Without the ‘ism: thoughts about equity and social justice in music education

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to suggest that a pragmatic view of music education—one that considers the presence or absence of music instruction in US schools, the quality of that instruction, and the opportunities for professional growth available to music teachers in those schools—is a necessary part of discussions related to social justice and equity in music education. The results of a 1999–2000 survey administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the US Department of Education serve as the basis for this discussion of the distribution of music education ‘goods and services’ for students in US schools. Inconsistencies between the statistical ‘micro’ view and other ‘macro’ views, ranging from qualitative research to anecdotal evidence collected in casual conversations, suggest that those concerned with social justice and equity in music education must learn to move ‘back and forth’ between the policy-oriented macro view and the situation-specific micro view.