Music teachers' constructions of gender in elementary education

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Downloaded by [ ] at 06:52 16 November 2011 Music Education Research Vol. 13, No. 1, March 2011, 3 28 Music teachers’ constructions of gender in elementary education Kathryn Roulston* and Mitsunori Misawa Department of Lifelong Education, Administration, and Policy, University of Georgia, 850 College Station Road, Athens, GA 30602, USA (Received 24 February 2009; final version received 25 August 2010) In spite of a growing body of research in music education that focuses on a variety of gender issues, there is still limited information on music teachers’ experiences and constructions of their classroom practices in relation to their conceptualisations of gender. This paper examines music teachers’ descriptions of gender in relation to their work as elementary music educators (5 10-year-olds). In an exploratory pilot study using a qualitative design, semi-structured 45 60 minute interviews were conducted with one male and five female teachers. Findings demonstrated that (1) teachers’ conceptualisation of the relevance of gender in thinking about music teaching varied considerably; (2) the role of the male teacher in the elementary school was described in significantly different ways to that of the role of female teacher; and (3) teachers commonly referenced teaching strategies that reinforce gender stereotypes. The study concludes by outlining possible pathways for further research concerning gender in relation to elementary music education. Keywords: elementary music; gender Introduction Under the broad rubric of one of several suggested questions that might be asked in music education research: ‘What are and should be the dimensions of music education?’ Noted music education researcher, Estelle Jorgensen (2008, 333) writes: In North America, at least, despite the influential work of writers who have advocated a humane approach to education and the redemptive claims of such values as justice, freedom, inclusiveness, and equality, music educators have yet to pay concerted attention to issues that have to do with race, gender, sexual identity, age, language, ethnicity, religion, colour, among a host of issues that constitute barriers between people. As Jorgensen comments, numerous scholars in social sciences have discussed race, class, gender and sexuality in relation to society and education (e.g. Newman 2007). Among these scholars, Critical Race theorists (Dixson and Rousseau 2005; Ladson- Billings and Tate 1995; Lawrence et al. 1993) have proposed that racial distinctions have become blurred in the US society, a phenomenon that they call ‘colourblindness’. Similarly, by considering ‘gender problems’ as an artefact of the past that have been resolved, music educators may be at risk of succumbing to *Corresponding author. Email: roulston@uga.edu ISSN 1461-3808 print/ISSN 1469-9893 online # 2011 Taylor & Francis DOI: 10.1080/14613808.2011.553275 http://www.informaworld.com
Downloaded by [ ] at 06:52 16 November 2011 4 K. Roulston and M. Misawa ‘gender-blindness’, in which the view is taken that gender is no longer an issue worthy of further study. Yet, in the recently published The nation’s report card: Arts 2008 Music and visual arts (Keiper et al. 2009), it is noted that by eighth grade, girls in the USA outperform boys in test scores in music. This identified gender gap indicates that further research concerning gender in music education is still warranted. Gender has long been the focus of a large body of research in education (see for example, Bailey 2002 for a review of topics). The impetus of much research has been to identify and improve structures within schooling that have produced inequitable outcomes for boys and girls. For example, much work has examined if and how boys and girls learn differently, and problems related to boys’ and girls’ educational opportunities (see Bailey 2002; Weaver-Hightower 2003 for examples). Research on gender has resulted in recommendations for how educators might accomplish equitable educational outcomes for girls and boys (for examples, see American Association of University Women [AAUW] 1998/2002; Kenway et al. 1997). In addition to research concerning the education of boys and girls in schools, the lens of gender has also been used to examine teachers’ work, including women teachers in schooling (e.g. Acker 1989, 1992, 1994, 1995a, 1995b; Apple 1987; Biklen 1995), educational change (e.g. Blackmore 1995, 1998, 1999), and the experiences of male teachers working in feminised environments (e.g. Cooney and Bittner 2001; Francis 2007; Galley 2000; Montecinos and Nielsen 2004; Nelson 2002; Smedley 2007; Sumsion 2000). Studies of gender issues by researchers in music education include quantitative investigations of the effects of gender on various aspects of musical performance such as students’ instrument choice and learning, singing accuracy, musical preference and choral students’ perceptions of teacher feedback (e.g. Barry 1992; Cooper 1995; Delzell and Leppla 1992; Fortney, Boyle, and DeCarbo 1993; Hargreaves, Comber, and Colley 1995; Ho 2009; Schmidt 1995; Zervoudakes and Tanur 1994). One area of research has investigated how sexism and exclusionary practices towards women and girls are enacted within music education. For example, Koza (1992, 1993, 1994) has conducted analyses of textbooks used in music education, and McWilliam (2005) has examined the depiction of female wind band conductors in The Instrumentalist Magazine. This kind of work has shown the disproportional representation of men and women in music education texts, in addition to unpacking how representations of men and women in music differ. In other feminist research, Morton (1994) has examined sexism in children’s song materials, and a number of researchers have drawn on feminist and post-structural theories to critique pedagogical and research practices in the field of music education (Gould 1994, 2004; Lamb 1996, 1997; O’Toole 1994, 1997, 1998), drawing some critique (e.g. Adler and Harrison 2004; Reimer 1995). Gender-related research includes the participation by boys in music programmes and strategies to encourage boys’ participation in music (Adler and Harrison 2004; Lamb, Dolloff, and Howe 2002); and how children take up and reproduce ideologies associated with men’s and women’s musical practices within music education (Charles 2004). Researchers have also examined the experiences of men working in feminised environments, showing that these men find themselves in the position of ‘other’ to women, with pressure to conform to hegemonic ideals of masculinity. Studies have shown that men who pursue careers in traditionally feminised work settings, such as
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