Music Educators Journal

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Cultural Diversity and the Formation of Identity : Our Role as Music Teachers
Kate R. Fitzpatrick
Music Educators Journal 2012 98: 53
DOI: 10.1177/0027432112442903

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 by Kate R. Fitzpatrick

Cultural Diversity
and the Formation
of Identity
Our Role as Music Teachers
Abstract: This article encourages music teachers to consider the complexity of their students’
cultural identities and the role these identities play in the formation of students’ self-concept.
The musical heritage students bring to the classroom may provide a rich foundation of expe-
rience for teaching and learning music. Readers are challenged to consider their own cultural
backgrounds and experiences for possible preconceptions that may affect the classroom.
Culturally relevant pedagogy is discussed as a way to improve the connection between
school music curricula and student cultural identity, with specific suggestions and resources
provided for the refinement of both curricular content and teaching.
Knowing about your
Keywords: cross-cultural competency, cultural identity, curriculum, deficit model, pedagogy,
self-concept students’ cultural
backgrounds—as
well as recognizing

I
n my fourth year of teaching high school band accomplishments of African American musi-
in a large urban high school with a predomi- cians. I also wondered if my own back- your own—can
nantly African American population, I was ground as a white teacher had caused me
feeling satisfied with my progress as a teacher, to take for granted that most composers we
foster greater
knowing that I had worked hard to learn about studied were white, while for my students, respect, clearer
my students and make my classroom a com- the issue of race was an obvious and con-
fortable place in which students of all cultural stant consideration. understanding, and
backgrounds, ethnicities, and races could better connections in
learn and make music. However, when I was As demonstrated in this vignette from my
discussing the compositions of Edward “Duke” own early years of teaching public school, the music classroom.
Ellington during band class one day, one of issues of cultural identity manifest them-
my top students, a young African American, selves in important ways in the classroom.
raised his hand and asked, “Were there really When we consider issues of social justice
black composers?” I remember feeling crushed, in the music classroom, we often look to
wondering how, despite my best inten- empower students to address and solve prob-
tions, I had neglected to help my students lems that exist throughout the broader school
understand and appreciate the immense or community. However, we must not neglect
Copyright © 2012 National Association
for Music Education
Kate R. Fitzpatrick is an assistant professor of music at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. She can be contacted at DOI: 10.1177/0027432112442903
katefitz@umich.edu. http://mej.sagepub.com

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 cultural messages that students receive
in school settings can greatly affect their
subsequent achievement. In the words
of language professor Sonia Nieto,
“student performance is based on both
overt and covert messages from teachers
about students’ worth, intelligence, and
capability.”1 In many music classrooms,
students come from a variety of cultures
and circumstances, and differ in terms of
race, gender, religion, ethnicity, socioec-
onomic status, exceptionality, and sex-
ual orientation.2 All of these differences
affect the ability of children to make con-
nections between their personal identity
and the school music curriculum.
The identity development of students
of differing cultural backgrounds can be

taP, taP . . . markedly different, and research can

help us understand how our students’
identities are formed.3 For example,
researcher William Cross has studied the

(who's there?) development of racial identity in Afri-

can Americans. He has written that the
self-concept of African American stu-
dents depends heavily on their reference
You are! Singing, dancing, playing, and making a difference
group orientation, or how well they feel
in children’s lives—and in your own. Teach our much-loved that their own personal identity as an
research-based family and preschool programs, and enjoy the African American aligns with the norms
and expectations of the culture that sur-
support of our creative and energizing teaching community. rounds them.4 How does this apply to
There’s a workshop near you. the music classroom? When a student
sees, for instance, that the music that he
or she enjoys and values at home or with
friends is ignored or degraded by institu-
tions, such as schools, it creates cultural
conflict. By authentically aligning our
music curriculum with the music that our
®
the joy of family music students value, we can find better ways
to connect more effectively with their
personal identities. When this happens,
our students’ perception of conflict is
(800) 728-2692 • musictogether.com lessened, resulting in an improved self-
concept. Cross’s model not only pro-
vides an explanation of the challenges
that African American students may face
to provide for social justice in our own Student Identity and when navigating cultural boundaries,
music classrooms and with our own but can also be understood as helping us
students. Empowering students to rec-
Cultural Diversity understand the needs of students from
ognize that their own cultural identities As students begin the process of formal various cultural backgrounds.
are valid, acknowledged, and respected schooling, they begin to form opinions What can we do as teachers to lessen
in our classroom is the first step toward concerning their abilities, due in large the identity conflicts that our students
nurturing social justice in our schools part to how well they can assimilate cul- might experience between the classroom
and communities. turally into the school environment. The and home? There are several important

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conditions that we can help promote our own, and we may unknowingly and Research shows that teachers who dif-
within the boundaries of our classrooms incorrectly assume that the needs of our fer from their students in terms of racial
and schools. For example, the following students are the same as ours when we and ethnic background can nonetheless
have been found to be important factors were students. Despite our best inten- share values and assumptions that help
in reducing student racial and cultural tions, there are times when we might not them better relate to their students.8
identity conflicts and encouraging aca- provide the cultural validation, acknowl- Consider, for example, the case of a
demic success: edgment, or curricular connections that Latina music teacher who teaches Afri-
our students need. As with the previ- can American students. Although this
1. Positive peer relationships with oth-
ously given example of my own teach- teacher may find it difficult at times to
ers of the same cultural group.
ing experience, we may have a different relate to her students, she might make
2. Knowledge about the notable achieve- cultural background from our students in a conscious effort to look for areas of
ments of members of the same cultural terms of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic commonality. For example, perhaps
group. status, gender, exceptionality, or sexual the teacher could recognize that both
3. The availability of role models. orientation, and this may cause us to be she and her students tend to come from
4. The encouragement of significant ignorant of our students’ needs for cul- large, strong, extended families in which
adults.5 tural connection. The music teacher’s multiple generations are involved in the
understanding of how to best facilitate raising of children. Perhaps she might
How can we better foster such condi- learning in a way that is culturally sensi- also recognize that many of her stu-
tions within our music classrooms? First, tive may be affected by his or her prior dents also have a strong sense of faith
we can pay more attention to the social life experiences with poverty and diver- and attend services at a house of wor-
interactions of our students and develop sity, learned attitudes and preconcep- ship regularly and have a strong sense
projects that allow for positive peer inter- tions about the learners with which he or of pride in their cultural heritage. In
actions to develop, paying special atten- she interacts, and the teacher education noticing that many of her students hold
tion to the cultural background of our that he or she received. after-school jobs that help support their
students when grouping them for projects It is important to be thoughtful about families, she might recall her own expe-
and assignments. We can also include how our own backgrounds might affect riences as a working student. By think-
within our curriculum pieces composed, our expectations of our students and our ing critically about the multiple cultures
performed, and arranged by musicians interactions with them. Research shows that her students inhabit and striving
who reflect the cultural background of our us that teachers who come from dif­ consciously to find points of common-
students, and we can discuss the contribu- ferent racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic ality with her own experience, this
tions that these individuals have made to backgrounds than their students often teacher may be able to better relate to,
music history and contemporary society. consider their own behaviors to be “nor- empathize, and understand her students.
As music teachers who often share pro- mal,” while they interpret the behaviors Once we as teachers understand where
found musical experiences with our stu- of their students as being “deficient” or our students are coming from, we are in
dents, we often do serve as role models. “abnormal.”6 This set of assumptions is a better position to think critically about
However, if we do not share the racial, often termed the “deficit model” of urban the assumptions that we might uncon-
ethnic, or cultural background of our stu- or multicultural education. Music educa- sciously make due to racial and ethnic
dents, we might also wish to bring into our tion professor Cathy Benedict observed differences.
classrooms artists, musicians, and guests that
who reflect our students’ cultural identities
to serve as role models. Finally, as teach- The commonness of Whiteness in
ers who frequently play significant roles in our society spawns a culture in which
Our Role as Music Teachers
the lives of our students, we can be pro- the experiences of the White teacher As we acknowledge that our students
active in recognizing the unique potential become the normative yardstick by hold various and multiple cultural identi-
of each individual, regardless of cultural which to measure all experience. . . . ties, and as we explore and become more
background. Students may excel in differ- Music educators often “expect” stu- attuned to our own cultural background,
ent ways in our classrooms than they do dents to behave in certain ways, to what can we do to make our music
elsewhere in the school or the community. come from certain kinds of home classrooms more culturally supportive?
environments, and to lack the specific Research shows that many students are
Teacher Identity and experiences that will prepare them for becoming increasingly alienated from
“our” music education agenda.7 traditional means of schooling, expe-
the Deficit Model riencing a disconnect between their
As music teachers, we bring to the class- As teachers, how can we combat this home lives and their school environ-
room a rich and multifaceted culture of deficit model in our own classrooms? ments.9 Culturally relevant pedagogy

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is often cited as a way that teachers experiences is by focusing on the con- in three different-size urban school
might increase student investment in and tent of our curriculum. For music teach- districts—Jackson, Michigan; Hartford,
comprehension of school curricula.10 ers, the process of including culturally Connecticut; and Atlanta, Georgia—
This approach embraces the establish- relevant music within the content of and found that these successful pro-
ment of natural ties between in-school our curriculum must begin with an grams each had different characteristics
work and out-of-school experiences as a inquiry into the multiple cultures that leading to their success.16 In one of
means of decreasing the disconnect that students might represent, as a student’s his case study schools, Marshall notes
many students feel between these two cultural identity and heritage may not the great popularity of the electronic
worlds.11 Culturally relevant teaching is be readily apparent and indeed may music class, where students are taught
defined as differ quite significantly from his or her sampling, sequencing, and composi-
obvious skin color and physical charac- tion using technology. Most students
a pedagogy that empowers students teristics. Learning more about students’ compose hip-hop pieces but have also
intellectually, socially, emotionally, cultural backgrounds could take place learned to incorporate the styles of
and politically, by using cultural refer- in many ways across general music, other genres, such as classical, folk,
ents to impart knowledge, skills, and band, choir, and orchestra settings, as and jazz. Marshall notes that this class
attitudes. These cultural references students are encouraged to “tell their seemed to be “the highlight of many
are not merely vehicles for bridging or own story” of the multiple cultures that students’ day.”17
explaining the dominant culture; they they represent. Teachers can also help make
are aspects of the curriculum in their Once teachers better understand the explicit connections between school-
own right.12 multiple cultures represented by their work and students’ lives by exploring
students, they can be creative about the the musical cultures and traditions of
In the field of music education,
ways that they include culturally rel- the local communities that surround
where creativity and personal expres-
evant music within the classroom. For the school. Indeed, music education
sion are valued, it is especially important
example, professor Kathy Robinson dis- professor Victor Bobetsky describes the
to address the disconnect that students
cusses the ways that three general music successful implementation of a choir
may perceive between home and school
teachers found ways to celebrate each director’s effort to increase student
cultures.
student’s culture and to create positive understanding of the African Ameri-
relationships with students, families, and can culture within a Brooklyn commu-
Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: communities.14 One of these teachers, nity.18 In this project, a choir director in
For All or for a Few? Leanne, teaches in an inner-city school Brooklyn partnered with other teach-
whose recent immigrant population ers in the school to study the history,
If we define culture as “the ideations, composes 80 percent of students. She heritage, and culture of their local com-
symbols, behaviors, values, and beliefs makes a great effort to include the music munity through music, visual arts, and
that are shared by a human group,”13 of her students’ cultures within the class- language arts, with a final culminat-
we can recognize that all students are room by making trips to students’ homes ing project presented to both school
members of multiple cultural groups. to experience such cultural life as songs and community members. This type of
Although we often discuss issues of cul- and dances. Indeed, Leanne even invites investigation, which asks students to
turally relevant pedagogy when discuss- parents into the school to perform these think a great deal about the rich musi-
ing urban schools or schools that serve traditional dances and songs. According cal culture that surrounds their eve-
students who belong to nondominant to Leanne, ryday experiences, implicitly values
racial or ethnic groups, all students are students’ musical traditions.
better served by teaching that takes into My dream is to finally get such a The use of culturally relevant mate-
account who they are and what they repertoire that no matter what coun- rials within music classes may increase
have experienced. All teachers need to try somebody comes from, we have student motivation to succeed, as found
be concerned with the alignment of the something that would go—You’re by music teacher Dianna Isaac-John-
music curriculum and student cultural from this country and on their first day son.19 Isaac-Johnson developed a cur-
identity by focusing increased attention in class you take out the video and you riculum for a hip-hop opera in which
to culturally relevant pedagogy—both play it for them and they are like— students watched musical performances,
content and process. “Oh, there’s a piece of home that I get learned songs with the use of a kara-
right here, and maybe this place isn’t oke machine, and created new lyrics for
Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: so horrible,” because we deal with the these songs using facts from history and
culture shock thing so drastically.15 science classes. Because the instruction
The Content included hip-hop, Isaac-Johnson’s stu-
One way that music teachers can bet- Music education professor Herbert dents were better motivated and more
ter connect in-school and out-of-school Marshall examined music programs eager to participate.

56 Music Educators Journal  June 2012

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Although traditional music programs styles coexist; this can also be so inside questions we raise and the “teachable
may well serve the needs of students the classroom. moments” we seize, no matter what music
from multiple cultural backgrounds, the we choose, that can provide space for stu-
development of additional alternative dents to be thoughtful about issues of cul-
performance ensembles may also be of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: tural connection. We must concentrate on
value. Groups such as nontraditional per- the interactions, discussions, questions,
cussion groups, rock ensembles, tech-
The Process dialogue, and explicit and tacit foci of our
nology-based ensembles, and mariachi Including pieces that represent different pedagogy in an attempt to guide students
ensembles may better resonate with the cultural traditions in the repertoire of our to greater cultural awareness and accept-
cultural background of many students performance ensembles or general music ance.21 It is through these interactions with
who might not otherwise enroll in our classes does not, in and of itself, constitute students that they learn the most about
traditional music classes and perfor- culturally relevant teaching. Our students our expectations of them and our inten-
mance ensembles.20 might or might not enjoy the experience tions in fostering their growth as members
The inclusion of multicultural and and gain insight into some aspects of cer- of multiple cultural communities.
culturally relevant music in the curricu- tain musical cultures. Multicultural content For example, while teaching in
lum needs not replace the study and in and of itself does not necessarily lead the school mentioned in the opening
performance of traditional Western art to increased cultural competency or to vignette, I combed the archives of my
music. In the world outside the music forging a better alignment between home instrumental music library and found
classroom, multiple musical genres and and school life for our students. It is the a very old score of arranged African

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 can understand the subject matter being
Readings on Cultural Diversity, studied.22 Such a frame provides context
Multicultural Content, and Culturally Relevant Teaching for the genre or piece they are learning
and encourages a critical examination of
Carlos Abril. “Breaking the Language Barrier in Music Instruction.” Music Educators Journal 89, the origins of the music, the social struc-
no. 5 (2003): 38–43. tures surrounding musical phenomena,
James Banks and Cherry Banks, eds. Multicultural Eeducation: Issues and Perspectives. Boston,
and relevant issues of social justice.
MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1993. Including popular music in the music
classroom opens up opportunities for
René Boyer-White, “Reflecting Cultural Diversity in the Music Cassroom. Music Educators Journal the examination of popular culture and
75, no. 4 (1988): 50–54.
how it affects students’ lives. Hip-hop
Lisa Delpit. Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom. New York: New Press, provides a very specific example, as
1995. many scholars have noted the contradic-
Carol Frierson-Campbell, ed. Teaching Music in the Urban Classroom, Volume 1: A Guide to Sur-
tory nature of hip-hop culture: on one
vival, Success, and Reform. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2006. hand, hip-hop has created an Afrocen-
tric focus within the music community
Carol Frierson-Campbell, ed. Teaching Music in the Urban classroom, Volume 2: A Guide to that has spurred such social positives as
Leadership, Teacher Education, and Reform. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education,
voter registration drives. On the other
2006.
hand, hip-hop music and music videos
Mary Goetze. “Challenges of Performing Diverse Cultural Music.” Music Educators Journal 87, often portray violence and the denigra-
no. 1 (2000): 23–25. tion of women.23 As with the previous
Gloria Ladson-Billings, The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children. story, the music teacher has the power
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1994. to create spaces in the classroom where
such issues can be raised. When time
Sonia Nieto. Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education, 4th ed. Bos-
for thorough discussion of such issues is
ton: Pearson, 2004.
limited, students can be asked to journal
Patricia Shehan Campbell. Teaching Music Globally. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. their thoughts about such issues, or even
Terese Volk. Music, Education, and Multiculturalism. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
to contribute to a teacher-moderated and
password-protected class blog to allow
reflection and interaction.
Our pedagogy is reflected, then, not
only in our choices for culturally relevant
American spirituals to sight-read with that day, my students gained an opportu- curricular content but also in the ways
my high school orchestra. Opening the nity to share their opinions as well as the that we handle questions, concerns, and
score, I read in the “notes to the con- knowledge that their music classroom dialogue. In this way, even our most
ductor” some antiquated and offen- was a place where difficult and complex informal interactions with students—
sive terminology relating to the African discussions of issues such as race were hallway discussions, end-of-class ques-
American experience. It was a busy welcome. tions, or mumbled asides—become
day at the end of the year, and we had Culturally relevant pedagogy asks us important parts of our curriculum.
much to do, so I wondered whether we as teachers to recognize that it is our pri- Focused on empowering our students,
should just go ahead and play the piece mary role to foster an atmosphere where we become cognizant of the many mes-
or whether I should read the passage to students are encouraged to speak openly, sages that we are sending them with
my students and open the potentially ask questions, and conduct respect- regard to their own cultural identity and
charged topic for discussion. I chose ful dialogue with each another and with the extent to which we embrace different
the latter, and we as a class spent the us about relevant issues. To raise these perspectives and viewpoints in our class-
entire period in an intense discussion issues alongside the integration of popu- room. Our pedagogy becomes culturally
of the evolution of racial terminology, lar, world, or community musics, teach- relevant when we focus on allowing for
the use of certain terms in modern rap ers must be thoughtful about the ways meaningful dialogues and interactions
songs, and even the use of such terms in which they structure their lessons. to emerge from our music-making.
in our school hallways. I moderated the As education professor and high school
debate to ensure that all students could English teacher Jeffrey Duncan-Andrade
have their voices heard. I offered a few and professor of urban schooling Ernest
probing questions but otherwise let Morrell state, it is extremely important
Moving Forward
the students debate among themselves. that students are first provided with a From an early age, our students adapt
Although we lost almost a full rehearsal “cultural frame” through which they to the expectations and messages that

58 Music Educators Journal  June 2012

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they receive from teachers and schools.   5. Beverly D. Tatum, “Family Life and 14. Kathy Robinson, “White Teacher,
As teachers, we have the option either School Experience: Factors in the Students of Color: Culturally
to acknowledge and celebrate the rich- Racial Identity Development of Black Responsive Pedagogy for Elementary
Youth in White Communities,” Journal General Music in Communities of
ness of cultural experiences that our
of Social Issues 60, no. 1 (2004): Color,” in Teaching Music in the
students bring to the classroom or to 117–35. Urban Classroom, vol. 1, ed. Carol
ignore it. The literature on identity devel- Frierson-Campbell (Lanham, MD:
opment stresses the need for the inclu-   6. Lisa Delpit, Other People’s Children:
MENC/Rowman & Littlefield Education,
Cultural Conflict in the Classroom
sion of culturally relevant materials and 2006), 35–56.
(New York: New Press, 1995); E.
discourse in the classroom as a means Kutz and H. Roskelly, An Unquiet 15. Ibid., 41.
of connecting with and validating stu- Pedagogy: Transforming Practice in the
dent identity. Embracing the cultures English Classroom (Portsmouth, NH: 16. Herbert Marshall, “Restructuring and
Partnering in Urban Schools: Change,
of our students successfully in the music Heinemann, 1991); and Gloria Ladson-
Billings, The Dreamkeepers: Successful Cooperation, and Courage,” in Teaching
classroom requires attention to both the Music in the Urban Classroom, vol.
content of our curriculum and the pro- Teachers of African American Children
(San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1994). 2, ed. C. Frierson-Campbell (Lanham,
cess of our pedagogy. Without such MD: MENC/Rowman & Littlefield
actions, we as teachers may uninten-   7. Cathy Benedict, “Defining Ourselves Education, 2006), 161–78.
tionally propagate dissonance between as Other: Envisioning Transformative
Possibilities,” in Teaching Music in 17. Ibid, 174.
students’ personal and school identifi-
the Urban Classroom, vol. 1, ed. C. 18. Victor V. Bobetsky, “Exploring a
cation. A culturally relevant pedagogy
Frierson-Campbell (Lanham, MD: Community’s Heritage through a
of music instruction asks that the cul- MENC/Rowman & Littlefield Education, Collaborative Unit of Study,” Music
tures of our students be acknowledged 2006), 6–7. Educators Journal 91, no. 5 (2005):
in our classrooms. Through careful and 51–56.
  8. Kim Kennedy White, “Exploring
critical consideration of the rich cultural
Relationships between Lived
backgrounds that both we and our stu- 19. Dianna Isaac-Johnson, “Creating
Experiences of Teachers Who Are
dents bring to the learning experience, Culturally Relevant Technological
Culturally Competent and Their
Operas in an Urban School” (unpub-
and through thoughtful planning for Success with Diverse Students”
lished doctoral dissertation, University
the incorporation of culturally relevant (unpublished doctoral dissertation,
of Missouri–Columbia, 2007).
music and pedagogy in our curricula, University of Colorado at Denver,
music teachers and their programs can 2006). 20. René Boyer-White, “Reflecting Cultural
Diversity in the Music Classroom,”
more effectively serve the needs of their   9. Dianne W. Hayes, “Educating the
Music Educators Journal 75, no. 4
deserving students. Hip-Hop Generation: Communication
(1988): 50–54; and Kevin Mixon,
Barriers Offset Efforts to Reach
“Building Your Instrumental Music
Young Minds,” Black Issues in
Notes Higher Education 10, no. 14 (1993):
Program in an Urban School,” Music
Educators Journal 91, no. 3 (2005):
  1. Sonia Nieto, Affirming Diversity: The 30–33; and E. D. Washington, “A
15–23.
Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Componential Theory of Culture and
Education, 4th ed. (Boston: Pearson, Its Implications for African-American 21. Delpit, Other People’s Children;
2004), 43. Identity,” Equity and Excellence 24, Ladson-Billings, The Dreamkeepers;
no. 2 (1989): 24–30. and Nieto, Affirming Diversity.
 2. Exceptionality refers to cognitive, phys-
ical, social, or behavioral conditions 10. Jacque Ensign, “Including Culturally 22. Jeffrey Duncan-Andrade and Ernest
that mean that the students possessing Relevant Math in an Urban School,” Morrell, Using Hip-Hop Culture as a
these conditions may receive support or Educational Studies 34 (2003): Bridge to Canonical Poetry Texts in an
other consideration in the classroom. 414–23; Ladson-Billings, The Urban Secondary English Class (paper
Dreamkeepers. presented at the annual meeting of
  3. Charles Negy, Tara L. Shreve,
Bernard J. Benson, and Nizam Uddin, the American Educational Research
11. Hayes, “Educating the Hip-Hop
“Ethnic Identity, Self-Esteem, and Association, New Orleans, LA, April
Generation”; and Washington, “A
Ethnocentrism: A Study of Social 24–28, 2000).
Componential Theory.”
Identity versus Multicultural Theory of 23. Ronald Roach, “Decoding Hip-Hop’s
Development,” Cultural Diversity and 12. Ladson-Billings, The Dreamkeepers,
Cultural Impact: Scholars Are
Ethnic Minority Psychology 9, no. 4 17–18.
Poised to Take a Close Look at the
(2004): 333–34. 13. James Banks and Cherry Banks, eds., Influence of Hip-Hop on the Social
  4. William E. Cross Jr., “The Negro-to- Multicultural Education: Issues and Identity, Values of Today’s Youth,”
Black Conversion Experience,” Black Perspectives (Boston: Allyn & Bacon, Black Issues in Higher Education 21,
World 20, no. 9 (1971): 13–27. 1993), 357. no. 5 (2004): 30.

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