Becoming: A Grounded Theory of Culturally Responsible Music Teaching in an Age of Change

The purpose of this study was to examine the nature and development of culturally responsible music teaching from the perspective of music teachers working in various formal settings across the United States. Cultural responsibility is a concept that emerged from the data, regarding teaching and learning that (1) connects with students’ cultural frames and lived experiences (Villegas & Lucas, 2002), (2) empowers students in their own construction of knowledge and art, and (3) opens students to multiple viewpoints and perspectives on the world and music (Abril, 2013) so that students will have meaningful music experiences and a more meaningful life due to music. I selected a constructivist grounded theory methodology (Charmaz, 2014) to examine the development of cultural responsibility as a complex, detailed process over time. Through a purposive and maximum variation sampling method, I sought and found 31 participants who identified as progressive K-12 music teachers who empower diverse learners. 

Thirteen facets of cultural responsibility were found: (1) inviting, (2) relatable, (3) reachable, (4) interactive, (5) active, student-driven, (6) creativity-based, (7) musically diverse, (8) interdisciplinary, (9) multi-modal, (10), enjoyable, (11) heartfelt, (12) crafted, and (13) determined teaching and learning. Music teachers described engaging students in such processes in various, distinct ways. Data revealed that music teachers are more or less culturally responsible because of the elements (methods, aims, and beliefs) of their pedagogy. Participants described many developmental processes and influences to becoming culturally responsible over time, often influential in combination. In relation to the 13 facets, I identified four meta-categories of becoming culturally responsible as (1) learning how, (2) teaching, (3) realizing, and (4) steadying. Twelve subcategories and an additional 26 categories, which represent the common and/or prominent processes of participants’ described development of cultural responsibility, were also found.