Welcome to the APME Memphis 2025 conference. Here, you’ll be able to register for the conference and update your Sched profile. The conference schedule will be available in late spring 2025. At that time, you can view the schedule and select the presentations you’d like to attend. If you have any questions, please visit our conference website or contact us at conference@popularmusiceducation.org We look forward to coming together as a community June 4–7, 2025.
Uncritical habits of mind, institutionalized cultural scripts, and the tools of whiteness contribute to an educational status quo of ‘educational niceness’ that marginalizes culturally and linguistically diverse students. The development of critical consciousness through critical reflection, discourse, inquiry, and action has the power to transform music classrooms by transforming the hearts, minds, and worldviews of the music educators within them. Enacting critical consciousness is characterized by critical reflection, inquiry, discourse, and action involving: (a) critical reflexive work on identity, (b) analysis of power and privilege in macro and micro contexts, and (c) the problematization of taken-for-granted assumptions. McDonough (2009) explained that critically conscious educators demonstrate, quote, “an overall ability to think critically about a variety of issues of power” and embrace “a critical edge in their work.” Kohli et al. (2019) found that “teacher development for critical consciousness must involve cultivating teachers with capacities to recognize, interrogate, and transform injustice.” This session will explore critical consciousness from both a practical and theoretical perspective, guided by the findings of the clinician's autoethnography on critical consciousness in music education. The autoethnographer found three major themes of ‘nice’ dysconsciousness: (a) uncritical habits of mind, (b) institutionalized cultural scripts, and (c) tools of whiteness for maintaining White comfort. Disinvestment from the ‘nice’ White lady identity was a rigorous critically reflexive process that involved: (a) an evolving worldview in which I learned to sit with my own discomfort in order to grow; (b) the deliberate and critically conscious disruption of institutionalized cultural scripts and; (c) resistance to the ideological, emotional, and performative tools of whiteness through enacted critical consciousness.
Recent critics of the culture of competition in music education argue that it promotes a capitalistic, neo-liberal approach, prioritizing products over educational processes (Powell, 2024). One example of competition is all-state ensembles, where students audition for elite groups at state music conferences. Although participation in these ensembles can boost self-efficacy (Hendricks, 2016), foster ambition (Barnes et al., 2002), and provide social benefits (Burland et al., 2021; Hewitt, 2013), they also raise concerns about favoritism toward larger schools and barriers related to distance and instrument (Lien & Humphrey, 2001). There has been limited research on students' perspectives, with most researchers investigating adult perceptions of all-state groups (e.g., teachers, administrators, parents). Further, most studies focus on traditional bands, choirs, and orchestras rather than modern band. The Kentucky All-State Elementary Modern Band (KASEMB) offers a novel approach, diverging from traditional competitive structures (Music Will, 2024). Unlike conventional all-state ensembles, which follow a conservatory or competition-based model (Allsup, 2006; Powell, 2024), KASEMB auditions are equity-based, removing barriers like traveling for auditions and obscure repertoire; students submit video auditions with music of their choice. The selection of students is also equity-based, with round one adjudicated and then round two ensuring the final selection includes students from a diverse range of schools and backgrounds. Additionally, KASEMB rehearsals are organized and run democratically (Cremata, 2017; Dewey, 1916), with students selecting repertoire, establishing norms, and shaping the rehearsal process. This study explores how KASEMB functions as an all-state ensemble from the students' perspective. Data collection is ongoing and will be ready for presentation in Summer 2025.
There are longstanding assumptions of artificial intelligence being a technology resource that promotes societal objectivity and neutrality. Formalized education is the instrument utilized by the socioeconomically dominant to socialize curriculum and pedagogy to their benefit. Generative AI in education could be creating predictive outcomes that are exacerbating racial disparities when using historical data to create new algorithms. Wealthier schools tend to benefit substantially from more advanced AI tools. Digital access varies by socioeconomic status, because underserved populations tend to have less than reliable internet connectivity, and are more than likely having to complete larger tasks on a cell phone instead of a desktop or laptop computer. Even if learners gain access to a laptop, research indicates that Black and Brown student learners are still underserved in advanced curriculum resources and qualified teacher instruction, which leads to greater opportunity gaps in the workforce where AI is an important tool for work competency. The purpose of this study is to identify racially discriminatory behaviors and practices associated with generative AI in music education. This study also considers next steps in eliminating racial biases, and providing more equitable opportunities for underrepresented populations to be situated in the leadership and creation of AI resources in music education.
School music educators are often seen as occupying one of two distinct “camps”. This dichotomy has been characterized as “preservation vs. progress” or “tradition vs. change”. On one side are those concerned with the maintenance of traditional ensembles and the curricular foundations of Western music history and notation. On the other side are those driven toward curricular reform that nurtures students’ agency and imagination. Popular music educators usually identify with the latter side and employ distinct curricula and pedagogy to pursue its goals. However, this empirical study of 22 high school music students in Toronto found that using popular music pedagogies (PMPs) can enhance, rather than take away from, students’ ability to achieve traditional curricular goals such as performing Western European Art Music (WEAM) in large ensembles. More specifically, students’ experience with PMPs helped them to proactively identify and correct their own mistakes, better understand the stylistic characteristics of the music, and develop a greater sense of responsibility to master their parts. One implication of this finding is that popular music educators can more easily justify using PMPs in the classroom, as doing so can contribute to the achievement of traditional learning goals. Another implication is that traditional music educators can feel more confident to explore PMPs, as doing so won’t necessarily detract from their pursuit of teaching excellence in WEAM.
This study examines the experience of building a network of songwriting classroom educators from around the United States. In many parts of the country, songwriting is not a common curricular offering in K-12 education. In some cases, there may be only one songwriting teacher in an area. Because music teacher preparation programs and professional development in popular music education can be difficult to find, the author set out to build a network of songwriting educators. The purpose of this network evolved to support each other’s classroom and personal songwriting work, share ideas and challenges, and discuss contemporary issues in songwriting, music education, and the music industry. The insights from this community are used to redesign the author’s songwriting curriculum. Some areas of redesign include student choice, scaffolding, and personal vulnerability. This session will discuss the question: How might a community of songwriting teachers, who are also classroom teachers, develop ways to support each other and ways of teaching that might support the development of songwriting pedagogy among American music educators? Topics to be discussed include the process of recruiting members of the group, meeting formats, themes that emerged from the conversations, and how this can move forward to further influence the field of songwriting education.
