Culturally Oriented Asset-Based Pedagogies in Music Education

The terms culturally relevant and culturally responsive have been part of educational discourse for decades, with culturally sustaining pedagogy emerging more recently. Gloria Ladson-Billings introduced culturally relevant pedagogy in the early 1990s, and subsequent scholars—including Geneva Gay and Django Paris—have extended this work. At the same time, demographic shifts in U.S. public schools show that student populations are now predominantly non-White, whereas the teaching workforce remains largely White. These changes heighten the need for music educators, whose classrooms are deeply embedded in cultural expression, to engage effectively with students whose cultural identities differ from their own. Despite widespread use of these frameworks, misunderstandings regarding their purpose and implementation persist, particularly in applied disciplines, such as music education. This literature review examines culturally relevant, culturally responsive, and culturally sustaining pedagogies, clarifies common misconceptions, and emphasizes moving beyond deficit thinking to support equitable and meaningful music education practice.