We wear the mask : the lived experiences of Black undergraduate music education students in predominantly White schools of music (PWSOM)

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Quinton Douglas Parker (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Tami Draves

Abstract: The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to examine the lived experiences of Black undergraduate music education students in predominantly White schools of music (PWSOM) in the United States. Special attention was paid to exploring if and how the Du Boisian concept of double consciousness manifested within the participants. Critical race theory and double consciousness theory served as appropriate interpretive frameworks for this inquiry. Nine participants reflected on and interpreted their experiences in PWSOM. Data were collected primarily using open-ended interviews. The data were coded and analyzed, a process which yielded nine emergent themes. Findings revealed that participants faced a particular set of issues that negatively affected their experiences in their PWSOM. Participants did not see themselves represented in their student bodies, amongst the faculty, or in the curriculum; contended with White peers’ and professors’ negative stereotypes of Black students and Black musicianship daily; and described a culture of racial and cultural insensitivity that led them to question their belonging. Participants found themselves in the midst of two internal battles. The first, between two identities – being Black and being students in predominantly White spaces. Secondly, between believing that they deserved to attend their schools and feeling that they must prove themselves daily. Keywords: Black undergraduate, music education, predominantly White school of music

Additional Information

Publication
Dissertation
Language: English
Date: 2021
Keywords
Black undergraduate, Music education, Predominantly White school of music
Subjects
African Americans $x Education (Higher)
Conservatories of music $z United States
Music teachers $x Training of
Critical race theory
Splitting (Psychology)

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