Blurred lines and queered spaces: an examination of teachers’ visions of multi-styles curricula

ABSTRACT

Multi-styles string education includes musical practices from close to 30 identified styles. Adding the multi-styles approach into curriculum may not be easy: Pedagogies may be different from those needed for Western classical music, the primary style most practicing teachers have studied. As such, the decision to start incorporating multi-styles into curriculum can present a challenge as an unsupported leap in an unknown direction. This study examined how string teachers implement a multi-styles approach into their P-12 string class curricula. Questions guiding this study are: (1) How do school orchestra teachers describe their visions for a multi-styles approach to curriculum? (2) What planning and action is taken in order to enact their visions, including programme and infrastructure changes, additional resources, professional development? Data were collected through a qualitative interview design and analysed through a queer theory lens. Themes include blurred visions of multi-styles, stepwise shifts in curriculum and pedagogy through a both/and student-centred approach, and the utilisation of human resources. We found that multi-styles is less a curriculum and more a philosophical approach. However, the name itself of this approach caused dissonance, leading towards a vague future. Implications provide new avenues of research and practice in this line of inquiry.

KEYWORDS:

• Multi-styles
• eclectic
• alternative
• strings
• music education
• queer theory

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

George Nicholson

Dr. George Nicholson is a Lecturer in String Music Education at Case Western Reserve University. He holds degrees from the University of Miami, FL, the University of Georgia and Teachers College Columbia University. Dr. Nicholson has previously taught at the University of New Mexico, Teachers College Columbia University, Ithaca College, the Cleveland Institute of Music and The College of New Jersey. His research interests focus on connecting educational theory to pedagogical practice through artistry and string music education, and his work has been published in the Journal of Research in Music Education, American String Teacher Journal, Arts Education Policy Review and the Oxford Handbook of Music Teacher Education. Dr. Nicholson is a frequent clinician for middle and high school honour orchestras around the country.

Matthew Rotjan

Dr. Matthew Rotjan leads a multifaceted career in pedagogy and scholarship by innovating through music education. As a faculty member in the Scarsdale Public Schools (NY), he teaches Orchestra and Exploring Music courses at Scarsdale Middle School. His unique pedagogy focuses on creating engaging student-centered learning environments that foster collaborative creative experiences and student agency in and beyond the classroom through a comprehensive musicianship framework. Matthew’s work in curriculum development and teacher education includes sessions with educators, administrators and students, and he is a frequent presenter at national and international conferences. His scholarship focuses on bridging theory and practice in music education and his work is published in Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, American String Teacher Journal, Music Educators Journal, Teaching Music and Visions of Research in Music Education. Dr. Rotjan holds degrees from Ithaca College and Teachers College, Columbia University.