Abstract
This paper aims to elucidate how to promote diverse students’ participation in the music class based on the theory of culturally responsive teaching in America. To discuss the above research question, I analyzed the theories of Culturally Responsive Teaching by Gay (2018) and Ladon-Billings (2009) and the theories and practices in music education by Grugel (2016) and Lind and McKoy (2016). The analysis showed that (1) Teachers need to understand the cultural background of their students. Hence, the meaning of the cultural understanding for teachers is not only studying diverse music in the world but also researching what kind music their students prefer. (2) Teachers need to fill the cultural gap between teacher and student. In this case, teachers need to inspect the Internet and watch TV programs that the students find interesting. Teachers are expected to visit the community around their schools and investigate the musical environment in the students’ homes. In the theory of culturally responsive teaching in music education, cultural understanding means to understand their students’ culture instead of just knowing diverse music, which is further from their students’ daily lives.
