Hip-Hop Based Education: A Tool To Increase Student Engagement

Stemming from the desire to establish programs that would improve four-year graduation rates and the overall educational experience, particularly for black and Hispanic students, educators have introduced hip-hop texts and components of hip-hop culture into their classrooms. In a movement known as hip-hop based education”, educators have utilized lyrics from hip-hop texts and different aspects of hip-hop culture to assist in both explaining traditional curriculum and in introducing socially-relevant discussions into the classroom. In my thesis, I attempt to illuminate and explore the different ways in which educators are bringing hip-hop material into their classrooms. I focus on responses from students in their classrooms, as well as from other educators across the country, in order to articulate the merits of the educational movement. Then, I spend some time trying to envision what an established hip-hop educational program would look like for public school districts across the country. I offer a sample path forward that would mobilize hip-hop based education and drive the increasing adoption of the educational movement from educators around the country.Musi