The Influence of Isomorphism on HBCU Music (Performance and Teacher Training) Programs and the Alignment of Broader Institutional Mission
Open Access
Author:
Oliver, William
Graduate Program:
Music Education (PHD)
Degree:
Doctor of Philosophy
Document Type:
Dissertation
Date of Defense:
March 29, 2022
Committee Members:
John Cheslock, Minor & Outside Field Member Velvet Brown, Special Member Darrin Thornton, Co-Chair & Dissertation Advisor R J David Frego, Co-Chair & Major Field Member Alicia Dowd, Outside Unit & Minor Member Linda Carol Porter Thornton, Program Head/Chair
Keywords:
HBCUs Music Education Isomorphism Program Alignment
Abstract:
It was currently unknown how HBCU music education programs were aligned with their broader institutions’ missions. Alignment between curricula and an institution’s mission and framework is essential for student success, as it clarifies future directions that a college or university can take and identifies student and faculty priorities. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore music program administrators’ perceptions of how they experienced coercive pressures, normative values, and memetic reinforcement as leading to institutional isomorphism in HBCU music programs. A secondary purpose of this study was to better understand how music program unit administrators perceived their music programs as being aligned with their broader HBCU’s mission statement. This study followed a qualitative case study design where the researcher recruited five participants to complete semi-structured interviews to collect the data. This study was guided by curriculum theory as the primary framework and institutional isomorphism as the secondary framework. The researcher conducted a thematic content analysis using NVivo 12.0 and a qualitative codebook. The study found three findings that emerged from the data that were in alignment with the research questions: (a) funding, student demographics, and reporting structures can influence institutional isomorphism, (b) music program relevance, structure, and level of student-centeredness aligns music programs to organizational practices, and (c) the arts are aligned in HBCU’s missions. Implications and recommendations for future studies are also discussed.
