Hip-Hop in the Classroom: A Tool to Get Better Grades or to Get Better?

• In Event: Roundtable Session 6
  In Roundtable Session: Promoting Youths’ Awareness and Agency Through Hip-Hop-Based Education: A Symposium

Abstract

Summary
We led an undergraduate seminar that used Hip-Hop culture as both a unique culture and lens for understanding positive development over the life course and the empowerment of individuals and communities. From discussion of the social and policy dynamics of “urban renewal” in the 1970s South Bronx to the social and policy dynamics of the Trayvon Martin case in 2012, we explored the consistency of Hip Hop narratives with developmental narratives of esteem, resilience, growth, community and change. Recent discussions of Hip-Hop integrated pedagogy capture the full range of its value to individuals and communities (Hall, 2011). However, remaining vague, even within these comprehensive discussions of the value of Hip-Hop culture within education, are strategies for measuring and quantifying desired outcomes for youth and students. Are outcomes for better grades? Are outcomes for better social functioning?
We combined unique theoretical frames with unique strategies to measure course effectiveness. Desired outcomes were conceptualized as empowerment-based positive development. Songs, videos, documentaries, journal articles and books including a book from a popular Hip Hop artist were course content. Measurement of student progress included traditional (exams) and non-traditional (theory-based written reflections on songs/videos, a mixtape/CD/DVD final assignment) measures.
Results suggested students elicit both empowering and risky messages from rap music and this did not change over time. However, the course had a substantial impact on student empowerment, by facilitating self-esteem, resilience, growth, a sense of community and intent to engage in positive community change.
Current research on Hip-Hop integrated pedagogy is beginning to elaborate upon the complexities inherent in its use. One still emerging area within discussions of Hip-Hop pedagogy is tangible ways of measuring desired outcomes. The individual and community empowerment framework is one step in that direction, offering clear, measurable dimensions that are developmentally relevant and applicable to both individual and community. The classroom can be more than a place to get better grades; it can be a place to get better.

Authors

• Raphael Travis, Texas State University-San Marcos

• Alexis Maston, Texas State University