Like many aspects of American society, there is uneven access to and uptake of music study across children from families with varying socioeconomic backgrounds and resources. These disparities cloud our social scientific understanding of how music education might improve the experience of schooling and the educational trajectories of music and non-music students. The lecture traces some of the theorized benefits of music education, how these benefits are confounded with socioeconomic status and uneven access, and reports new research shedding light on the nature of music study’s impact on American children and adolescents.

ABOUT THE GUEST SPEAKER

KENNETH ELPUS is Professor of Music Education and Associate Director of the School of Music at the University of Maryland, where he prepares preservice music educators to teach secondary music, teaches graduate research methods, and conducts the University Treble Choir. An active researcher, he is the principal investigator of the Music & Arts Education Data Lab, the University of Maryland’s National Endowment for the Arts Research Lab.
https://madlab.umd.edu