The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which the academic and professional experiences of Black people in American music therapy reflect current attitudes within the field towards diversity and cultural awareness, and how understanding those experiences can lead to enhanced, culturally sensitive practice. An arts-based narrative inquiry methodology using poetry was employed as a means to understand the experiences of Black people in the field through artistic forms that invite readers to enter the affective worlds of the participants. A total of 10 music therapy students, clinicians and educators participated in open-ended, semi-structured interviews. Transcripts of these interviews were analyzed for thematic material as well as to provide content for poems in the participants’ voices that described their experiences. Additionally, the researcher created poems responding to each participant that reflected on aspects of the interactions, content and sub-text of the interviews. All poems were analyzed for thematic material. That material was compared with previously derived themes out of which seven main themes emerged. Those themes are: things and people are not as they seem; being the only one/one of a few; self-definition versus being defined by others; adding value to the field; dealing with the status quo; calling for greater cultural awareness, acceptance and equality; and importance of support. Findings indicated that participants did not feel as if they fully belonged in the profession and that the music therapy community inconsistently recognized and addressed the need for diversity, cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity. Implications for music therapy training and practice, along with recommendations for the field and future research are also presented. / Music Therapy
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TEMPLE/oai:scholarshare.temple.edu:20.500.12613/4020 |
| Date | January 2019 |
| Creators | Webb, Adenike Ayana |
| Contributors | Magee, Wendy, Brooks, Darlene M., Dilworth, Rollo A., Kay, Lisa |
| Publisher | Temple University. Libraries |
| Source Sets | Temple University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation, Text |
| Format | 215 pages |
| Rights | IN COPYRIGHT- This Rights Statement can be used for an Item that is in copyright. Using this statement implies that the organization making this Item available has determined that the Item is in copyright and either is the rights-holder, has obtained permission from the rights-holder(s) to make their Work(s) available, or makes the Item available under an exception or limitation to copyright (including Fair Use) that entitles it to make the Item available., http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
| Relation | http://dx.doi.org/10.34944/dspace/4002, Theses and Dissertations |
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