SAGE DEIA Virtual Collection

Introduction

Issues surrounding diversity, equity, inclusion, and access (DEIA) are more prominent in education today than ever before. Although the struggle to provide equal opportunities for all students has existed for many years, the recent COVID-19 pandemic forced conversations around inequality to the surface. These discussions are often politicized in ways that make the day-to-day work of teaching difficult to navigate (Groundwater, et al., 2022). For example, policies in some states require personnel to use students’ chosen pronouns regardless of sex assigned at birth (U.S. Department of Education, 2016) while others prohibit the use of pronouns that do not conform to sex (e.g., Atterbury, 2023).

Teachers informed about DEIA issues will be in a better position to serve all the students in their classrooms and perhaps find ways of affirming differences through the subjects they teach. This SAGE Virtual Collection features articles on DEIA and music teaching and learning from Music Educators Journal, the Journal of General Music Education, and Update: Application of Research in Music Education. The collection is divided into six categories: Advocacy, Curriculum, DEIA Information, Equity, Pedagogy, and Personal Stories. Articles discuss topics related to physical and cognitive impairments, race, culture, and LGBTQIA+, and contain general information, instructional materials, and teaching strategies. These resources will be particularly helpful for PK-12 in-service and pre-service music educators. The collection will continue to grow as authors produce more work in this area.

This project is an initiative of the NAfME Equity Committee and Equity Leadership Institute. Thank you to editors Douglas Orzolek (MEJ), Rekha Rajan (JGME), and Brian Silvey (Update) for their contribution and support, and to SAGE Publishing Editor, Amy Quon, for her work on producing the collection.

References

Atterbury, A. (2023). Florida lawmakers restrict pronouns and tackle book objections in sweeping education bill. Politico, May 3, 2023. https://rb.gy/fgz47

Groundwater, S., Becker, B., Jiang, F., Gitter, J., Nuland, L., & Ewaida, M. (2022). 2022 State of diversity, equity, and inclusion in public schools report. Hanover Research.

U.S. Department of Education. (2016). Examples of policies and emerging practices for supporting transgender students. Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Safe and Healthy Students. https://rb.gy/xgcv1