The Connection Between Charter School Discourse and Classroom Management in New York City Charter School Music Classrooms

• In Event: 31.092 - Sheraton Roundtable Session Three - Grand Centre
  In Roundtable Session: 31.092-5 - Music Education Beyond Traditional Public School Settings

Abstract

This paper explores the discourse surrounding classroom management practices in NYC charter school music classrooms. Drawn from a larger mixed methods study, this paper analyzes interviews with and observations of teachers to uncover the extent to which the developmental and cultural responsiveness of music educators were circumscribed by conceptions of character, culture and community manifest in their respective schools’ official discourse. Findings revealed that behavior standards articulated by the school permeated teacher discourse and music classroom practices. Teachers viewed strict, school-wide disciplinary structures as positive supports that they willingly adopted to meet the challenges of music classroom management, sometimes at the expense of movement and play. Teachers also noted a disjunction between their preparation and the classroom realties they faced.

Author

• Andrew Aprile, Queens College - CUNY