Multicultural perspectives in undergraduate music teacher education programs

The traditional emphasis in American music education has been on European art music and performance skills as the core of music teacher preparation. Recent laws and regulations stressing pluralistic values signal that an evolution away from a culturally biased music curriculum is under way.;This study investigates how undergraduate music teacher education programs can respond to these new demands, specifically those concerning cultural diversity in the schools. It provides a synthesis of the ideals of leaders in the sub-discipline of multicultural music education (notably William Anderson, Patricia Shehan Campbell, Barbara Reeder Lundquist, David McAllester, Bruno Nettl, and Will Schmid).;The following information is presented. (1) The review of literature identifies and defines issues in multicultural music education, and their implications for teacher education curricula. (2) The University of Washington music education program is the focus of a case study that investigates multicultural approaches in music teacher education. (3) Specific recommendations are made for curriculum development in multicultural music teacher education.;Research shows that music teacher education nationwide does not adequately address preparation of primary and secondary teachers to present a global perspective in their classrooms. There are two contrasting approaches which undergraduate programs can employ to implement multicultural perspectives in their music curricula.;Many music educators would like to see multicultural perspectives portrayed throughout their students' entire curricula. Undergraduates would then have multicultural content infused into their theory, history, composition, and even ear-training components.;At the University of Washington, the music education program relies on a different approach. Multicultural music education courses have been added to the requirements in the preservice teachers' curricula, and in some cases, have replaced courses deemed less applicable to their current needs.;Consensus points to the need for preservice music teachers to have a balance of experiences, including; (1) listening and/or appreciation of a wide variety of musics and music cultures; (2) performance on a non-Western musical instrument; (3) in-depth study of one or more unfamiliar music cultures; and (4) opportunities to investigate teaching strategies and materials which include multicultural perspectives.