Culturally Relevant Pedagogy
The term culturally relevant pedagogy seems to be gaining a lot of traction these days in education scholarship and practice. Tyrone Howard (2003) writes:
Culturally relevant pedagogy has been described by a number of researchers as an effective means of meeting the academic and social needs of culturally diverse students (Gay, 2000; Howard, 2001; Ladson-Billings, 1994; Shade, Kelly, & Oberg, 1997). Gay (2000) asserts that culturally relevant pedagogy uses “the cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance styles of ethnically diverse students to make learning more relevant to and effective [for students]…. It teaches to and through strengths of these students. It is culturally validating and affirming” (p. 29). An additional, and some would argue the most important, goal of culturally relevant pedagogy is to increase the academic achievement of culturally diverse students. (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NQM/is_3_42/ai_108442646/)
This is all well and good, and I will state here that I basically agree with the description above; it covers the main elements. However, such definitions leave considerable room for variation in pedagogical approach – so the question I would like to ask readers: what does the term culturally relevant pedagogy mean to you as it relates to music teaching at various levels?
Deb
Announcement and Call for Papers: Race, Erasure, and Equity in Music Education
I am very excited to share the following announcement and call for papers for what I believe will be a truly exciting conference on equity and social justice in music education. The International CRÈME Consortium has been a long time in the making, and we hope this conference will further the momentum to bring issues of equity and social justice in music education into the forefront of disciplinary thinking.
Call for Papers
Race, Erasure, and Equity in Music Education
A conference sponsored by the
International Consortium for Research on Equity in Music Education
(CRÈME International)
University of Wisconsin-Madison
October 20-23, 2010
The goal of this conference is to encourage, promote, and disseminate scholarship in the areas of equity and social justice in music education. This is the first official biennial CRÈME International colloquium and one of only a handful of music education conferences ever to have focused exclusively on equity and social justice issues. We seek to further the scholarly efforts and energy brought forth by the Musica Ficta conference at the University of Toronto in January 2008, and the First International Conference on Equity and Social Justice in Music Education at Teachers’ College, Columbia University, in October 2006. The keynote speakers at the forthcoming CRÈME conference are prominent race scholars in multicultural education and sociology:
Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Duke University
Gloria Ladson-Billings, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Cameron McCarthy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Even though race and music education will be the primary focus of the conference, we welcome proposals for papers on any equity or social justice issue in music education. The conference will include two session formats: (1) individual paper sessions (25 minutes per presenter plus time for discussion at the end of each session), and (2) round table sessions (up to 5 papers in a 90-minute time slot).
If you are proposing a paper, please send the following:
1) An abstract file including
- Paper title
- A detailed abstract of the proposed paper (maximum of 750 words in English),
- One paragraph (maximum 100 words) describing how the proposal fits the major themes of the conference and will forward scholarly thinking within music education on issues of equity and social justice.
AND
2) A separate cover page including
- Paper title
- Author’s (or coauthors’) name
- Author’s title
- Institutional affiliation
- Address
- Email address
- Preferred session format: Paper session______ Round table session________ Either________
- Any requirements you may have regarding assistance in making your presentation accessible, as provided for by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
- Any technical requirements (projector, screen, CD player, speakers, and so forth).
Proposals are due by midnight, February 1, 2010, and should be submitted electronically to Dr. Teryl Dobbs at tdobbs@wisc.edu. Only electronic submissions will be considered. All proposals will be blind reviewed by a panel of qualified scholars. Submitters will be notified of the reviewers’ decision no later than March 31, 2010. PLEASE NOTE: This conference will partially overlap with the annual meeting of music education researchers from the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), which will be held at UW-Madison on October 20-22, 2010. CIC members will be given the opportunity to register for both conferences concomitantly.
Conference Co-Chairs: Deborah Bradley, Teryl Dobbs, Julia Eklund Koza
INTERNATIONAL CONSORTIUM FOR RESEARCH ON EQUITY IN MUSIC EDUCATION (CRÈME INTERNATIONAL)
What is CRÈME International?
The International Consortium for Research on Equity in Music Education (CRÈME International) is group of colleges and universities whose faculty members and graduate students in music education conduct research on equity and social justice issues. The Consortium has the following goals:
- To generate and promote music education research in the areas of equity, social justice, and diversity,
- To foster cross-institutional conversations and research projects in these areas,
- To disseminate this research through scholarly conferences and publications,
- To use this research to better prepare educators of music teachers, and
- To increase cultural diversity among music education researchers, educators of music teachers, and music teachers by increasing the number of music education students from under-represented, under-served populations, and by striving to create culturally relevant, welcoming learning environments for all students.
The Music Education Area at the University of Wisconsin-Madison serves as the administrative hub for CRÈME International. A CRÈME website is currently under construction, which will list affiliating institutions, announce upcoming conferences, describe research projects underway, and provide contact information for all participating researchers at colleges and universities that are CRÈME International affiliates.
How does an institution become affiliated with CRÈME International?
CRÈME International invites all interested music education scholars to affiliate their college or university with the Consortium. There are four requirements for affiliation:
(1) At least one research project focusing on equity and diversity issues in music education must be underway if an institution is to be considered a Consortium member. The decision about whether a project addresses an equity or diversity issue will be left to the investigator conducting the research. Graduate students from affiliated institutions are welcome to include their work in the database.
(2) One faculty member in music education must be designated as the institutional representative to the CRÈME consortium.
(3) The institutional representative must agree to keep the Consortium informed about music education equity work underway at that particular institution.
(4) Participating researchers at affiliating institutions must agree to have the following posted on the CRÈME International website: The researcher’s name, institutional affiliation, e-mail address, and, if applicable, a description of the equity research project(s) that the researcher is conducting.
Finally, institutions affiliating with the Consortium are strongly encouraged (not required) to host a biennial conference on equity and social justice in music education.
If one or more faculty members in music education would like their college or university to be affiliated with CRÈME International, those individuals should seek institutional approval, if needed, prior to requesting affiliation. Once institutional approval is given, please send the following information to Julia Eklund Koza (koza@education.wisc.edu) via e-mail: (1) the name of the institution seeking affiliation, (2) the name and e-mail address of all interested music education faculty members and graduate students, (3) the name and e-mail address of the faculty member who has agreed to serve as the institutional representative, and (4) a brief description of each music education equity and diversity research project underway. The description should include the title of the project, the name of the investigators, and a 150-word abstract. Please write “CRÈME Affiliation” in the subject line of the e-mail.
Questions?
If you have questions about CRÈME International, please contact Julia Eklund Koza (koza@education.wisc.edu). Write “CRÈME Questions” in the subject line of the e-mail.
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