Dichotomous Musical Worlds: Interactions Between the Musical Lives of Adolescents and School Music-Learning Culture
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Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Department of Middle-Secondary Education and Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Instructional Technology (no new uploads as of Technology Dissertations Jan. 2015) 12-7-2009 Dichotomous Musical Worlds: Interactions between the Musical Lives of Adolescents and School Music-Learning Culture Todd Edwin Snead Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/msit_diss Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Snead, Todd Edwin, "Dichotomous Musical Worlds: Interactions between the Musical Lives of Adolescents and School Music-Learning Culture." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2009. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/msit_diss/53 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology (no new uploads as of Jan. 2015) at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ACCEPTANCE This dissertation, DICHOTOMOUS MUSICAL WORLDS: INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE MUSICAL LIVES OF ADOLESCENTS AND SCHOOL MUSIC- LEARNING CULTURE, by TODD EDWIN SNEAD, was prepared under the direction of the candidate’s Dissertation Advisory Committee. It is accepted by the committee members in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Education, Georgia State University. The Dissertation Advisory Committee and the student’s Department Chair, as representatives of the faculty, certify that this dissertation has met all standards of excellence and scholarship as determined by the faculty. The Dean of the College of Education concurs. ______________________________ ______________________________ David E. Myers, Ph.D. Dana L. Fox, Ph.D. Committee Co-Chair Committee Co-Chair ______________________________ ______________________________ Joyce E. Many, Ph.D. Jodi Kaufmann, Ph.D. Committee Member Committee Member ______________________________ Date ______________________________ Dana L. Fox, Ph.D. Chair, Department of Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology ______________________________ R.W. Kamphaus, Ph.D. Dean and Distinguished Research Professor College of Education AUTHOR’S STATEMENT By presenting this dissertation as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the advanced degree from Georgia State University, I agree that the library of Georgia State University shall make it available for inspection and circulation in accordance with its regulations governing materials of this type. I agree that permission to quote, to copy from, or to publish this dissertation may be granted by the professor under whose direction it was written, by the College of Education’s director of graduate studies and research, or by me. Such quoting, copying, or publishing must be solely for scholarly purposes and will not involve potential financial gain. It is understood that any copying from this publication of this dissertation which involves potential financial gain will not be allowed without my written permission. _____________________________________ Todd Edwin Snead NOTICE TO BORROWERS All dissertations deposited in the Georgia State University library must be used in accordance with the stipulations prescribed by the author in the preceding statement. The author of this dissertation is: Todd Edwin Snead 533 Greenwood Ave. NE Atlanta, GA 30308 The director of this dissertation is: Dr. Dana L. Fox Department of Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology College of Education Georgia State University Atlanta, GA 30302-3980 VITA Todd Edwin Snead ADDRESS: 533 Greenwood Ave. NE Atlanta, GA 30308 EDUCATION: Ph.D. 2010 Georgia State University Teaching and Learning: Music Education M.M. 2005 Arizona State University Music Education B.M. 1999 Texas Tech University Music Education PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 2009-2010 Assistant Professor, Music Education University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 2006-2009 Graduate Teaching Assistant Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 2003-2005 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program Coordinator Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, Phoenix, AZ 2001-2003 Cast Member Blast! First National Tour, Bloomington, IN 1999-2001 Assistant Band Director Judson High School, Converse, TX PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS: Snead, T. E. (2009). Adolescents’ and Secondary Music Teachers’ Perspectives on Music Participation and Learning. Presentation at the annual in-service conference of the Georgia Music Educators Association, Savannah, GA Snead, T. E. (2008). [Review of the book Music, informal learning and the school: A new classroom pedagogy]. Music Educators Journal, 95(1), 21. Waymire, M. D., & Snead, T. E. (2007). From good to great: 9 tips for motivating your band. Teaching Music, 15(1), 28-32. PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES AND ORGANIZATIONS: Music Educators National Conference College Music Society ABSTRACT DICHOTOMOUS MUSICAL WORLDS: INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE MUSICAL LIVES OF ADOLESCENTS AND SCHOOL MUSIC-LEARNING CULTURE by Todd Edwin Snead This ethnographic study investigated the interactions between the musical lives of adolescents and school music-learning culture in a suburban high school. Participants included two music teachers and seven adolescents. Framed within a symbolic interactionist perspective (Blumer, 1969), data were collected via methods consistent with qualitative inquiry, including an innovative data collection technique utilizing music elicitation interviews with adolescents. Findings emerged from the data via thematic analysis (Grbich, 2007). Findings indicate limited interactions between the musical lives of adolescents and school music-learning culture because participants portrayed and experienced a dichotomy between the musical assumptions and practices inside and outside of school. Interactions occurred when participants engaged in sharing musical capital that overcame segmentation among music learning, out-of-school experience, and elective participation in secondary school music programs. Supporting findings indicate that the school music-learning culture derived from teachers' negotiating between two major influences: 1) their own musical values, which were based on their musical backgrounds and the long-established professional tradition of formal performance emphases in school music programs; and 2) the musical values of their students. Adolescents self-defined their musical lives as largely informal musical activities commonly experienced outside of school. They expressed a wealth of personal musical knowledge and described their affinity for music across four dimensions: 1) expression and feeling, 2) relevance, 3) quality in artistry and craftsmanship, and 4) diversity. Three themes describe how adolescents’ personal relationships with music influenced their beliefs and choices regarding music participation and learning: 1) musical roots: nurturing personal and social connections with music, 2) motivated learning: seeking relevance and challenge, and 3) finding a voice: striving toward musical independence. Findings indicate that music teachers may enhance interactions between adolescents’ musical lives and school music-learning culture by acknowledging students’ musical engagement outside of school, honoring their personal musical knowledge and interests, and making them collaborators in developing music-learning models rooted in their affinity for, and personal relationships with, music. DICHOTOMOUS MUSICAL WORLDS: INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE MUSICAL LIVES OF ADOLESCENTS AND SCHOOL MUSIC-LEARNING CULTURE by Todd Edwin Snead A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Teaching and Learning: Music Education in the Department of Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology in the College of Education Georgia State University Atlanta, GA 2010 Copyright by Todd Edwin Snead 2010 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my extreme gratitude to the adolescents and music teachers who welcomed me into their lives and classrooms, and thank them for their willingness to participate cooperatively and enthusiastically throughout this investigation. I would also like to extend special appreciation to Dr. David Myers for overseeing this dissertation, providing thoughtful reflection, and continually motivating me to “dig deeper” into the data. His thoughtful mentorship and guidance are unmatched and to him I am eternally grateful. I would also like the thank the members of my committee, Dr. Dana Fox, Dr. Joyce Many, Dr. Jodi Kaufmann, and Dr. Dennis Thompson, for their advice and suggestions, and Carla Woods from the Office of Academic Assistance in the College of Education for her assistance in navigating the defense process. I was privileged to have had such wonderful friends and colleagues in the doctoral program at Georgia State University. David, Michelle, Elise, and Bernadette were constant beacons of support both personally and professionally throughout my studies and this dissertation process – I am forever thankful for their friendship. I would like to thank Dr. Kristin Lyman for editing my work and encouraging me throughout the final preparations of this document. I also want to thank all my friends and family for their understanding and encouragement over the