Attaining proximal simulation in multicultural music education

The present doctoral research study focuses on authentic multicultural musicking practices including authentic transmission approaches (teaching and learning) and also explores strategies used by Victorian school music programs to engender effective multicultural music education. This study is a continuation of research conducted for my Honours Bachelor of Education Degree, which investigated my own (multicultural) music teaching practice as a community artist in residence. This doctoral thesis is structured in the format of a Thesis by Publication and includes seven journal articles. To conduct the sequence of research studies that formulated this doctoral research project, a variety of qualitative methods were employed including a qualitative mixed method online survey. The academic research articles prepared for this research project are harnessed and joined via a thematic cohesive continuity, methodological connection and a theoretical underpinning that encapsulates the study as a whole. Four major themes emerged as the key phenomenological findings: The importance of multicultural music education; The engagement of artists in residence (to teach multicultural music in schools) as a highly effective strategy to teach multicultural music; Transferring (and re-contextualising) multicultural music; and Attaining proximal authenticity in multicultural musicking practices. The study contributes to the knowledge base of multicultural music education and introduces three new concepts; Inter-contextualisation, Intra-contextualisation and Proximal Simulation. This study confirmed the employment of expert culture bearers/artists in residence as the most effective approach to provide multicultural music education in schools to answer the Australian governmental policy expectations for the formation of future citizens who are tolerant, caring, compassionate and fair.