Rathgeber, J., & bell, a. p.  (Forthcoming). Disability as disruption in music education. In SAGE Handbook of School Music Education.

Abstract: Disability as an identity and/or lived experience is a way of being diverse, but disability itself is diverse, too. The implications of this reality are manifold for the field of music education and amplified by the fact that the global population of disabled persons/persons with disabilities is estimated to be over 15%, which is more than one billion people. Using a narrative-informed approach and drawing theory from disability justice and DisCrit (disability and critical race theory) discourses, we tell the stories of a learner named Ray as they make their way through classes as a music education major. We highlight moments when disability, broadly, and Ray’s specific experiences as a disabled person/person with a disability manifest points of disruption. These moments of disruption provide opportunities to move toward justice, although they can slip past unremarked upon. We model how to make use of disability justice and DisCrit to identify points of disruption, reflect upon them, and dream/act. After introducing Ray and the tents of disability justice and DisCrit, we share vignettes that capture common experiences of disabled persons/person with disabilities, each including points of disruption. We encourage readers to identify, reflect, and dream related to the points of disruption embedded in these vignettes. In this way, we encourage readers to join in collaborative dreaming toward justice. 

Rathgeber, J., & Rathgeber, W. (Forthcoming). Approximating by ear: A scaffolded approach. In B. Powell & G. D. Smith (Eds.), The Modern Band Handbook: Practical Perspectives and Lessons for Music Educators. Oxford University Press.

Description: In this chapter, we describe a series of scaffolded activities with pedagogical suggestions for teachers to help younger/beginning learners develop their competencies with creating approximations of personally and culturally meaningful songs. We present a structure that centers listening-centric learning and scaffolded exploration, making use of tasks common to modern band literature as well as the personal practices of many popular musicians. We encourage you to personalize, reorder, and remix the ideas below to best meet the desires and needs of the learners with whom you work. 

Bylica, K., & Rathgeber, J. (Forthcoming). Fostering meaningful feedback through the Critical Response Process. Music Educators Journal, #(#), ##-##. 

Abstract: Feedback plays an essential role in music education, helping individuals learn to consider creative works from multiple perspectives. In this article, we explore the Critical Response Process, a four-step process for engaging with artistic works-in-progress, be they new compositions, improvisatory pieces, or performances of ensemble literature. Founded on the principle that both student-artists and responders play active roles in feedback, this process is designed to promote discovery and help students learn how to engage in a responsive feedback dialogue with others. In addition to outlining the process, we also offer narratives from our own practice, examples of how the process might be implemented in various settings, and ideas for adaptations.

Rathgeber, J., Thomas-Durrell, L., Miller, M., Pilmer, E., Stelzer, S., Stringham, D. A., & Templeton, G. (Forthcoming). Beyond performing inclusion: Learning and teaching through Disability Studies. In K. McCord, C. Cowell &, D. VanderLinde (Eds.), Oxford Handbook On Special Music Education and Music Therapy

Abstract: Abstract:
Research and practice related to inclusion and the growth of disabled learners/learners with disabilities (DL/LwDs) are shaped by the, sometimes unacknowledged, ideological frameworks of researchers and practitioners, as well as of learners and their peers/community members (e.g., Brantlinger, 1997; 2006; Lubet, 2011a; Rathgeber, 2019). Disability Studies, a relatively new academic field, provides different frameworks that may help scholars and practitioners to identify and challenge unacknowledged assumptions, identify barriers for participation and agency, as well as to craft new teaching practices and music making techniques along with DL/LwDs. In this chapter, we share findings and on-going analysis from a professional learning community (PLC) project in which preservice music education majors and music teacher educators explored Disability Studies literature and topics. We explore topics, including, but not limited to, models of disability (e.g., Oliver, 2013; Kuppers, 2009; Lubet, 2011b; Shakespeare, 2013), identity (e.g., Egner, 2019; Murugami, 2009), agency (e.g., Abramo & Pierce, 2013; Cameron, 2013), and disability justice (Sins Invalid, 2013; 2020) to consider, critique, and create more accessible, adaptive, agentic, and meaningful music making and music learning experiences for and with DL/LwDs. Specifically, we explore three frameworks--individual, social, and interactional (Rathgeber, 2019) and demonstrate their use to consider and critique common ideas and practices (i.e., label-based methods, adaptive technology, and social mainstreaming) in order to collaborate with DL/LwDs in crafting meaningful music making and music learning experiences. We also share broad lessons that one can learn through Disability Studies, including the role of dis/comfort as an educator, the importance of community, challenging ableist notions of “excellence,” and moving from performing to being/becoming inclusive. We conclude by sharing resources and ideas for the reader's further exploration and development related to Disability Studies and Music Education. 


References:
Abramo, J. M., & Pierce, A. E. (2013). An ethnographic case study of music learning at a school for the blind. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, (195), 9-24.

Brantlinger, E. (2006). Conclusion: Whose Labels? Whose Norms? Whose Needs? Whose Benefits?. In E. Brandlinger (Ed)., Who Benefits From Special Education? (pp. 247-262). Routledge.

Brantlinger, E. (1997). Using ideology: Cases of nonrecognition of the politics of research and practice in special education. Review of educational research, 67(4), 425-459.

Cameron, C. (Ed.). (2013). Disability studies: A student's guide. SAGE.

Egner, J. E. (2019). “The disability rights community was never mine”: Neuroqueer disidentification. Gender & Society, 33(1), 123-147.

Kuppers, P. (2009). Toward a rhizomatic model of disability: Poetry, performance, and touch. Journal of Literary & Cultural Disability Studies, 3(3), 221-241.

Lubet, A. (2011a). Disability rights, music and the case for inclusive education. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 15(1), 57-70.

Lubet, A. (2011b). Music, disability, and society. Temple University Press.

Murugami, M. W. (2009). Disability and identity. Disability studies quarterly, 29(4).

Oliver, M. (2013). The social model of disability: Thirty years on. Disability & society, 28(7), 1024-1026.

Rathgeber, J. (2019). Troubling disability: Experiences of disability in, through, and around music. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.

Shakespeare, T. (2013). Disability rights and wrongs revisited. Routledge.

Sins Invalid. (2019). Skin, tooth, and bone: The basis of movement is our people - A disability justice primer (2nd ed.). Sins Invalid.

Sins Invalid. (2020, June 16). What is disability justice? Sins Invalid. https://www.sinsinvalid.org/news-1/2020/6/16/what-is-disability-justice. 

Rathgeber, J. (2022). Cripping popular music. In B. Powell & G. D. Smith (Eds.), Places and Purposes of Popular Music Education (pp. 346-354). Intellect Books. 

Introduction: Contemporary approaches to working with disabled persons/persons with disabilities (DP/PwDs) focus on mainstreaming, 1 assistive/adaptive technology, 2 differentiated instruction, 3 universal design, 4 working with support personnel 5 and special educational laws/policies. 6 While powerful in shaping equitable practices, these approaches to inclusion presume that a) DP/PwDs, generally, long to be included into settings built for and primarily by nondisabled persons/typical learners and that b) settings and practices for and by nondisabled persons are neutral, regular and/or the norm. Yet, DP/PwDs who are artists, musicians, poets, community leaders and scholars call for practices and settings built with them from the ground up that value the different approaches to music learning, experiencing music and music-making.

Rathgeber, J., Bernard, C. F. (2022). When I say “modern,” you say, “bands: A critical narrative of modern band and Little Kids Rock as music education curriculum. Journal of Popular Music Education, 5(3), 337-358(22),

Abstract: This article is based on the lived experiences of the authors engaging with modern band and the organization Little Kids Rock (LKR). We approach this research as critical storytelling to highlight the importance of critique of music curriculum and pedagogy. We identify moments of cognitive dissonance we experienced with LKR and modern band and unpack them through theory. Data included review of LKR materials, journals, text-messages, reflective writing, and discussion around participation in LKR-sponsored events. We share our critical story through text messages and narration, through which we note issues such as neoliberalism and indoctrination; language mis(use) through educational buzzwords; identity reformation; and the manner in which teachers feel a need to cling to methodolatry or act as change agents. We illustrate the central role critique plays in music teaching discourses and practices to guide music teachers to accept vigilance of curricular resources and pedagogical approaches presented to them

Hammel, A. M., & Rathgeber, J. (2021). Living at the intersection of tablets, music, and disability. In G. Greher, & S. L. Burton (Eds.), Creative Music Making at Your Fingertips: A Mobile Technology Guide for Music Educators (pp. 29-42). Oxford University Press.

Abstract: ​The chapter considers potential possibilities and pitfalls encountered by music learners and scholar-practitioners when using tablet-based technologies for music making and learning. The authors address this question by providing a nuanced, anti-ableist, and balanced discussion of issues that arise at the intersection of adaptive and tablet-based technologies, music learning and making, and disability. First, the chapter highlights applications and approaches discussed elsewhere in the volume, addressing their potentials for fostering adaptive, inclusive, equitable, and meaningful music learning and making with and for disabled musickers/musickers with disabilities (DM/MwD) that can include tablets. Then the authors draw on theoretical perspectives indigenous to discourses about disability studies to problematize these resources, calling attention to potentially negative implications related to autonomy, extracurricular advancement, and othering rooted in and affirming ableism. The chapter concludes with questions and suggestions to assist music learners and scholar-practitioners in navigating the intersections and interactions of tablet-based technologies, use of apps, music learning and making, and disability.

Stringham, D. A., & Rathgeber, J. (2021). Becoming music teachers In the time of COVID-19: A mixed-method investigation of music teachers’ professional visions. Journal of Music, Heath, and Wellbeing, Autumn, 1-26.

Abstract: Preservice music educators enter teacher education programs with visions of their future largely built on their own past experiences. What happens when these preservice music teachers encounter a present that may look drastically different from the one they expected? During the COVID-19 pandemic, music teachers are encountering disruption to their current practice and may be reconsidering their visions for and expectations about music in their communities, and their identities as musicians and music educators. As one subset of this group, individuals transitioning from preservice to in-service teaching offer distinctive perspectives on how COVID-19 is shaping music teacher visions and expectations.

Rathgeber, J. (2020). Design to break barriers: An adaptive instrument project. In A. P. Bell (Ed.), The music technology cookbook: Ready-made recipes for the classroom. Oxford University Press.

Abstract: In this experience, learners will develop critical consciousness of barriers to participation rooted in ableism that are “baked into” instruments. This critical consciousness will assist learners in creating controllers with lower/no barriers for disabled persons/persons with disabilities.Learners will encounter concepts such as the “social model of disability” that come from Disability Studies scholarship in order to find and address disabling features of commercially-available instruments and to design new instruments, controllers, and practices that are anti-ableist. Through these experiences, learners will develop skills and knowledge related to using microcontrollers such as the Makey Makey and coding platforms such as Scratch through an iterative design process