Date of Graduation

Summer 2011

Degree

Master of Music

Department

Music

Committee Chair

Norma McClellan

Abstract

Have elementary music textbooks changed in light of the increasing awareness of cultural diversity? If this is the case, in what ways have they changed? This research examined the treatment of multicultural music selections in two elementary music textbooks representing the years 1988 to 2008. The study took a question-and-answer approach, analyzing each text in terms of its categorization and arrangement of multicultural songs in the index, the terminology used in reference to multicultural music, the percentage of songs categorized as "multicultural," the number of world music cultures represented, and the presence of supporting contextual information. The researcher posed secondary questions for investigation and recorded data in a series of four tables and four pie charts. The results indicated that, in comparison with the 1988 text, the 2008 text had at least one more category dedicated to multicultural music, used more specific terminology in reference to that music, contained 40% more multicultural songs, and represented the music of 20 more world cultures and 18 more sub-cultures. The 2008 text also provided nearly two times the contextual information found in the 1988 text. These findings not only support the theory that elementary music textbooks have changed in response to the awareness of cultural diversity, but they raise new questions about the authenticity or "trustworthiness" of multicultural materials found in pedagogical resources today.

Keywords

music, multicultural, world music, music culture, elementary music textbooks, authenticity

Subject Categories

Music

Copyright

© Meliszma Lynn Phillips

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