AFRICAN AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM CAN By
AFRICAN AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTSIN A SPACE OF CREATIVE ENGAGEMENT:FROM CAN’T TO CANbyCarla Marie BeckerDissertation Committee:Professor Randall Everett Allsup, SponsorProfessor Lori CustoderoApproved by the Committee on the Degree of Doctor of EducationDate 21 May, 2014Submitted in partial fulfillment of therequirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education inTeachers College, Columbia University2014
ABSTRACTAFRICAN AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTSIN A SPACE OF CREATIVE ENGAGEMENT:FROM CAN’T TO CANCarla Marie BeckerMost North American high-school music programs require participationwithin the traditional band/choir/orchestra paradigm. Research suggests, however,that many African American students feel disconnected from course offerings likethese. Rejecting school-based music education, many African American youth areactively engaged in community-based programs, creating, producing, writing, andpracticing various art forms of their own interest, becoming producers ofknowledge and culture. Some researchers have investigated arts programs thatattract African American students through spoken word, Hip Hop, and gospelensembles, resulting in high levels of engagement and participation. Few, however,have studied school-based programs that offer experiences in multiple, creative, andmulti-faceted art platforms. Using qualitative research methods, this studyinvestigated an exemplary program, the High School for Recording Arts, St. Paul,Minnesota, which has a track record of attracting, retaining, and graduating African
American students. The researcher explored how racial identity is expressed andnegotiated through creative engagements with multimodal art forms. Troublingstandardized discourses around student success – norms which are derivative ofwhite middle class values –high levels of engagement and self-actualization werediscovered, which were linked to myriad musical and artistic processes. Thefindings indicate that African American students who had previously displayeddisengaged behavior in schools, flourished when they were offered the space andfreedom to explore. Students became increasingly sophisticated musicians, multimodal producers, entrepreneurs, critical thinkers, world travelers, communityactivists, producers of knowledge, and self-initiated learners. Findings indicate thatit is possible to create an arts/music program that encourages such development byimplementing unique and innovative school structures, policies, curricula, andpedagogy. Moreover, it is clear that race matters in education. Yet, diverseconceptions of race and the performance of race were not easily characterized byresearcher, students, or school administration. Implications, especially around race,speak to important contemporary issues in music education with regard to policy,school structure, curricula, instruction, student relationships, and creativeproduction.
Copyright Carla Marie Becker 2014All Rights Reservedii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTSMom and Dad who are with me in spirit, blessing me with fortitude and strength.Aisha: You are my strength, heart, and inspirationJodi: You are loved and appreciatedAisha, I remember when you were getting ready to graduate from high school,and we were excited for our change in life. We came to Columbia to see if the school wasright for you. While we were taking the tour at Columbia, I was the one who wasinvigorated. I loved it. Only months later did I even think about applying. Time passed,you graduated High School and we packed up our stuff and moved to NYC. We wereboth to begin a new journey in college. I will always cherish the times we packed ourbackpacks and hiked to the library to study, or our coffee trips to keep ourselves“focused.” I love when we would meet in the cafeteria for a meal, or go to Massawa andcomplain about how it wasn’t as good as Seattle Ethiopian, but we loved every biteanyway, in memory of Seattle. I know you sacrificed in this process for me too, and Iappreciate all you have done, for us. It was a blessing and a journey that can never be relived.Jodi, you are amazing. I can never express my extreme gratitude for you. Thankyou for your support, your phone calls, your love, and your friendship. Thank you.To Dr. Allsup, Dr. Custodero, and Dr. Morrell. Each one of you are just asinspirational and supportive as the other. You three remind me of this dissertation really,your voices are wise, individualized, unique, and loving. Thank you for your support.A great thanks goes to the high school’s administration and teachers. I appreciatethe time, space, and opportunity to learn more! Thank you for the sharing, the caring,iii
and the providing. Thank you for introducing me to the students and for all yourincredible insights. Without you, this study would have never come to fruition.My greatest thanks go to all of the incredible students who contributed to thisstory. Your eagerness, joy, hard work, dedication, courage, laughter, thoughts,intelligence, and creativity are an inspiration for me and your teachers alike. It has beenwitnessed. You impact us. I give thanks.C. M. B.iv
TABLE OF CONTENTSPageChapter I – FROM CAN’T TO CAN .Getting to Can, Refusing Can’t .Purpose.Background .Research Site and Questions .Conceptual Frameworks .Creativity Framework .Exemplary Research Framework .Student Voice .Theoretical Frameworks .Critical Race Theory .Culturally Relevant Pedagogy .Racialized Identity and Performative Identity .Organization of Study .Research Method .14881112141516171718212325Chapter II – LITERATURE REVIEW .Critical Race Theory .Critical Race Theory in Education .Social Justice.Culturally Relevant Pedagogy .Achievement .Curriculum .Music Curriculum .Hip Hop and Popular Culture .Expansion of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy .Identities .Performative Identities .Black Expressiveness .27282931353739414547505456Chapter III – METHODOLOGY .Design and Rationale .Research Questions .Population Selection and Data Collection .Exemplary Sites .Data Collection Procedures.Student Participants .Adult Leadership Participants .Focus Group Members Not Individually Interviewed .Data Analysis .Researcher Positionality.Limitations .596061616163677173747881v
PageChapter IV – A DESCRIPTION: SPACE, CHARACTERS, ANDPHILOSOPHIES. 82Alienating Exterior, Surprises Within. 82A Different Kind of Layout . 84Physical Space Meets Relationships and Learning . 85The Genesis . 91Historical Implications of Lived Experiences. 93Four Philosophies. 97Love as a Root . 99A Life Changer .101Stories .104Obstacles .105A Place Called Home .107Relocations .112Previously Disengaged.116From Incarceration to Graduation .119Chapter V – AN OPEN CANVAS: CURRICULUM, PEDAGOGY, ANDGRADUATION .123Space and the Politics of Silencing .123Troubling the Standard Idea of Success.125Means Towards an End: An Open Canvas .127Creative Expression as a Means .131School Structure .136Course Scheduling .138Teacher and Student Relationships .141Curriculum .145Personal Learning Plan .146From Critical Inquiry to Production: “It’s a beautiful thing” .149Becoming Entrepreneurial .158Graduation: “We’re a solution to a problem” .163Conclusion .166Chapter VI: LET’S TALK ABOUT RACE, BABY .168Race Talk: It’s Complicated .169Expressive Identities: Keepin’ It Real .173Stories Told, Creativity Unfolds .176Experience, Race, and Location.188Police and Racial Profiling .194Ethnicity .196Struggles .200Language .202Turn-up Music .204Written and Freestyle .210vi
PageChapter VI (cont): Pedagogy, Race and Freedom of Creative Expression.219Race Still Matters .225Top to the Bottom, Bottom to the Top .236Chapter VII – FINDINGS AND IMPRESSIONS .239Research Overview .239Prelude .240Becoming .241Freedom .243Conscious Awakening .245Space .247Contribution of Creative Voice .248Freedom of Expression .250Freedom to Be Critical .252Pedagogy and Teaching .253Relationships as Pedagogy .253Teaching .255Pedagogy with Community.257Culturally Relevant Curriculum .258Multiple Literacies .260Assessment .262Race.265Top to the Bottom, Bottom to the Top .266Performing Identities .267Implications for the Field .269Implications for Future Research .276Conclusion .278Finale.281REFERENCES .283APPENDICESAStudent Interview Questions .303BTeacher/Leader Interview Questions .305CFocus Group Questions .307vii
LIST OF TABLESTablePage1Participants . 75viii
LIST OF FIGURESFigure1PageConceptual Framework . 13ix
1Chapter IFROM CAN’T TO CANA slight reverberation echoes throughout the room while the only female in theclass sits at the computer playing a cooled Hip Hop beat. It is loud enough to hear, andrespectful enough for others to talk. Inside this room, there is life and joy: Larger thanlife-size student hand-drawn portraits are on the walls—of musical icons, from RayCharles to Bob Marley, and Michael Jackson to Whitney Houston. They bring a collageof melodies to my ears. I hear funk, drums trumpets, and reggae. Marvin Gaye asks me,“What’s going on?” Each picture is perfectly finished, just so imperfectly. Miles Davisgets a glimpse of daily activities from his poster. Today, he observes 12 male students ina loosely knit circle, chillin’, listening to the DJ, and giving accounts of their weekendswhile simultaneously checking their cell phones. They are waiting for class to begin.Niles, the teacher enters with his enthusiastic voice that ignites the room withenergy. This is the signal for the female DJ to turn off the music as students sit up,straighten their bodies, look up, look around, and focus. They know that their mission forthe day is to choose a name for their newly recorded CD. Niles greets them, takes a littletime for small talk, and begins:All right, y’all, let’s begin. Let’s listen to a few songs from the CD to help usbrainstorm and pick a title. But you guys are going to come up with the name. Sothe first song I want you all to listen to again is, “The Next Move.
2He starts the song and I see a combination of humility and pride revealed as students’bodies loosen, heads bob, and slight smiles emerge. An ear-to-ear smile crosses Niles’face though as he glances at Dean who’s verse just began:Verse 1: (Student 1: Dean)I’m never chillin’, the money’s what my mind is onAnd I never write flow stupid because my mind is goneIlluminati on my heels so I got to runAnd I’ll never stop until that hill is what my mom is onWhy did Aliyah take that plane? Why did Left Eye get in that lane?Why did Tupac go to the Veg[as]? Why did Big go back to L.A.?Damn, damn/Why did Pimp C pick up that drink?When Mike Jack died I swear to God I couldn’t think Niles stops the recording, smiles, and comments, “Man, that was deep. I’m soproud of you. You went back in history, man.” Dean takes the compliment and returns hisacknowledged satisfaction with a smile as Niles directs, “Tell them about the process ofmaking that song.” Dean offers:He [as he points to Niles] dragged me in and said, ‘I really like this beat,’ so Isaid, ‘OK, let me write something to it.’ But then I got distracted. I didn’t writemy verse on the first day, so the next day I wrote my verse in, like, 15 minutes.Deez, another student who is also apparently on the album, jumps in:Yeah, I just went in the studio and you [Dean] were about ready torecord, so I was like ‘cool.’ He played the beat, and I said, ‘I can writesomething to this, quick.’ So I wrote it real quick.Everybody laughs, understanding that producing something here can be like that:spontaneous. Niles laughs, “Deez, you tore it up, too!” he says as he pushes play again.Deez’ verse begins.Verse 2: (Student 2: Deez)Your next move, better be your best move,Better yet a chess moveI think like I’m old school
3Tryin’ to get my future tightMy present ain’t lookin’ rightThink I need to change it upMaybe try a different timeMaybe get another job, a 9 to 5Work until my hands get tiredThink I need less attitudeMaybe be a different dudePass a normal latitude wherever that I’m passing throughI’m trying to be a pacifist I don’t want to blast the clipBecause I got so much knowledge that they call me activistOr just call me prodigyYatta-Deez is probably, contemplating master plansI’m trying to buy Monopoly, you stopping me?Naw, I’m working so hardAs his verse comes to an end, classmates smile and nod in appreciation, showingme how support and encouragement in this school is active and alive. After most of theCD is reviewed, the students’ excitement is nestled between humility and pride. Yet, bythe end of the class, they still haven’t chosen a title for the CD—instead, they finish withtheir designated freestyle cipher time.They gather in a small circle in the corner of the room. A student picks a beatfrom the closest computer, making the rest of the students bop and sway and it’s obviousthey’re beginning to create verses silently in their heads, ready to spit a spontaneous actof improvisation because I see eyes focus and minds sharpen. Niles holds up an i-Pad torecord and he begins the round by introducing “The next one of mic is OC Crazy,” andthe bass-ridden beat plays on.Student 1:Yeah, yeah, can you vision the land full of all white sand . . .This freestyle cipher continues for about 20 minutes, where students are activelyengaged in improvising and exploring in the interactive free-flowing space. Engaging
4artistic programs do, in fact, exist under the radar, but traditional music education mightnever see these students.Getting to Can, Refusing Can’tResearch suggests that African American youth are often disengaged by publicschool music education programs (Benedict, 2005; Hinckley, 1995). Most musicprograms require participation within the traditional band/choir/ orchestra paradigmbased on western classical art music (Allsup & Benedict, 2008; Jorgensen, 2003a), whichmay create a disconnect for African American youth who are actively engaged increating, producing, writing, and practicing art forms of their own interest, becomingproducers of knowledge (Hoechsmann & Sefton-Green, 2006b; Morrell, 2011). The lackof engaging artistic experiences available to African American high school students in thepublic school system, combined with the lack of encouragement that fosters open andexpressive self-representation often relegates students to explore their artistic identitiesoutside of public-school contexts. Although in-school programs that specifically addressAfrican American experience do exist, they are rare and are often challenged byleadership and policy makers (Seidel, 2011).I borrow from Geneva Gay’s (2010) “From Can’t to Can” (p. 23) due to thesignificance of exploring an arts program that is attracting, engaging, and retainingAfrican American youth, youth once disengaged in their educational experience. Thisprovides insight on teaching, pedagogy, and curricula that increase educationalengagement. It is valuable to know what these students appreciate about their education
5as they explore, transform, and re/construct themselves as racial and artistic beings in thiscreative space.Scholars agree that matters of race co-exist within educational experience(Howard, 2010; Irvine, 1990). Yet they suggest that racism, in the form of embeddedpedagogical practices, curriculum, and educator biases, inhibits participation in musicaland other artistic expression within the school context. Karen Teel and Jennifer Obidah(2008) state: “Addressing these issues of racism and racial and cultural inequities iscrucial to the success for African American students in particular” (p. 5). Macro-levelracially biased inequities within U.S. education are often associated with mandatedtesting, accountability scores, course offerings, state standardized curriculum, and studenttracking (Anyon, 2006; Ayers, 2006). Nasir et al. (2008) agree that African Americanstudent disengagement is often caused by: “academic tracking, racial discrimination,bureaucratized relationships, and barriers to information” (p. 77). Analysis of macro-levelinjustices can attempt to identify the micro-level effects of the kinds of pedagogy,curriculum, and teaching that deplete students of creative and racially encouragingexperiences of learning (Irvine, 1990).This racialized educational experience has not prevented African American youthfrom creating and becoming producers of art. Few countries are untouched by AfricanAmerican musical contributions, including jazz, blues, gospel, and emcee battles. HipHop is a most recent African American youth-generated musical genre that originatesfrom Black experience, and it is crossing borders around the globe. Patricia Hill-Collins(2006) states, “Hip Hop culture is a global phenomenon, [and] Black American youthremain its most visible ambassadors” (p. 2-3), while Michael Eric Dyson (2001)
6reinforces this notion: “If urban poverty were eliminated and young black males weregiven their rightful place in society, then Tupac’s music might quickly become ahistorical artifact from a dark national nightmare” (p. xiii). In other words, without “blackmales . . . given their rightful place in society,” Tupac’s music might never have been asacclaimed as it was—Hip Hop may never have been created. In short, these scholarsbelieve that racial, political, social, and economic inequities affect African Americancreative productivity.Hip Hop is not the only artistic genre born of African American descent that hasgone global, or that engages in social and political discourse. Jazz too was born fromAfrican American experimentation within an unjust society—I think of John Coltraneand Miles Davis, who rebelled against the normative sounds of Big Band music. Theblues; “was a music that developed because of the adaption to, and adoption of, America,it was also a music that developed because of the Negro’s peculiar position in thiscountry” (Jones, 1963, p. 66). Authors suggest that social/political positioning and racialexperience affect musical output and production (Dyson, 2001; Jones, 1963). In regard tomusic education, Julia Koza (1999) states, “Ignoring or denouncing popular culture—theculture of the people—sends elitist messages about whose understandings of the world door do not count, both in schools and in the dominant culture” (p. 65). She alsoacknowledges the conflict in what music-education policy both implicitly and explicitlydetermines worthy of study, which perpetuates the omission of a varied musicalexperience.In this study, I went in search of a public school setting that afforded AfricanAmericans the opportunity to explore their lives, and express themselves through art and
7music, with varied musical experiences. An inquiry into programs that are attractingAfrican American youth participation—be it through popular culture, spoken word,music performance, or music production, ultimately calls into question thestandardization of music education. Standardizations often ignore how studentengagement and learning can be supported in arts program that support aracial/social/political lived experience. For this reason, I question what is happening in aparticular High School to encourage educational engagement through artistic expression?What exactly is this school doing, through pedagogy and curriculum, to encourage suchexploration? Are students portraying a racial/social/political lived experience thatsupports student engagement?I conducted research at the High School for Recording Arts (HSRA) in St. Paul,Minnesota. It is a Charter High School designed to engage students through music. In2014, Over 95% of the student body is African American.I have arrived at some assumptions that will affect my research. The first is thatAfrican American youth prefer to be engaged in their formal education. I believe thatAfrican Americans experience racism in education through course-tracking, mandatedcurricula, lack of relevance to their lived experiences, lack of engaging coursework,teacher bias, and low expectations. I believe it is possible to engage and empower AfricanAmerican students through relevant pedagogy that incorporates deep thinking andinterdisciplinary connections. I believe that African American students feel engaged andempowered when they are able to express themselves as individual beings.I know that exemplary artistic programs do exist that incorporate relevantpedagogy and freedom of racial expression that include performance, encourage critically
8deep thinking, and offer interdisciplinary artistic exploration. But too little research isconducted in this area. I also know that exemplary teaching philosophies and practicesexist that purposefully engage African American youth by providing an engagingenvironment, attributing to a student’s productive contribution, and ultimately leading tograduation. But again, too little research has docu
Illuminati on my heels so I got to run And I’ll never stop until that hill is what my mom is on Why did Aliyah take that plane? Why did Left Eye get in that lane? Why did Tupac go to the Veg[as]? Why did Big go back to L.A.? Damn, damn/Why did Pimp C pick up that drink? When Mike Jack died I
9. Increase attendance and reduce absenteeism rates for African American/Black students 10. Increase the rate of freshman on-track for African American/Black students 11. Increase graduation rates for African American/Black Students 12. Increase the post-secondary enrollment rates of African American/Black students high school
that student populations across the state are 51.8% Hispanic, 29.4% Anglo, 12.7% African American and 3.7% Asian. Texas has 1,025 school districts, of which 27 are African American superintendents and 7 are female African American. Current Trends Currently, the issues of African American men in school leadership may seem somewhat outdated.
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