Place of publication: United States, Ann Arbor; ISBN=978-0-355-16562-3
Ph.D.
Music Education
Michigan State University
2017
With the intent of informing music teacher education practices and developing more culturally responsive and relevant teachers, the purpose of this research was to explore pre-service music teachers' understandings of culture and diversity, and to examine the impact of a short-term cultural immersion field experience on pre-service music teachers' beliefs, assumptions, and understanding about music teaching and learning with students whose cultural backgrounds differ from their own. Research questions guiding this study were as follows: 1) What are pre-service music teachers' beliefs, perceptions, and assumptions about music teaching and learning with students whose cultural backgrounds differ from their own before participating in a short-term cultural immersion field experience? 2) In what ways do pre-service music teachers' beliefs, perceptions, and assumptions regarding music teaching and learning with students whose cultural backgrounds differ from their own change during their participation in a short-term cultural immersion field experience? 3) How does the cultural immersion field experience shape their beliefs and understandings of music teaching and learning in educational contexts that differ from their own cultural backgrounds after participating in the experience?