Culturally Relevant Music in the Classroom: A Guide for Teachers in the Urban Setting

Abstract

Now more than ever, it is important in the school setting to make sure children are involved in their learning. One way to increase engagement, especially in the urban setting, is by implementing culturally relevant music into lessons throughout the entire school system. The researcher investigated the effects of culturally relevant music on engagement, reviewed best practices for implementing culturally relevant music in the classroom, and used this information to form a comprehensive guide to help utilize culturally relevant music in the most beneficial way possible. This guide serves as a teacher tool to increase student engagement utilizing culturally relevant music to enhance the learning experience for students, which subsequently helps students retain information more effectively and increases student achievement. This guide will give specific and well thought out strategies, including how to locate culturally relevant music and effectively integrate it in the classroom setting. Though this guide is specifically developed for K-5 elementary teachers, it can be adopted to serve the needs of middle school or high school teachers as well.