| The purpose of this ethnographic phenomenological study was to understand the significance of the inclusion of multicultural music education for pre-service music teachers in teacher preparation programs. In this research, multicultural music education for pre-service teachers was defined as the music education programs, which includes music from the European musical tradition and other cultures and music typically described as American for the sake of building appropriate music curricula for primary and secondary teaching with regard to multicultural music education.;The main problem being studied in this research was that pre-service music teachers were not adequately prepared to create a culturally responsive classroom by building multicultural music education curricula. Many pre-service music teacher programs were not as culturally responsive as they could be in order to reflect the expectations of music teachers in their classrooms.;To investigate this problem, interviews were conducted with three participants who represented teaching at three different levels: pre-service, in-service, and teacher preparation faculty. Data were analyzed and interpreted using the experiential learning theory of Maxine Greene. The methodological approach could be retained or revised depending on a future researcher's perspectives about ethnography and phenomenology. However, the conclusion for this study showed that this methodology was appropriately designed, yielding experiential outcomes based on culture and social change and providing a level of validity and trustworthiness as these tenets aligned to one another within the context of teacher capacity.;Data analyses revealed that the participants' experiences, along with the experience of the researcher, showed that espoused beliefs about multiculturalism in music education at the pre-service level were different from that at the in-service level. The findings posit that pre-service music teachers are not prepared thoroughly enough to meet the expectations of in-service teachers trying to meet the required standards. These implications can provide the basis for further study and research and can be applicable to other content areas besides music. It was recommended that the results of this study be taken into consideration when designing curricula for pre-service music teachers and other content area teachers as well. |
