Culturally responsive and meaningful music education: Multimodality, meaning-making, and communication in diverse learning contexts

TLDR

Music learning and teaching vary across socio‑cultural contexts, yet research has largely focused on teacher practices, leaving gaps in understanding which modes dominate and how students derive meaning in these settings. The study aims to identify which ensembles of musical modes are used in diverse learning contexts and how these modes shape students’ meaning‑making, especially for those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The authors analyze three contexts—Carnatic music, Australian school instrumental music, and online learning—using a socio‑cultural semiotic tool to identify ensembles of musical modes during learning events. The study found that ensembles of musical modes vary across contexts and are shaped by socio‑cultural factors, highlighting that teachers must recognize diverse mode combinations to avoid privileging certain modes and to make learning more meaningful for students.

Abstract

Music is learned and taught in multiple ways dependent on the socio-cultural contexts in which learning occurs. The processes employed by music teachers have been extensively explored by music educators and ethnomusicologists in a range of contexts, although there has been limited research into which modes are most predominantly used in different socio-cultural contexts. Further, it is unknown how students make meaning in these different contexts. This article presents three distinct music learning and teaching contexts—Carnatic music, instrumental music in Australian schools, and online music learning. Using a socio-cultural semiotic tool to identify musical modes, this article examines the ensembles of modes used during music learning events and considers how this knowledge may improve the learning and teaching of music for all students, particularly those whose culture and language differs from the majority of the population. It aims to identify how students make meaning in learning contexts through distinct modes of communication. Findings demonstrated that different “ensembles of modes” were used in diverse learning contexts and that these approaches were influenced by socio-cultural contexts. It is important for teachers to understand that varied combinations of modes of communication are possible because students may find learning more meaningful when related to their own personal frames of reference. Without this knowledge, music learning and teaching practices may continue to privilege some modes over others.