Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy in Music Education: Music, Media, and Learning Processes from Kid Culture

• In Event: Rooted in Culture: Teaching Practices Leveraging Black History and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies in Art, Music, and Dance

Abstract

Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (CSP) provides a vital framework for music educators seeking to effectively design instruction and curriculum for the increasingly diverse student demographics in K–12 schools in the United States. As a pedagogical approach, CSP helps students maintain their cultural identities and practices. In music education, it powerfully affirms children’s cultural identities while critically examining systems of access, representation, and power within schools. This approach becomes particularly impactful when teachers engage with “kid culture,” defined as the environments and activities unique to children, which offers a wealth of music and media preferred by students as well as learning processes that differ from those typically used within schools. The three main tenets of Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy are: (1) Funds of knowledge: An asset-based view where teachers focus on students' existing knowledge, experiences, and skills; (2) Decolonization: Efforts to dismantle dominant White structures within education; and (3) Critical reflexivity: Involves both students and teachers critically examining and discussing problematic educational practices.

Meaningfully implementing CSP in music education requires moving beyond simply diversifying music selections to engaging in children’s cultural practices, encompassing their cultural knowledge, and involving critical self-reflection by the teacher. Researchers have noted that media, including television, video games, and the internet, significantly influences kid culture, with children often incorporating elements from media into their musical play. Outside school, children typically learn music by ear, alone or with peers, copying preferred music, and focusing on rhythm before pitch, often exhibiting advanced musical creativity without formal training. These informal learning processes align well with CSP.

The conceptual method for this paper is grounded in the author's dual role as a university-based scholar and a PreK–6 Montessori music teacher, engaging in a continuous cycle of teaching and reflection, akin to Freire’s (1970) action-reflection. This approach informed the development and adjustment of six music lessons rooted in kid culture: Jump In, Jump Out; Old Town Road; Fortnite Dances; Welcome to McDonald’s; and Doublemint Gum.

These lessons collectively demonstrate the core tenets of CSP: (1) All activities leveraged children’s existing funds of knowledge, drawing on their familiarity with playground games, video games, hand-clapping patterns, chants, rhythms, melodies, restaurant chains, brands, and musical artists. (2) The lessons exemplify decolonization, embracing learning processes common in kid culture that depart from traditional music instruction. Crucially, every lesson included an element of improvisation or composition, which is often absent in traditional school music ensembles. (3) While primarily engaged in by the teacher, critical reflexivity also involved students, as exemplified by a discussion about the uncompensated and uncredited use of dance emotes by Black creators in the Fortnite game.

Understanding how CSP can be realized through kid culture offers new possibilities for education, fostering classrooms where scholarship and student voice intersect through music, movement, and shared culture. Researchers are encouraged to investigate kid culture in their communities to further validate student knowledge, decolonize classrooms, and prompt critical discussions central to CSP. Kid culture provides an accessible, fun, and authentic means for teachers to engage students.

Author

• Martina Vasil, University of Kentucky