Considering Antiracism in Student Teacher Placement

Abstract

Student teaching represents the culmination of a preservice music educator’s preparation. In student teaching, notions of the transformative potential of music education may be reinforced or subverted. The placement of student teachers, an underresearched process in music teacher education, may be a space where teacher educators can work toward racial justice. In this article, I explore critical antiracist theory in music teacher education in two fictionalized vignettes. I apply an antiracist lens to the process of student teacher placement to suggest ways to interrogate problematic policies and practices. Avenues for antiracist praxis include (a) naming the racialized nature of an institution’s professional network, (b) mapping the racial landscapes of prospective placements, (c) addressing issues of representation in student teacher placement, and (d) becoming race-power conscious. Through this article, I illustrate how antiracist theory might guide music teacher education toward social action by addressing issues related to racism, racial representation, and school segregation.

‘Take a back seat’: White music teachers engaging Hip-Hop in the classroom

“…The field of music education in the United States is disproportionately White in its student and teacher populations (Elpus, 2015, 2016; Elpus & Abril, 2019). It also privileges Whiteness in its teacher education admissions practices (Koza, 2008), its student teaching placement (Fiorentino, 2019), and its curriculum (Bradley, 2006, 2007; Gustafson, 2009; Hess, 2015). While music educators in many parts of the world have repeatedly called for ‘increased diversity’ and/or ‘greater inclusion’, Hess (2017) contended that such calls are euphemisms.…”