Culturally Responsive Teaching: Music Educators' Beliefs

Abstract

As music educators seek to offer equitable education for racially, culturally, and ethnically minoritized students, they may turn to the pedagogical framework of Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) for guidance. Instruction in CRT can occur through professional development (PD), in-service training designed to influence the beliefs, knowledge, and practice of teachers to improve instructional outcomes. This emerging grounded theory study sought to understand teachers’ beliefs regarding CRT and offer suggestions for more effective PD by examining the following research questions: What are music educators’ beliefs regarding CRT; what do music teachers believe about how these practices impact students? What role do music educators believe that PD plays in shaping their own beliefs and practices? An exploration of ten music educators’ beliefs occurred through analysis of data collected in semi-structured interviews. The development of a model ensued to reflect the dynamic interactions between belief, knowledge, practice, and situational motivation, followed by recommendations for site-specific PD. Suggestions for further research are offered for assessing the effectiveness of such PD as well as for exploring the impact of PD and teacher practice on students themselves.