Access to Music Education with Regard to Race in Two Urban Areas

Abstract

This quantitative study examined access to school music instruction with regard to race in two urban areas: Detroit, Michigan, and Washington, DC, in 2009-2010. We found significant differences in the provision of music instruction between schools with high and low proportions of nonwhite enrollment, in categories including curricular offerings, extracurricular offerings, and resources. In the Detroit area, only 31 percent to 60 percent of schools with high percentages of nonwhite students offered any music instruction at all. We contrast our findings with those of a National Center for Educational Statistics report to demonstrate how regional and national averages can obscure information that should guide policy, such as the influence of location and racial demographics of schools on the provision of public school music instruction. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of using flawed data in the creation of policy and suggestions for more comprehensive and accurate data collection and analysis.

Exploring Access, Intersectionality, and Privilege in Undergraduate Music Education Courses

“…Factors such as rising income inequality, poverty, unemployment, racism, and xenophobia are common features of our current sociopolitical landscape. Music education scholars have identified ways in which injustices and inequities persist as direct outcomes of either structural barriers, such as inequitable access to music instruction locally (Salvador & Allegood, 2014), which results in unequal participation rates across demographic groups in music classes nationally (Elpus & Abril, 2011; Lorah, Sanders, & Morrison, 2014), or as a direct function of the practices within music classrooms, such as curricula that are irresponsive to students’ cultural backgrounds (Kelly-McHale, 2013). The topic of social justice refers to the awareness of and actions toward correcting injustices and inequities such as these.…”

Understanding Participation in Secondary Music Classes: A Literature Review

“…Regional and local factors can also have an influence on access to secondary music course offerings, especially for marginalized students (Elpus, 2017; Gerrity, 2009; Salvador & Allegood, 2014). For example, Elpus (2017) found 59% of public high schools in the Western United States offered music courses compared with 85% of the public high schools in the Midwest.…”

Music Teacher Educator Perspectives on Social Justice

“…While the aforementioned research focused on schools that offer music programs, Salvador and Allegood (2014) reported a lack of structural access: Schools with high proportions of non-White students were less likely to offer any music program whatsoever. Focusing on a more cultural aspect of access, Butler, Lind, and McKoy (2007) argued that the existence of a music program in a school does not necessarily mean that all students in the school have equitable access to instruction.…”

“…Researchers have described promising practices (e.g., Abril, 2009;A. R. Hoffman, 2011;Kelly-McHale, 2013;Shaw, 2012), related historical precedents (e.g., Gustafson, 2009), discussed philosophical arguments (e.g., Bowman, 2007;Kindall-Smith, McCoy, & Mills, 2011;Koza, 2008), and revealed demographic trends with regard to music education and race, class, gender, sexual orientation, ability, country of origin, and socioeconomic status (e.g., Elpus & Abril, 2011; E. C. Hoffman, 2011;Salvador & Allegood, 2014). However, in music teacher education (as in general education), researchers have not attempted to ascertain the prevalence or nature of social justice education in music teacher preparation or the extent to which social justice is valued or understood by teacher educators.…”