reference/the-sage-encyclopedia-of-communication-researc

h-methods/i3726.xml

DeCuir, J., & Dixson, A. (2004). “So when it comes out, they aren’t that surprised that it is

there”: Using critical race theory as a tool of analysis of race and racism in

education. ​Educational Researcher​, ​33​(5), 26-31. doi: 10.3102/0013189x033005026

Dell'Angelo, T. (2014). Creating Classrooms for Social Justice. Retrieved from

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/creating-classrooms-for-social-justice-tabitha-dellangelo

Herbst, A., de Wet, J., & Rijsdijk, S. (2005). A survey of music education in the primary

schools of​ ​ South Africa's Cape Peninsula. ​Journal of Research in Music Education,​

53​(3), 260-283

McPherson, G., Welch, G., & Bradley, D. (2012). ​The Oxford handbook of music education​ (p.

Chapter 12: Hidden in Plain Sight: Race and Racism in Music Education). New York:

Oxford University Press.

Palmer, C. (2011). Challenges of Access to Post-Secondary Music Education Programs for

Running Head: Facilitating and Adapting to Social Justice, Anti-racism and Multiculturalism in
the Music Classroom
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People of Color. Retrieved from

http://www-usr.rider.edu/~vrme/v18n1/visions/Palmer-Access%20to%20Music%20Ed%

20for%20People%20of%20Color

Villegas, A., & Lucas, T. (2002). Preparing culturally responsive teachers. ​Journal Of Teacher

Education​, ​53​(1), 20-32. doi: 10.1177/0022487102053001003

​ ew York: Oxford
Volk, T. (2006). ​Music, education, and multiculturalism N

University Press.