Meritocracy as an Obstacle to Equity in Instrumental Music Education

• In Event: Social Justice in Music Curriculum and Instruction

Abstract

In this presentation, I examine some tensions of implementing structural changes in the instrumental classroom in pursuit of equity. Using structuration theory (Giddens, 1984) as a framework to identify and label social structures, I explore the experiences of a high school orchestra teacher and three of his students during a period when the teacher implemented an alternative seating practice (Yi, 2019). Meritocratic and hierarchical thinking emerged as central worldviews that shaped the participants’ stories of this change. Students initially resisted the plan because of the dissonance they experienced with deeply engrained notions of merit and value in the orchestra. These findings illuminate some potential challenges for teachers wishing to institute structural change in the name of equity.

Author

• Timothy Nowak, East Carolina University