The recruitment and retention of music education majors from underrepresented populations are emerging as crucial focal points in music education discourse. As the field collectively grapples with the urgency of addressing these concerns, there is a growing consensus on the need for innovative and inclusive approaches to bring about sustained progress. This paper is the first of a two-part series investigating the recruitment and retention of students from underrepresented populations in undergraduate music teacher education programs across the United States and Canada. The focus of this paper is to provide an overview of existing scholarship pertaining to the recruitment and retention of underrepresented populations in music programs. The review includes literature and research concerning recruitment practices, barriers influencing enrollment and retention, the consequent impacts on underrepresented students and strategies to mitigate these concerns.  Key recommendations include a commitment to design environments that resonate with the cultural identities of students, obtaining feedback from underrepresented students to inform recruitment and retention initiatives, fostering strong leadership that support incorporating principles of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access, and Belonging (DEIAB), reconstructing music curricula, promoting mentorship and expanding the audition requirements.

https://symposium.music.org/current-issue/item/11639-retention-and-recruitment.html

Coming Spring 2025