ABSTRACT
The centrality of social justice education (SJE) has emerged strongly in discussions of theory and practice in music education in recent years. This focus aligns seamlessly with broader views on the importance of socially inclusive music education in the lives of children and young people. In this chapter, attention is drawn to the significance of the teacher–student relationship. Here the focus is on the teacher’s stance in considering the kind of teacher s/he seeks to be and how that disposition underpins thinking and action as a socially just educator. Specific theories of social justice in music education are then examined. To do this, multicultural music education is foregrounded, drawing on the traditions and intersections of multicultural education, music education and ethnomusicology (the study of music in and as culture). Next, the teacher–student relationship is more closely explored, framed through the lens of Freire (1970) and Buber (1923/1970), and how philosophies of inter-human relationship apply to music education. Illustrations of social justice pedagogy in music education are found throughout the chapter, encompassing pedagogical principles as well as specific practices. Taken together, these principles and practices as well as the specific exemplifications on singing pedagogies in the second part of the chapter, place music teaching at the core of teaching for and as SJE.
