{"id":15186,"date":"2021-12-06T10:00:20","date_gmt":"2021-12-06T00:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/?p=15186"},"modified":"2024-05-31T14:45:29","modified_gmt":"2024-05-31T04:45:29","slug":"dr-alexis-kallio-the-politics-of-music-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/2021\/12\/06\/dr-alexis-kallio-the-politics-of-music-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr Alexis Kallio\u2014The politics of music education"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr Alexis Kallio\u00a0was appointed the Deputy Director (Research) of the\u00a0<\/span>Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University<\/span><\/a>\u00a0(QCGU)\u00a0in 2021, adding to her\u00a0<\/span>extensive experience<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in the field of music education.\u00a0While many people appreciate music as a form of entertainment,\u00a0there is the potential for\u00a0a more critical examination of\u00a0the study\u00a0and\u00a0teaching\u00a0of music and the contexts\u00a0that music operates within.\u00a0In this Q&A, Dr Kallio\u00a0discusses\u00a0the interrelation between music education and politics, and\u00a0shares her vision for\u00a0the future of\u00a0the discipline.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Q\u00a0&\u00a0A:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>How did\u00a0you\u00a0become\u00a0interested in the field of music education, and especially\u00a0how it relates to diversity and politics?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Before\u00a0my academic life, I was a secondary school classroom music teacher\u00a0working in an all-boys public school. It didn\u2019t take me long to realise that music\u00a0was more than just a school subject for\u00a0these young people,\u00a0but\u00a0an arena within which they\u00a0explored and expressed who they were\u00a0(and\u00a0who they were becoming)\u00a0and\u00a0a\u00a0means to figure out where\u00a0(or\u00a0with whom)\u00a0they\u00a0belonged. My first year\u00a0of teaching\u00a0was a crash course in heavy metal, punk, hip-hop and other\u00a0musics\u00a0that I didn\u2019t learn a whole lot about in my music education degree,\u00a0and\u00a0questions arose for me\u00a0as to how I could\u00a0include these musical worlds as part of our classroom learning when many of them were\u00a0explicitly anti-authoritarian and in opposition to \u2018school life\u2019.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These questions led me to a doctorate at the University of the Arts Helsinki in Finland, where I found out that teachers\u00a0navigate complex\u2014and\u00a0at times conflicting\u2014ethical\u00a0frameworks in determining which\u00a0musics\u00a0are\u00a0appropriate for whom\u00a0and what music education ought to be\u00a0<\/span>for<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0Music was more than\u00a0an artefact\u2014and\u00a0music education\u00a0was\u00a0not only about knowledge transmission or the development of musical technique or skill,\u00a0but\u00a0social action that carries with it histories and values and ideals.\u00a0These ideas have gained nuance as I\u2019ve\u00a0worked together with\u00a0young people, teachers,\u00a0musicians\u00a0and policymakers in\u00a0S\u00e1pmi, Finland, Cambodia, Israel, Nepal and Australia. Each of these experiences and relationships has taught me something new, but the focus on equity and justice has remained consistent,\u00a0while learning that the realisation of these ideals can look (and sound) very different for different people in different contexts.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2018Music education is always political.\u2019<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Can you explain more about\u00a0how music education\u00a0relates to\u00a0systemic inequality,\u00a0oppression\u00a0and discrimination?\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Music education is always political.\u00a0It is always both inclusive and exclusive\u00a0and is an everyday arena through which we exercise agency, negotiate\u00a0power\u00a0and explore who we are in relation to others.\u00a0My work focuses particularly on contexts where music is positioned as transformative practice, such as schools and now juvenile justice centres.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On the one hand, music can provide an opportunity for dominant social groups to articulate their values very clearly through the\u00a0legitimisation\u00a0of certain\u00a0musics\u00a0over\u00a0others,\u00a0and\u00a0be wielded as a civilising power by designating certain individuals as \u2018in need\u2019 or \u2018less than\u2019 and highlighting particular ideals of\u00a0<\/span>who\u00a0<\/span><\/i>we should be(come) in and through music education. For example, in societies such as Australia, where\u00a0we\u00a0continue to live within the genealogies of coloniality,\u00a0we might ask\u00a0why the music that continues to be prioritised in schools is at least 13,000\u00a0km and 200\u00a0years removed from our students\u2019 lives and experiences. I don\u2019t want to suggest that we stop teaching Mozart or Beethoven, but we should ask why we teach their music (and to whom) and what for.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet music is also incredibly powerful in bringing people together to disrupt the status quo, resist oppression and imagine (and voice) alternative ways of being and being together. It is very difficult to think of a social protest that has taken place without music, but these instances can also be on a smaller and more commonplace scale.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How can the study of music be improved?\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Firstly, I think that music needs a secure place in our schools. Queensland has long held an amazing reputation as a world leader in offering music taught by qualified, specialist music educators\u00a0to all children in schools.\u00a0This is currently under threat and is really concerning.\u00a0Secondly, trust. We spend a lot of time and resources training teachers, and I think that autonomy is essential if these teachers are to respond to the unique needs of the students and communities with whom they work. I think that sometimes in trying to ensure quality,\u00a0we\u00a0over-monitor teachers and over-emphasise\u00a0the quantification of achievement. This often ends up restraining creativity and potential rather than supporting it.\u00a0Thirdly, support and resources. Teaching is a never-ending process of learning\u00a0(a lot like research). If we want\u00a0to achieve an equitable and ethical music education (whether in schools or elsewhere), we need to create networks where we can continue to learn, grow, change our minds and be in conversation with others.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In terms of university education, I strongly believe\u00a0in the value of inquiry.\u00a0The last couple of years have made very clear that\u00a0a focus on preparing students to be \u2018job ready\u2019 is risky\u2014what many students\u00a0imagined for themselves at the onset of their studies\u00a0may no longer exist\u00a0or the careers and livelihoods\u00a0that they might pursue\u00a0may not exist\u00a0<\/span>yet<\/span><\/i>. But the ability to ask questions, listen to others, think critically and creatively, and engage meaningfully with other ways of seeing,\u00a0performing,\u00a0hearing and being in the world is\u00a0more relevant than ever.\u00a0This is highlighted in music.\u00a0Leaders in many parts of the world are recognising the importance of the arts in social and cultural recovery, individual and collective wellbeing, and supporting or leading positive change\u2014and I think that\u00a0inquiry skills can lead us beyond education as training\u00a0for\u00a0qualification to a lifelong process of learning and exploring new, creative opportunities.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2018 \u2026\u00a0the ability to ask questions, listen to others, think critically and creatively, and engage meaningfully with other ways of seeing, performing, hearing and being in the world is more relevant than ever.\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You were recently appointed as the Deputy Director\u00a0for\u00a0Research at the Queensland Conservatorium. Congratulations! What kind of work\u00a0is involved in your role\u00a0and what are some of the upcoming projects\u00a0at the Conservatorium that\u00a0you\u00a0are excited about?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thank you! I am very excited to be taking on this new role at a time when the entire Queensland Conservatorium is looking towards the future, with the appointment of our new director Prof Bernard\u00a0Lanskey\u00a0as well as the establishment of our new\u00a0<\/span>Creative Arts Research Institute<\/span><\/a>\u00a0led by Prof Vanessa Tomlinson.\u00a0This is really an opportunity to recognise the outstanding work that the QCGU research community are already known for (both within academia and outside of it) and to\u00a0imagine what work we\u00a0might\u00a0do in the future. As Deputy Director (Research) I am committed to fostering a collaborative research culture\u2014not only amongst faculty but all staff, HDRs, students and the communities that we work together with\u2014and furthering\u00a0our strengths in socially\u00a0engaged, responsible and creative inquiry.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In your years of studying music\u00a0education, what is one of the most surprising things you have discovered\u00a0in your research?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In trying to not only\u00a0do\u00a0research\u00a0on\u00a0issues of equity or justice, but to research in equitable and just ways,\u00a0one of the most surprising things to discover is how creative the inquiry process itself can be.\u00a0Especially acknowledging that the university is part of the same structures of social reproduction and knowledge legitimation as any other\u00a0social\u00a0system, I am increasingly critical of research approaches that present methods as\u00a0formulaic\u00a0recipe books.\u00a0Aiming to engage in\u00a0responsible inquiry that is answerable to those I work together\u00a0with,\u00a0it seems futile to try to follow\u00a0a set of pre-defined rules\u00a0underpinned by\u00a0select\u00a0assumptions\u00a0as to\u00a0what constitutes knowledge\u00a0and\u00a0how\u00a0I should\u00a0<\/span>extract<\/span><\/i>\u00a0it\u00a0and repackage it for academic consumption.\u00a0I am indebted to scholars\u00a0outside of music education\u00a0such as Elizabeth St. Pierre, Aaron Kuntz, Leigh Patel and Dylan Robinson,\u00a0whose writings all inspire me to return to my artistic roots\u00a0and\u00a0approach inquiry as an equally creative (and fun) process as music.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For people who are interested in\u00a0the politics of\u00a0music education, are there any\u00a0resources\u00a0that you\u00a0can recommend?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I have been privileged to write in exceptionally good company recently, and two collections that I (co)edited were published earlier this year:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n