Equitable Access to Culturally Relevant Public-School Music Programs

Few Kindergarten through fifth grade (K-5) American public-school students of color have access to culturally relevant in-school music programs, yet many of their peers in mostly white public schools, regardless of socioeconomic status, benefit from access to these programs. This study examines the K-5 general music teachers in the Public Schools of Brookline (PSB) as a promising practice. The teachers as stakeholders were interviewed and observed in order to gather data which painted a picture of the training, curriculum and group planning necessary to provide equitable, culturally relevant music education for the highly diverse 7600 students in PSB. The data collected from this research was examined through the lens of Clarke and Estes (2008) Knowledge, Motivation and Organization (KMO) framework as a means to create a training program for other districts with similar demographics to create culturally relevant music programs based on the one provided by the teachers in PSB