“Behind the Beautiful Music is a Person”: The Intersections of Race and Social Class on the Path to Careers in Music Education

Berglin, Jacob Axel

doi:https://doi.org/10.21985/n2-w5fg-wa41

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“Behind the Beautiful Music is a Person”: The Intersections of Race and Social Class on the Path to Careers in Music Education

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The purpose of this multiple-case study was to examine the lived experiences of current collegiate music education majors, both students from under-represented minorities and their well-represented peers, with attention to racial/ethnic identity and social class. Dyads of current music education students at 8 separate colleges/universities—a student from an under-represented racial minority, and a well-represented peer—completed over 4 hours of individual interviews, using Seidman’s (1991) 3 interview protocol for ethnographic interviewing. The central question for this study was: how do collegiate music education students from under-represented racial/ethnic minorities and their well-represented peers at the same institution describe the factors, challenges, supports, and decisions involved in identifying music education as a career goal and navigating into and through a collegiate music education program? Guiding questions included: how salient is social class to all participants, and what role might the interaction of racial/ethnic identity and social class play in becoming a music educator? How do participants describe the experience of application to, admission into, and matriculation at a collegiate music education program? What individuals and/or experiences do participants describe as influential to their choice to pursue music education as a career? How do participants describe their out-of-school musical experiences and supports, and what connections exist between race, social class, and the relationship between out-of-school music-making and school music? Using within- and cross-case comparative analysis, themes emerged from the data along racial lines—6 participants were Non-Hispanic/Black, 2 were Hispanic/Mexican, and 8 were Non-Hispanic/White—and along divisions of social class identity—9 participants identified as lower social class (LSC) and 7 identified as upper social class (USC). Most important, intersectional themes also emerged in the relationship between race and social class. Themes centered around race were: representation, realness, racial identity, and bridging through relationships. Themes emergent in connection to social class were: place, identity formation, and the strength of weak ties. Finally, intersectional themes were: religion, family, and money/access. Implications for research and teaching are discussed, as well as recommendations for the profession with regard to race, social class, and their intersection.

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