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Music Education as Global Education: A Developmental Approach

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Note from the Editor: For our first article of 2019, we are pleased to publish this article by Jennifer Mellizo. In it, the author proposes a globalist model and includes A Call for Responses. We welcome and encourage thoughtful responses to this article. Responses are treated as articles and follow normal blind-review and editing procedures. Please adhere to our submission format and guidelines. Darryl A. Coan, Editor

Abstract: Although there have been isolated pockets of discussion about the connection between music participation and global citizenship identifications, in many ways music education has remained on the sidelines of the wider global education movement. Sociocultural understanding has been discussed as a positive byproduct of music education, but not usually as an explicit goal. Yet, as Campbell (2013) argues, the consequences of an ever-changing, increasingly diverse and connected world “are considerable for systems of music education, and for individual teachers” (16). It is imperative for practitioners and scholars to consider the ways in which learning experiences in the music classrooms can cultivate higher levels of global competency without diminishing musical learning. Through this article, I propose a developmental framework for understanding the unique potential of music education to function as global education (MEGE). My core argument is grounded by the work of scholars who contend music education cultivates a sense of belonging, releases imagination, and fosters empathy. However, the framework I propose points this work more intentionally toward globalist ends and applications. Specifically, I argue music educators have unique potential to help students extend and deepen their understanding of “community” (Greene 1995). If today’s students can develop strong in-group affiliations at multiple levels of community (e.g., local, cultural, national/governmental, and global), they can become the types of citizens who will solve problems that extend beyond geographical borders, and collectively transform our world into a more just and humane place.

Author: Jennifer M. Mellizo – University of Wyoming Laboratory School, Laramie, WY, USA

Published 01/07/2019

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“That’s Not Real Music”: Problematizing the Resistance to Hip-Hop in Music Education

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Abstract: In this article, I seek to critically interrogate the field of music education’s hesitance to engage with hip-hop’s inclusion in music studies. I begin by briefly summarizing the pedagogical potential of hip-hop and then consider why much of the field­ still continues to express hesitance toward engaging with the genre and the scholarship surrounding it. To begin to answer this question, I mobilize a personal experience in a teacher education program in order to exemplify how the act of racial shaming, among myriad other forces, perpetuates a bias against music such as hip-hop and pedagogy of Whiteness in music education. To conclude, I draw theoretical and pedagogical implications for teachers and teacher educators engaged in combating a pedagogy rooted in White conceptions of art and education.

Author: Noah Karvelis – Phoenix Public Schools, Phoenix, AZ, USA. 
Published 06/29/2018.

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Applications of the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) in Music Education

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Abstract: Despite ongoing discussions about cultural diversity, practical progress towards a more inclusive and flexible system in music education remains slow (College Music Society, TFUMM 2014; Rampal 2015; Carson and Westvall 2016). As critical and reflective music practitioners and scholars, we should continue to explore every avenue that might promote higher levels of cultural sensitivity in our field. From the field of intercultural education, Milton Bennett (1993; 2004) proposes a framework for understanding and facilitating growth in this area, known as the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS). Through this article, the author provides suggestions for applications of this framework in music education. Specifically, the author argues the DMIS framework can help university music teacher educators better understand the ways in which their students experience cultural and musical diversity, so they will be equipped to design individualized and relevant learning experiences that will move future music teachers towards higher levels of cultural sensitivity within the context of their teacher preparation programs.

Author: Jennifer M. Mellizo – University of Wyoming Laboratory School, Laramie, WY, USA. 
Published 02/20/2018.

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Curriculum Traditions, Music Education, and the Praxial Alternative

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Abstract: Curriculum studies are regularly overlooked in the pre-service training of music teachers. This article examines traditional curriculum theories and philosophies and their weaknesses. Then it offers an account of contemporary theory and philosophy, including praxial theory. A praxis-based curriculum model based on action ideals is offered.

Author: Thomas A. Regelski – Helsinki University. 
Published 02/20/2018.

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A Labor of Love: A Rationale and Second Grade Music Curriculum for a More Just and Equitable World

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Abstract: American music education systematically discriminates against Blacks and other minorities. Scholars have suggested practices for diversifying pre-service programs and higher education faculty; however, little literature focuses on race, power, and privilege in K-12 classrooms. Less literature exists by minorities reporting effects of Eurocentric music teaching on minority students, even though psychology, sociology, and education have published numerous studies on the phenomenon. The purpose of the article is to offer a new teaching model for music education in a second grade general music classroom. The curriculum aims to use music as a tool to develop critical learners who engage in dismantling systems of hegemony that permeate the field. Moreover, this curriculum seeks to give voice to the silenced and marginalized experiences of People of Color in the field and to implore others to tell their story. Paulo Freire’s (1970) Pedagogy of the Oppressed is used as a theoretical framework to defend the author’s ideals.

Author: Deejay Robinson – Boston University. 
Published 03/26/2017.

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Social Observations for Why Teach Music?

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Abstract: This account focuses on the value of music and music education as a social praxis. With that in mind, it explores five interrelated topics and the criteria for their praxies. First, what music “is”; then an analysis of individual music lessons; next, the challenges of general and classroom music; fourthly, issues involving ensembles; and finally, the reasons for choosing a career in music education. Frequent references to new praxial theories of music are assumed to be familiar in recent scholarship, and the value of music and music education is offered as a reminder of the importance, in each case, of music education as focused on musicing, not on aesthetic abstractions and premises. This is a survey of the impact of theory, of whatever vintage, and its relevance to praxis, not an examination of new research which is best explored in the sister journal ACT. And the theory addressed is well positioned to impact praxis, for those who look beyond status quo practices.

Author: Thomas R. Regelski – University of Helsinki. 
Published 02/09/2017.

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Bridging Theory, Research, and Practice: Eight Teacher Action Steps Towards Multicultural Music Education

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Jennifer Mellizo proposes the term “multicultural music education” can be understood as culturally diverse musical content, approached and implemented from a critical perspective, by music educators who lead their students in active music learning experiences, and consider the process of teaching and learning music that is preferred in the original cultural setting. Mellizo’s process-oriented conceptualization of multicultural music education differs from the manner in which it has been implemented in many classrooms over the past fifty years. Mellizo explores David Elliott’s views as well as multicultural education theorists’ such as J. A. Banks’ and C.R. Abril’s, and proposed curricular applications consistent with these well-grounded theories. Although this conception has been around for decades in music education, Mellizo takes a new look at it at a time when it is picking up steam in other fields, exemplified, for example, in the U. S. by the push for a “global-ready student” in the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).

Author: Jennifer M. Mellizo – University of Wyoming Lab School. 
Published 01/18/2017.

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Music for Life: Praxis-Based General Music for Lifelong Learning

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Kent Knappenberger, recipient of the first ever Grammy Foundation and Recording Academy Music Teacher of the Year Award, shows the close ties between theory and praxis as demonstrated in the music curricula of the Westfield Academy and Central School.

Author: Kent Knappenberger – Westfield (NY) Academy and Central School. Published 06/25/2016.

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Digital Storytelling in Music and Audio Education: Inspiring Modern Reflective Practice with Relevant Technology

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Daniel Walzer explores the use of digital storytelling in music for reflective practice, pedagogy and assessment for university settings.

Author: Daniel Walzer – University of Massachusetts Lowell. Published 06/03/2016.

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Arts Express: Performance, Community, and Creativity for Children with Exceptionalities

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Accredited music therapist and university instructor Elizabeth Mitchell explores what happens when students with exceptionalities have the opportunity for creative self-expression and performance through a summer camp that brings with it a community of music professionals and students.

Author: Elizabeth Mitchell – Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario and Western University. Published 04/26/2016.

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