Graduation Year
2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.A.
Degree Name
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Degree Granting Department
Sociology
Major Professor
Frank Biafora, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Melissa Sloan, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Jamie Sommer, Ph.D.
Keywords
critical education theory, learning community, classroom culture, socio-musicology, sociology of music, teaching sociology
Abstract
Social scientific literature supports the use of music as a pedagogical tool in children for education, camaraderie, and classroom atmosphere, but the concentration of research ends at grade 12. While music is promoted as entertainment, therapy, a focus aid, a relaxation tool, and a way to create community for adults in previous research, in sociological literature we seem to both forget and ignore the benefits that it has as a learning tool. Using an interdisciplinary lens with supporting works from the philosophy of education and sociology, this paper provides support for the benefits of using music to build classroom culture. This study took place at a southeastern public university with data captured in two undergraduate sociology classrooms. The students ranged in ages from 18-43 of varying race, gender, and socio-economic identifications. Mixed methods of participant observation notes, confidential online questionnaire, and virtual interviews were used to collect the data. The findings of this study support the continued use of music in the college classroom as a pedagogical tool to build community and solidarity among students, and to foster alternative learning styles.
Scholar Commons Citation
Smith, April, "Musicking Higher Education: An Analysis of the Effects of Music Pedagogy On College Classroom Atmospheres" (2023). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/10003
