The Historical Exclusion of Mexican Americans in Music Education.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This historical study explores Mexican American student access to music education programs during the four main periods of Mexican American educational experience identified by Chicano education history scholar Gilbert G. Gonzalez (2013): de jure segregation (1900-1950), the inter-American period (1950-1965), the militant and reformist era (1965-1975), and the neoliberal era of education (1975 to present). This is in an effort to illuminate the influence of U. S. educational policy on Mexican American access to music education programs. Using Critical Race Theory (Taylor, 2016), I explore the intersection of educational policy and local practice to describe how Mexican American students were impacted in terms of full access to music education programs throughout the American Southwest. Additionally, I will explore Mexican American community responses to provide music education to students in each era in an effort to provide counter-stories (Yosso & Solorzano, 2016) of successful music programs that were developed in Mexican American communities. These counter-stories have the potential to help inform current music educators of effective strategies to create appealing music programs at sites with high Mexican American student populations.The current underrepresentation of Mexican American teachers (Elpus, 2015) and students (Elpus & Abril, 2019) in music education warrants a deep historical exploration of the various factors that have influenced the participation trajectory of Mexican American individuals over several generations. Using Critical Race Theory (Bell, 1980; Ladson-Billings, 2016; Sleeter, 2012) as an appropriate theoretical framework, this research examines the intersection of educational policy and local practice with attention to the dynamics of power and oppression within these educational systems as well as how individuals are able to successfully navigate these spaces using culturally congruent approaches (Au & Kawakami, 1994) in music education.The findings of this historical study reflect current strategies of Ethnic Studies scholars in engaging Mexican American youth using Indigenous epistemologies and decolonial pedagogies as a way to counteract the effects of an education system rooted in colonialism. Additionally, the counter-stories presented suggest that community music-making was historically the primary mode of music education for Mexican American students who were excluded from participating in mainstream music education settings. As such, I recommend the development of music programs that are rooted in 1) Indigenous epistemologies, 2) decolonial pedagogies, and 3) community cultural wealth. To accomplish this goal, I present a music framework based on the Mexica knowledge construct process known as the Nahui Ollin. To move this framework into practice, I also outline a music composition approach that is rooted in Indigenous knowledge (the Collective Songwriting Process) and can be used as the foundation for engagement of Mexican-heritage students. While my suggestions focus solely on this framework's use in school music programs with high populations of Mexican American students, they can be implemented in any school music program that is seeking to implement decolonial practices.