International Journal of Music Education

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Learning outcomes of two approaches to multicultural music education

Carlos R. Abril
International Journal of Music Education 2006; 24; 30
DOI: 10.1177/0255761406063103

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Learning outcomes of two approaches to
multicultural music education
CARLOS R. ABRIL
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of multicultural music instruction on
classroom learning outcomes. Fifth-grade children (10–11 years of age; N = 170) from four
schools were randomly assigned to one of two instructional treatments: music concept and
sociocultural context. The former approach used formal elements of music as a framework
for learning; the latter contextualized music as a sociocultural phenomenon. At the
conclusion of the 7-week unit, students responded to two writing prompts designed to
measure newly acquired knowledge, understanding, and skill. These responses were
analyzed to: (1) determine the nature of described learning; (2) compare responses between
groups; and (3) test for differences between groups. Instructional approach was found to
have a significant effect on children’s descriptions of acquired knowledge, yet did not affect
their perceptions of music skill acquisition. Interactive dialogues surrounding sociocultural
or musical concepts resulted in a greater number of students articulating their knowledge
about these respective topics.

Key words
affect, attitude, culture, curriculum, elementary music, knowledge, learning, skill

Introduction
Issues surrounding multicultural music education have sparked interest and ignited debate
in our profession. This has resulted in a wealth of curricular and musical materials, as well
as articles of a pedagogical and philosophical nature (Lundquist, 2002). However, scholars
agree that multicultural integration in US schools is still in its early stages and warrants
further examination (Abril, 2002; Campbell, 2004; Legette, 2003; McCrary, 2000; Volk,
1998). Significant gaps in evidence-based research on multicultural music instruction remain
(Campbell, 1992; Edwards, 1998), with only a handful of studies systematically investigating
its effects on children’s learning.
Learning is undoubtedly the principal reason for formal education and has been defined
as a change that occurs as a result of formal or informal experiences, active knowledge

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MUSIC EDUCATION Copyright © 2006 International Society for Music Education
Vol 24(1) 30-42 [(200604)24:1] 10.1177/0255761406063103 http://ijm.sagepub.com

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 Abril Learning outcomes 31

construction, and information processing (Cizek, 1997). McMillan (2004) asserts that
learning can take on various forms, including: knowledge and understanding, skill, and
affect. He defines knowledge as the ability to recall and/or recognize ‘facts, definitions,
terms, concepts, procedures, or other information’ (p. 139), and understanding as the use
of this information to reason and solve problems. Skill refers to an individual’s ability to do
something like playing a particular rhythmic pattern on a conga drum. Affective learning
refers to a multiplicity of learned traits, attitudes, and dispositions that differ from skills and
knowledge (McMillan, 2004).
These three areas of learning are commonly addressed in music teacher preparation
textbooks (Campbell & Scott-Kassner, 2002; Colwell & Wing, 2004; Hoffer, 1993) and are
used as pillars of assessment (Brophy, 2000; Mark, 1996). In relation to multicultural music
education, one might ask: What types of learning can result from multicultural music
instruction at the elementary level? Can children learn to value music from different
cultures? How does learning differ when instruction focuses on developing contextual versus
musical understanding? Research has addressed some of these questions.

Affect
The majority of extant research on learning and multicultural music education has focused
on attitude. One of the earliest studies in music education measured changes in fourth-
grade (9–10 years of age) students’ ethnocentric attitudes toward Japanese culture after
participating in a 15-week Japanese singing curriculum (De Cesare, 1972). Results revealed
that students who initially had positive attitudes became more positive after treatment;
those who initially had negative attitudes did not improve after treatment. These data
suggest that negative attitudes toward cultural groups are more difficult to improve than
positive attitudes. Results may be attributed to the treatment’s lack of explicit connections
between culture and music. As such, the treatment was found to lack the power needed to
improve children’s negative attitudes. In a related study, Shehan (1987) investigated the
effects of instruction on sixth-grade (11–12 years of age) students’ ethnocentric attitudes.
After receiving five lessons on the music and culture of south-east Asia, there was no
significant difference in post-test attitude scores. Improvements in attitude may have
required an extended instructional period or, as noted in the former study, a more direct link
between instruction and the dependent variable. Students in these studies may have learned
many things during instruction but openness toward unfamiliar cultures was not found to
be a learning outcome.
Another study sought to determine the effect of various approaches to multicultural
instruction on fifth-grade (10–11 years of age) children’s attitudes toward popular music
sung in various languages (Abril, in press). Students participated in one of two multicultural
approaches: one included objectives that primarily focused on music concepts; the other
focused on the contextual elements of music. Test results indicated that children who
participated in the latter approach had significantly more positive attitudes toward
unfamiliar music than those in the music concept and control groups (using no multicultural
approach or materials). This study supports the notion that positive attitude changes toward
music can occur when instruction delves beneath the musical surface and facilitates critical
thinking about personal and group perceptions of people, sounds, and images associated
with unfamiliar music.
Musical preference, an overt manifestation of attitude toward music, is another variable
studied in relation to multicultural instruction. One study found that performance-based
instruction in music of unfamiliar cultures was effective in increasing sixth-grade students’
preference for the studied music, yet there was no transfer of preference to unfamiliar music

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32 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MUSIC EDUCATION 24(1)

in the same style (Shehan, 1985). Perhaps a contextual/cultural component to the lessons
would have led to transfer of preference. Another study compared two teaching
approaches: one in which children were actively immersed in music by performing,
manipulating, and interacting with music (heuristic); and a more passive, teacher-directed
form of music instruction (didactic), in which students were expected to internalize
understanding (Shehan, 1984). Results of this study show that a heuristics approach was
more effective than the didactic approach at increasing sixth-grade students’ operant
preference for Indonesian gamelan music. Abril (2003) found that students who
participated in a sociocultural approach to instruction had significantly higher preference
ratings for music sung in foreign languages than students who received instruction that
lacked an in-depth contextual component. In conclusion, direct experiences with
multicultural music in the classroom, in conjunction with discussions surrounding musical
and cultural matters, can improve elementary-age children’s preferences for unfamiliar
music.
Researchers have reported that children express more positive attitudes toward multi-
cultural music instruction when they are provided with opportunities to play instruments
that are representative (‘authentic’) of the culture being studied (Edwards, 1998; Pembrook
& Robinson, 1997). Students who participated in instruction taught by a person of the
culture being studied expressed more positive attitudes toward instruction and
multiculturalism than students who did not have such experiences (Edwards, 1994; Ikehara,
2001). The instruments or the guest instructors may have been the cause of these results,
not the multicultural nature of instruction. Results from these studies support the case that
attitudes toward music and instruction have the potential of improving through the use of
instructional approaches that delve beyond the formal properties of music. Changes in
attitude toward groups of people, however, seem to be more difficult to modify through
music instruction alone.

Skill
Only one study was found to investigate the effect of multicultural music instruction on
performance achievement. Pembrook and Robinson (1997) sought to determine the effect
of type of instrument used (culturally authentic versus traditional school instruments) on
students’ performance abilities. The 2-week multicultural instructional unit centered on the
music of Ghana and consisted of four half-hour class meetings. Results indicated that
students who used the authentic instruments performed significantly better on a measure
of performance ability than those students using the school instruments. The unusual
instruments may have led to improved student attention during the 2-week instructional
period. However, it is questionable whether these differences would endure over an
extended period of instruction or if they were of practical significance.

Knowledge and understanding

The study of ‘music as culture’ is an important aspect of multicultural music education.
Therefore, cultural and musical knowledge are logical learning outcomes of instruction.
Sixth-grade students who used authentic instruments during instruction were found to
perform significantly better on a cultural knowledge test than students who used classroom
instruments (Pembrook & Robinson, 1997). Shehan (1987) found that students were able
to develop a vocabulary of terms related to the studied culture after a five-lesson unit on the
music of south-east Asia. Sixth-grade students involved in multicultural instruction that was
interactive performed significantly better on a cognitive test than those students who

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 Abril Learning outcomes 33

received more passive forms of instruction (Shehan, 1984). In a qualitative investigation,

fourth-grade students participated in music lessons taught from a ‘social studies’ approach.
These lessons included class discussions focusing on contextual aspects of American Indian
music and direct musical experiences (Edwards, 1998). After the treatment period, students’
written descriptions of learning revealed four levels of cultural understanding: cultural
knowledge, awareness, sensitivity, and valuing. In addition, instruction was reported to be
effective in dispelling misinformed beliefs and stereotypes about American Indians and their
music. Students’ descriptions of learning were limited to the particular culture studied and
few transfers to other cultures were evident from the data. It is clear from the
aforementioned studies that students acquire various levels of knowledge and
understanding about the cultures they are studying. The question remains, does this cultural
knowledge come at the expense of musical knowledge?
The definition of multicultural music education varies across and within regions of the
world. Discussing the multiplicity of meanings is beyond the scope of this review. In the
context of this study, multicultural music education refers to the teaching and learning of a
wide body of musics for the purpose of musical and cultural understanding. The present
investigation was designed to build upon and extend knowledge of learning outcomes
resulting from multicultural music education. It was designed to examine children’s per-
ceptions of learning after participating in a multicultural music unit. The investigation also
sought to answer the following questions:

● What is the nature of children’s descriptions of learning after partaking in a multi-

cultural music instructional unit with a music concept or sociocultural focus?
● How are their descriptions of learning similar or different?
● Is there a difference in students’ descriptions of learning between the two instructional
approaches?

Method

Participants and instruction

Participants consisted of 170 fifth-grade children from four suburban public schools in a
large mid-western city. Children were predominantly white and of middle- to upper-middle-
socioeconomic status. They received general music instruction taught by a specialist on a
regular basis. This study was conducted in January, about five months into the school year.
Two intact classes at each school were randomly assigned to receive instruction using
one of two multicultural instructional approaches: music concept (n = 82) or sociocultural
(n = 88). The instructional unit consisted of six 45-minute lessons taught during the regular
music period. Both groups of students were provided with similar music instruction.
Students sang, moved to, and played instrumental arrangements of songs from various non-
western cultures. Although students were provided with translations of the text, songs were
only sung in their original languages. All children performed and responded to the same
musical works, but the central focus of the lessons and classroom discussions differed by
group.
The lessons for the music concept group used the formal elements of music as the
framework from which students could acquire knowledge, understanding, and skill. In
addition to active music-making experiences, students discussed various music concepts as
they related to the songs being studied. The instructor provided students with cultural

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34 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MUSIC EDUCATION 24(1)

information about the songs that was limited to the songs’ geographic origins, language,
and the meaning of the text. Music teachers in the United States commonly apply a similar
approach to teaching multicultural music (Norman, 1999; Robinson, 2002; Yudkin, 1990).
The sociocultural group participated in the same active music-making experiences, but
instruction differed in that lessons focused on the construction of knowledge about
unfamiliar performance styles, sounds, and cultures. The instructor contextualized the songs
and led interactive discussions surrounding the multiple ways musical meaning could be
constructed, depending on an individual’s cultural position. In addition, students were
asked to consider and engage in dialogue about the ways prejudice and stereotypes could
affect their listening experiences.
Music educators at each school were selected to teach the instructional units for
ecological validity. Prior to selecting the schools, two music education professors from a
local university were asked to identify outstanding elementary general music teachers in the
area – excellent teachers were believed to be best qualified to reliably implement the
curriculum. Teachers were selected from the list if they had experience teaching music of
other cultures, had taught at least two fifth-grade classes, and had agreed to participate.
The four teachers who participated in this study had taught for over 10 years. They were
provided with teaching materials and trained in teaching from the two aforementioned
approaches. Each teacher practiced implementing the lessons with classes not participating
in the study and documented any problems. Afterwards, the teachers and researcher jointly
considered these issues (i.e. time constraints) and negotiated solutions.
Lessons (25%) were videotaped and observed by two independent judges to determine
if teachers had taught the lessons as described in the plans. There was a high level of
agreement among the judges (r = .98) that the teachers met the majority of criteria (93%)
for each lesson plan. In addition, judges found that lessons clearly demonstrated a
sociocultural or music concept focus (r = 1). This supports the case that instruction was
provided consistently by each instructor.

Measuring learning outcomes

On the class period following the last day of instruction, students were asked to write about
the things they learned from the multicultural music unit. They were told that their
responses would be used to determine what they knew and were able to do. Students were
provided with two writing prompts:

● ‘I learned that . . .’, designed to measure knowledge and understanding;

● ‘I learned how to . . .’, designed to measure students’ perceptions of acquired skills.

These prompts were the same ones used in a previous study (see Edwards, 1998). Students
were asked to write a paragraph for each prompt.
Responses were read several times in order to uncover salient categories and sub-
categories. Skill and knowledge were predetermined categories because they have been
examined less frequently in the research literature and because they are common learning
targets in the music classroom. Many students’ responses clearly described affective
learning; therefore, this category was added. The following subcategories became evident
after reading students’ responses several times: musical, sociocultural, and other. Each
response was placed in one of the following categories:

● musical skill – perceived ability to do something of a musical nature;

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 Abril Learning outcomes 35

● sociocultural skill – perceived ability to do something of a sociocultural nature;

● other skill – perceived ability to do something not socioculturally or musically related;
● musical knowledge – musical concepts, facts, understandings, and/or principles;
● sociocultural knowledge – concepts, facts, understandings, and/or principles of a
sociocultural nature;
● musical affect – an attitude, value, or disposition toward music;
● sociocultural affect – an attitude, value, or disposition toward something of a
sociocultural nature; and
● other affect – an attitude, value, or disposition toward something not musically or
socioculturally related.

If a student responded with more than one statement fitting a single category, it was only
counted once. No differentiation was made between right and wrong answers during
categorization. As a reliability check, a research assistant independently categorized and
counted all the data, resulting in a high level of agreement (r = .92). Any discrepancies in
categorization were discussed between the researcher and assistant. Adjustments were
made to ensure consistent categorization.

Results
Some students’ descriptions of learning were excluded (n = 9) for one of two reasons: (1)
most responses were unintelligible, or (2) the student was absent for two or more lessons.
There were a total of 334 individual descriptions of learning by students in the music
concept group and 296 in the sociocultural group, for a total of 630 categorized responses
(see Table 1). A preliminary set of procedures was conducted on the categorized data to
determine if there were any differences among the four schools for each instructional
treatment group. Results of chi-square analyses revealed no significant differences among
schools for either instructional group; therefore, frequencies within each instructional group
were aggregated.

Table 1 Frequencies and percentages by instructional group (%)

Group Socio- Musical Other Socio- Musical Socio- Musical Other
cultural skill skill cultural knowledge cultural affect affect
skill knowledge affect

Music 65 (20) 91 (27) 4 (1) 44 (13) 102 (31) 1 (0) 27 (8) 0 (0)
concept
(n = 77)

Socio- 53 (18) 69 (23) 0 (0) 101 (34) 13 (4) 26 (9) 31 (11) 3 (1)
cultural
(n = 84)

Total 118 (19) 160 (25) 4 (1) 145 (23) 115 (18) 27 (4) 58 (9) 3 (1)

Note The greatest frequency of responses for a particular group is represented in boldface type.

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36 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MUSIC EDUCATION 24(1)

Music concept group

Student writing samples quoted herein were corrected for spelling but not grammar or
syntax. The music concept group responded with 220 descriptions (66%) of musical learning
with no reference to culture. The majority of those responses clearly fit into the knowledge
(102) or skill (91) subcategories. Responses reflecting musical knowledge were generally
definitions of terms or concepts introduced in the lessons: ‘I learned that accelerando means
to get faster’; ‘a fermata means to hold the note a little longer than usual’. Descriptions of
learning that were categorized as musical skill generally focused on singing, playing
instruments, and moving to music. Some statements were quite detailed: ‘I learned how to
sing Mi Gallo better by taking a big breath after the musical sentence is over’ and ‘I learned
how to play an ostinato pattern with quarter notes on the xylophone to go along with a
song’; others provided less information, ‘I learned how to bounce a ball in a steady beat.’
There were 27 responses categorized as affect, 12 of which were related to music
preference (nine positive and three negative). Students expressed preferences toward songs
with general statements such as ‘Mi Gallo is a cool song’. On the other hand, negative
statements were more detailed and referred to the unusual quality of the song, or aspects
of the song that were unfamiliar: ‘I didn’t like the song from Africa because it’s just weird
. . .’; ‘I don’t like the songs because I can’t understand them.’ Fifteen statements were
related to the difficulty of singing songs with unfamiliar musical or linguistic characteristics:
‘some I can’t sing because some different languages are hard. Some are not that difficult.’
A total of 110 responses referred to sociocultural aspects of learning (33%), which were
divided among skill (65), knowledge (44), and affect (1). Responses categorized as
sociocultural skill described learning how to sing or speak in a foreign language, or learning
how to translate into English. One student claimed: ‘I learned how to roll my r’s when I sing
a song in Spanish.’ Another said: ‘I learned to translate from Ga to English like the word
mofia moni into everybody.’ Some responses, categorized as sociocultural knowledge,
described the country from which a song originated: ‘the everybody song is from an African
country called Ghana’; or ‘Sakura is a song from Japan.’ While others were more specifically
related to the foreign language: ‘most people in Japan speak Japanese but some speak
English too’; or ‘some languages are pronounced like English.’ Only one individual’s
response was categorized as sociocultural affect: ‘the people of other places listen to weird
stuff.’ The word ‘stuff’ clearly refers to music, and although that statement could be
interpreted as musical affect, the focus of the statement centered on the sociocultural
(‘people of other places’) more so than the musical.

Sociocultural group
There were a total of 113 descriptions of learning from the sociocultural group that were
categorized as musical learning (38%). Many students described musical skills (69), while
fewer described musical affect (31) and musical knowledge (13). In contrast to the music
concept group, the majority of responses were of a sociocultural nature (61%). These were
divided into cultural skill (53), cultural knowledge (101), and cultural affect (26).
Descriptions of musical skill (i.e. ‘I learned to play the drum rhythm pattern’) were quite
similar to those of the sociocultural group. However, descriptions of musical knowledge (i.e.,
‘I learned that when I see
it means to repeat the music over again’) varied in content
between groups. As in the music concept group, many of the descriptions that were placed
in the musical affect category expressed preference for one of the songs (23 positive).
Although most were quite general in their preference statements (e.g. ‘I liked the Mofia
song a lot’), one student explained why a particular song was favored: ‘Sakura is my favorite

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 Abril Learning outcomes 37

song in music class because I know a lot about it now.’ Some statements (8) described the
ease or difficulty of performing the music. These descriptions focused on some aspect of the
songs’ languages. One student focused on the written language: ‘songs we sang are hard
to learn. The letters of the alphabet on the song are confusing.’ A few students stated it was
easier to sing in an unfamiliar language than they had anticipated. One wrote: ‘it used to
be hard for me to sing the songs in another language but now it is easier.’
As in the music concept group, sociocultural skill responses were all related to learning
to sing, speak, or pronounce words in a foreign language. Sociocultural knowledge was also
similar to that of the music concept group in that responses included musical context and
linguistic information. However, students’ descriptions (32) of contextual information were
more detailed and varied: ‘some songs in other cultures help people work together to get
things done faster’; ‘The Saturday night song is a good song about something bad that
happened to the people of Africa when they couldn’t go out like everyone else’; ‘a Japanese
song called Sakura really originates from America.’ A smaller number (14) described
information about the language that they learned in the song: ‘I learned that the language
Ga is named like the name of their country.’ Furthermore, many responses in this category
(35) delved into topics about stereotyping and prejudice. Some students provided examples
of concepts, others defined terms: ‘stereotypes are kind of like judging a book by its cover
and not looking at what is inside before making a decision’; ‘if you judge people or maybe
music before you know it then you are being prejudice’; and ‘I learned that you don’t have
to be of the culture to be able to understand what they mean.’ Another student was able to
see the connection between a stereotype and music: ‘I learned if you judge all the music of
a culture by just one song that can be like a stereotype.’ Some responses (20) focused on the
differences and similarities of people and their music with comments such as ‘things about
music are different from all the cultures we studied’; or ‘sometimes the music of other places
sounds like the music I am used to already and that is better to help me understand it.’
Responses (26) in the sociocultural affect category reflected students’ dispositions: ‘I
won’t treat people bad because they listen to different music than me’; ‘try music and treat
it fairly even if they listen to music that you have never heard. And you would probably like
the music like I did’; ‘You should not make fun of other people and their songs (to tolerate)’;
‘music from other countries are just as interesting as music from America’; and ‘even when
the music of someone’s culture sounds weird to me, it is just different that’s ok.’
There were three responses, categorized as other affect, which expressed positive
attitudes toward the instructional unit in general.

Comparing the two instructional approaches

As can be seen in Table 1, the majority of responses for the sociocultural group were of a socio-
cultural nature; the majority of responses for the music concept group were of a musical
nature. A chi-square analysis was performed to determine if responses (musical and socio-
cultural) differed by treatment. Results indicated there was a significant difference in type of
learning by treatment group, χ2(1, 623) = 48.13, p <.0001. A Cramer’s V analysis revealed
a small effect size (.28), which indicates that the difference may not be practically significant.
A chi-square statistic was used to uncover further learning differences between groups.
Results indicated no significant difference in cultural versus musical skill between the two
treatment groups. However, there was a significant difference by treatment group in the
musical versus cultural knowledge categories, χ2(1, 286) = 106.58, p < .0001. The
difference in children’s learning was found to be quite powerful (Cramer’s V = .58). In other
words, the difference revealed could be confidently attributed to the varying instructional
approaches. Affect was not analyzed in this manner owing to insufficient responses.

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38 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MUSIC EDUCATION 24(1)

Discussion
Extant research about learning outcomes arising from multicultural music instruction at the
elementary level has primarily focused on attitudes and preference. Few studies have
investigated other types of learning such as knowledge and skill. Although there are
limitations to assessing learning through written language alone, it can serve as a
representation of the music experience (Flowers, 2000), and as a measure of thinking and
cognitive processes (Chatterji, 2003; McMillan, 2004). The current study used a written
assessment for the purpose of classifying and analyzing children’s learning outcomes
resulting from participation in one of two approaches to multicultural music instruction. This
study also sought to determine if there were any differences between these approaches.
There was a significant difference between overall musical and sociocultural responses
between the two groups. The sociocultural group described learning of a sociocultural
nature in greater frequency than the music concept group. Conversely, the music concept
group described more learning of a musical nature. Despite the fact that students in both
groups participated in practically identical music-making and listening activities, differing
foci of interactive discussions seemed to have a greater impact on the type of learning they
described. However, a small effect size suggests that this difference may be of limited
practical significance.

Skill
There was no significant difference between the frequency of described musical and
sociocultural skills by group – frequencies of responses closely paralleled one another. This
is likely a reflection of the similar musical experiences in which both groups engaged.
Although this measurement could not always determine if children had actually acquired the
described skills, it served as a reflection of their perceptions of such learning. (This might also
be indicative of the information a child could share with parents, classroom teachers, or
peers.) Researcher observations of lessons and videotapes, as well as field notes, revealed a
high level of student competency in singing, moving, speaking text in a foreign language,
and playing instruments – much of which students described in their written responses.
All responses categorized as sociocultural skill (19% overall) focused on aspects of the
foreign languages encountered in the songs. Most students in the current study described
their ability to say things in an unfamiliar language. This was a formidable task for many of
the students, regardless of group, as evidenced by subsequent statements. Some students
expressed negative attitudes toward foreign languages in the context of songs – findings
that are supported by previous research (Abril, 2002, in press; McCrary, 2000). Others
enjoyed the challenge of learning a new language, and a few reported improved abilities to
learn new languages.
Qualitative descriptions of musical skill acquisition (25% overall) were similar for both
groups. They reflected children’s shared experiences listening to, moving to, and making
music during the instructional unit. However, responses varied by length and detail among
individuals. This might be explained by variances in students’ writing abilities and vocabulary.

Knowledge
There was a significant difference between students’ descriptions of musical and
sociocultural knowledge by instructional group. Additionally, there was a large effect size,
indicating both statistical and practical significance. Students in the music concept group
described more musical knowledge (31%) than any other category of learning. These

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 Abril Learning outcomes 39

responses reflected the music instruction they received, which focused on specific musical
concepts. Students in this group also included a number of responses categorized as
sociocultural knowledge (13%). Analysis of the content of these responses revealed that they
were limited to simple recall of facts surrounding the song (e.g. language of a studied song
or the song’s country of origin). Previous research has found that music teachers often
provide limited contextual information about music being studied. This information may not
lead students toward a deeper understanding of music as a sociocultural phenomenon, and
may only serve to provide students with simple facts. The music concept approach was
successful in leading many children to describe their knowledge of various musical elements
presented in the lessons.
Conversely, students who participated in the sociocultural approach described more
sociocultural knowledge (34%) than any other category of learning, while many fewer
responses (4%) described musical knowledge. This reflects the nature of the sociocultural
music lessons, which included interactive discussions about music as a phenomenon
inextricably intertwined with culture and society; discussions about the musical context; and
opportunities for children to make transfers between the music they were studying and their
personal musical experiences. Responses of musical knowledge were similar in nature
between groups (describing musical concepts, elements, and principles). However, the
sociocultural group had fewer yet more varied responses. This may indicate that some
students in the sociocultural group relied on their previous musical knowledge, which may
have been quite different for each student. In contrast, the music concept group mostly
described musical concepts introduced in the instructional unit. The sociocultural group’s
sociocultural knowledge responses consisted of information regarding the songs’ context,
as well as information about prejudice, stereotypes, social identity, and cultural differences/
similarities. The depth of these students’ responses reflected knowledge and understanding
of many concepts introduced in the lessons and their ability to make transfers to other
situations – both musical and nonmusical. These findings support the notion that
instructional objectives and foci that are delivered through teacher-facilitated discussions
have a significant effect on the type of knowledge students acquire.

Affect
Descriptions of musical affect were either descriptions of preference for music, the difficulty
or ease of performing the songs, or preference for music instruction. All but three
expressions of musical affect were positive; incidentally, the three negative remarks were
from students in the music concept group. Music instruction that focuses on the formal
elements of music may not serve to positively affect attitudes or values toward unfamiliar
music. Although not tested statistically, the frequency of sociocultural affect responses
differed greatly between groups. While only one person in the music concept group
responded in such a manner, 26 students in the sociocultural group provided descriptions
reflecting awareness, sensitivity, and/or valuing of other people and cultures. These findings
support previous research documenting children’s ability to describe cultural understanding
on many dimensions, after participating in multicultural instruction with a contextual focus
(Edwards, 1998).

Implications for the classroom

Several implications for teaching music can be gleaned from this and supporting research.
The music performed or listened to in the classroom may have an effect on students’ musical
skills and experiences, but discussions about these experiences color the lenses through

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40 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MUSIC EDUCATION 24(1)

which students come to know and affectively respond to music and culture. Teachers should
not assume that experiences with multicultural music are sufficient to promote tolerance,
acceptance, and/or value in students. On the contrary, if educators do not engage students
in explicit discussion surrounding sociocultural issues, students may react negatively to the
unfamiliar musical styles or cultures. Interactive dialogues surrounding sociocultural or
musical concepts resulted in a greater number of students articulating their knowledge and
understanding surrounding these respective domains. While musical knowledge seemingly
occurred at the expense of sociocultural knowledge – and vice versa – these two
categorizations are not mutually exclusive. Sociocultural knowledge and understanding can
be closely related to music and has the potential to deepen musical understanding.
Educators need not teach exclusively through one approach or the other. They should
determine the ideal balance between these two approaches to meet planned learning
targets for their students. Further research might investigate the most effective ways in
which to interweave musical and sociocultural objectives for optimal student learning.
Studies may also need to consider the complex interaction among the musical cultures of
students, music specialists, and schools.

References
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the context of songs. International Journal of Music Education, 39, 65–74.
Abril, C. R. (2003). Beyond content integration: Multicultural dimensions in the application of music
teaching and learning. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University.
Abril, C. R. (in press). Multicultural dimensions and their effect on children’s responses to popular songs
performed in various languages. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education.
Brophy, T. S. (2000). Assessing the child musician. Chicago: GIA Press.
Campbell, P. S. (1992). Research for teaching music from a multicultural perspective. General Music Today,
5(3), 26–28.
Campbell, P. S. (2004). Teaching music globally. New York: Oxford University Press.
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grades (2nd edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Group.
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elementary school children toward the culture of Japan. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, New York
University.
Edwards, K. L. (1994). North American Indian music instruction: Influences upon attitudes, cultural
perceptions, and achievement. Doctoral dissertation, Arizona State University, Tempe. Dissertation
Abstracts International, 56, 130.
Edwards, K. L. (1998). Multicultural music instruction in the elementary school: What can be achieved?
Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 138, 62–82.
Flowers, P. J. (2000). The match between music excerpts and written descriptions by fifth and sixth graders.
Journal of Research in Music Education, 48, 262–277.
Hoffer, C. R. (1993). Introduction to music education (2nd edition). Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.
Ikehara, A. (2001). The effect of an introduction to Okinawan music on students’ attitudinal statements
regarding multicultural music education and people from other cultures. Missouri Journal of Research in
Music Education, 38, 30–44.
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teachers. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 13(1), 51–59. Retrieved 1 March 2004 from
www.menc.org
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The new handbook of research on music teaching and learning (pp. 626–647). Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Mark, M. L. (1996). Contemporary music education (3rd edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
McCrary, J. (2000). Ethnic majority/minority status: Children’s interactions and affective responses to music.
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McMillan, J. H. (2004). Classroom assessment (3rd edition). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
Norman, K. (1999). Music faculty perceptions of multicultural music education. Bulletin for the Council of
Research in Music Education, 139, 37–49.
Pembrook, R. G., & Robinson, C. R. (1997). The effect of mode of instruction and instrument authenticity
on children’s attitudes, information, recall, and performance skill for music from Ghana. Bulletin of the
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International, 57, 2932.
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music education (pp. 219–236). Reston, VA: MENC.
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Indonesian gamelan music. Psychology of Music, 12(1), 34–42.
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3356.

Carlos Abril is Assistant Professor of Music Education at Northwestern University, Evanston,

IL. His research has focused on multiculturalism, diverse learners, and perception, and has
been published in journals such as Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music
Education, Contributions to Music Education, International Journal of Music Education,
and Music Educators Journal. He serves on the editorial boards of Update: Applications
of Research in Music Education and The Orff Echo.
Address: Northwestern University, 711 Elgin Road, Evanston, IL 60208, USA. [email:
c-abril@northwestern.edu]

Abstracts

L’effet de l’instruction de la musique multiculturelle sur les résultats

d’apprentissage dans la salle de classe
Le but de cette étude était d’examiner l’effet de l’instruction de la musique multiculturelle
sur des résultats d’apprentissage dans la salle de classe. Des enfants en 5e année (N = 170),
tirés de quatre écoles, ont été assignés au hasard à un de deux groupes d’instruction:
concept musical et contexte socioculturel. La première approche pédagogique a utilisée des
éléments musicaux formels comme cadre d’étude ; la deuxième approche a placé la musique
dans un contexte socioculturel. A la conclusion de l’unité de 7 semaines, les étudiants ont
répondu à deux questions écrites conçues afin de mesurer l’apprentissage, la compréhen-
sion, et la compétence, tous nouvellement acquises. Ces réponses ont été analysées afin: (a)
de déterminer la nature de l’apprentissage décrite; (b) de comparer les réponses entre les
groupes; et (c) d’évaluer les différences entre les groupes. Les deux approches pédagogiques

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42 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MUSIC EDUCATION 24(1)

ont eu un effet significatif sur les descriptions des élèves au niveau de l’apprentissage
acquise, mais pourtant, n’a pas affecté leurs perceptions d’acquisition de compétence en
musique. Des dialogues interactifs au sujet des concepts socioculturels ou musicaux ont
démontrés qu’un plus grand nombre d’étudiants peuvent articuler leur connaissance au
sujet de ces matières respectives.

Multikultureller Musikunterricht und Lernerfolg

Ziel dieser Studie war es, die Wirkung multikultureller Unterweisung auf den Lernerfolg einer
Klasse zu untersuchen. Fünftklässler (N = 170) aus vier Schulen wurden nach dem
Zufallsprinzip für eine von zwei Unterrichtskonzepten ausgewählt: ein am musikalischen
Begriff und ein am soziokulturellen Kontext orientiertes Verfahren. Das erste Verfahren
benutzte formale Elemente der Musik als Rahmenbedingung für das Lernen; das zweite
stellte Musik in einen soziokulturellen Kontext. Am Ende einer siebenwöchigen
Unterrichtseinheit erhielten die Schüler zwei schriftliche Aufgaben, die entwickelt waren, um
neue Kenntnisse, Verständnis und Fertigkeiten zu messen. Die Antworten wurden analysiert,
um (a) die Art und Weise des Lernens zu bestimmen, (b) die Antworten beider Gruppen
miteinander zu vergleichen und (c) Unterschiede festzustellen. Es zeigte sich, dass das
gewählte Verfahren einen deutlichen Einfluss auf die Beschreibung des erworbenen Wissens
hatte, sich aber nicht auf die Wahrnehmung ihrer Fähigkeiten auswirkte. Interaktive Dialoge
im Zusammenhang mit den beiden Verfahren zeigten, dass eine größere Anzahl von
Schülern ihr Wissen über diese Themen äußern konnte.

Un acercamiento a la educación musical multicultural y los resultados de

aprendizaje de los estudiantes
El propósito de este estudio fue revisar el efecto de la enseñanza musical multicultural sobre
los resultados de los aprendizajes en el aula. Niños de quinto grado (N = 170) de cuatro
escuelas fueron asignados al azar a uno de los dos tratamientos de enseñanza: el concepto
de música y lo sociocultural. La primer aproximación utilizó como marco de aprendizaje
elementos formales de la música; la segunda, contextualizó a la música como un fenómeno
sociocultural. Al finalizar la unidad en la 7a semana, los alumnos tuvieron que responder a
dos apuntes escritos diseñados para medir el nuevo conocimiento adquirido, la comprensión
y las destrezas. Las respuestas fueron analizadas para (a) determinar la naturaleza del
aprendizaje descrito; (b) comparar las respuestas entre grupos; y (c) examinar las diferencias
entre grupos. Se encontró que la aproximación de instrucción ejerció un efecto significativo
en las descripciones de los niños sobre el conocimiento adquirido, y aun así no afectó sus
percepciones sobre las destrezas adquiridas. Los diálogos interactivos alrededor de los
conceptos musicales o socioculturales arrojó como resultado un mayor número de
estudiantes articulando sus conocimientos sobre estos respectivos temas.

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