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UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE AN EXPLORATORY STUDY ON THE EFFECTS OF CURRICULUM AND PEDAGOGY AT A SCHOOL OF POPULAR MUSIC: A COLLECTIVE CASE STUDY A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By BRYAN R. POWELL Norman, Oklahoma 2016 AN EXPLORATORY STUDY ON THE EFFECTS OF CURRICULUM AND PEDAGOGY AT A SCHOOL OF POPULAR MUSIC: A COLLECTIVE CASE STUDY A DISSERTATION APPROVED FOR THE SCHOOL OF MUSIC BY _______________________________ Dr. Jane Magrath, Chair _______________________________ Dr. Casey Gerber, Co-Chair _______________________________ Dr. Charles Ciorba _______________________________ Dr. Barbara Fast _______________________________ Dr. Sean O’Neill © Copyright by BRYAN R. POWELL 2016 All Rights Reserved. Acknowledgements My time at the University of Oklahoma has proven to be life changing. I am eternally indebted to my professors and colleagues for their inspiration and encouragement. My understanding of music and music education has been forever enriched because of our time together. I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my committee members. To my advisor, mentor, piano teacher, and committee chair, Dr. Jane Magrath, how could I thank you enough? Your confidence in me as a pianist and student were a welcome source of encouragement, without which I surely would not have been able to complete this endeavor. To my co-chair, Dr. Casey Gerber, thank you for providing invaluable advice and a fresh perspective on this project. Dr. Charles Ciorba, thank you for your involvement in the origin of this document and for your continued interest in my writing. Dr. Barbara Fast, thank you for your sincere interest in me and my career in music. A special thanks to all of my friends and family who have supported me through this process. Your love and prayers were much appreciated and were instrumental in my completion of this document. Finally, a special thanks to my wife, Lacy, whose continued love and support were meaningful beyond what words could express, and to my boys, Cole and Clay, who always reminded me to live life to the fullest. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgements ..................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ........................................................................................... v List of Tables ............................................................................................... ix List of Figures ................................................................................................ x Abstract ........................................................................................................ xi Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................. 1 Purpose ................................................................................................................. 1 Problem ................................................................................................................. 2 Research Questions .............................................................................................. 7 Research Method .................................................................................................. 7 Potential Insights .................................................................................................. 8 Outline of Document ............................................................................................ 9 Chapter 2: Review of Literature .................................................................10 Popular Music Education ................................................................................... 10 Defining popular music. ......................................................................... 11 Popular music in music education. ......................................................... 13 Popular music pedagogy. ........................................................................ 18 Implications for music teacher education. .............................................. 29 Current research on informal music education. ...................................... 32 Summary of popular music education. ................................................... 34 Constructivism .................................................................................................... 35 Basic tenants. .......................................................................................... 36 Cognitive Constructivism. ...................................................................... 43 Social Constructivism. ............................................................................ 46 Role of teacher. ....................................................................................... 50 Drawbacks of Constructivism. ............................................................... 54 Critical Constructivism. .......................................................................... 57 Culturally Responsive Teaching ......................................................................... 59 Self-awareness. ....................................................................................... 59 Three basic tenants. ................................................................................ 62 Four pillars of practice. ........................................................................... 67 Popular culture and cultural responsiveness. .......................................... 76 Current research on culturally responsive music education. .................. 79 Schools of Popular Music ................................................................................... 83 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 85 Chapter 3: Methodology .............................................................................88 v Approach ............................................................................................................ 89 Sample ................................................................................................................ 92 Data Collection ................................................................................................... 97 Data Analysis .................................................................................................... 100 Reflexivity ........................................................................................................ 103 Chapter 4: Teacher Case ...........................................................................106 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 106 What Led to Participation ................................................................................. 106 Culture of the School ........................................................................................ 107 Students ................................................................................................ 107 Teachers ................................................................................................ 108 Purpose of the school and the pedagogical strategies employed .......... 109 The nature of relationships between students and teachers .................. 112 Evolving identity of the school. ............................................................ 113 Description of Curriculum ................................................................................ 114 Description of Pedagogy .................................................................................. 121 Learning team ....................................................................................... 121 Student directed pedagogy ................................................................... 124 Demonstration. ..................................................................................... 126 Description of Lived Experience ...................................................................... 128 Summary ........................................................................................................... 129 Chapter 5: Student Case ...........................................................................131 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 131 What Led to Participation ................................................................................. 132 Culture of the School ........................................................................................ 133 Description of Curriculum ................................................................................ 136 Expectations ......................................................................................... 136 Curricular planning ............................................................................... 137 Level of curricular content ................................................................... 139 Description of Pedagogy .................................................................................. 140 Self-regulated learning ......................................................................... 140 Teachers as valuable ............................................................................. 142 Students as teachers. ............................................................................