Deconstructing Gender in the Elementary String Classroom

At the elementary level, gender roles play a large part in shaping children’s current and future music education. Research demonstrates, that by fifth grade, children beginning instrumental instruction choose an instrument based on the perceived gender of the instrument (MacLeod, 2009). Perceptions of gender when choosing an instrument are constructed, in part, by the examples found in a child’s social environment. Through social pressure, modeling, and expressed gender conformity, children receive very clear messages about the social mores expected of their specific gender as well as those for the opposite gender. Following these elusive, and sometimes arbitrary, masculine, and feminine social mores, including stereotypes about music making, children can easily conform and miss out on new musical experiences and skills, thereby limiting their potential. It is essential to create an environment where children see different examples and possibilities so they can construct a new vision for themselves and not be constrained by social mores. Through pedagogical practices, modeling, music selection, and communication, teachers can challenge these constructed gender roles. This is crucial to create limitless possibilities so that children are not limited by a socially constructed norm. If that limitation is removed, children are then free to create a new idea of self in a gender sensitive environment