Keywords
Music Education, Inequity, Injustice, K-12 Education
Disciplines
Dance | Music | Theatre and Performance Studies
Mentor
Dr. Arthur Campbell
Advisor
Dr. David Bair
Abstract
There is a long history in the United States of injustice and inequality in music education throughout K-12 learning environments that has led to personnel imbalances in race and gender on today’s musical stage. This senior project study will offer ideas around what needs to be implemented for students at younger ages in their music education to reduce this racial and gender inequity. I will review options to bring justice to these equity issues: the percentage imbalance in gender from a binary standpoint as men greatly outnumber women in symphony orchestra positions; and the percentage imbalance in race due to systemic racism, as a result of practices such as redlining which has allowed public school funding to be less in areas populated with people of color, resulting in a lack of education for classical music. Finally, it will address the common practice teachings of music theory in American music education that are rooted in Western, White, dated ideologies that contribute to a divide between Eurocentric music and the music of other cultures around the world.
ScholarWorks Citation
Bos, Lindsey, "An Analysis of Inequity and Injustice in Experiences for American Students in K-12 Public School Music Education Regarding the Preservation of Symphony Orchestras" (2022). Honors Projects. 869.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/honorsprojects/869
