Gender, Popular Music and Music Learning in China’s Shanghai

Abstract

This study focused on the collective music experiences and practices of students' involvement with Western and non-Western popular music in Shanghai. Data were gathered through a survey questionnaire given to 1,739 Shanghai students (802 females and 937 males attending Grades 7 through 12), supplemented by semi-structured interview data from a subset (50 females and 10 males attending Grades 7 through 12) of these participants. Statistical and qualitative analyses indicated that gender and preferences for popular music can impact some aspects of individual experiences and attitudes toward learning popular music in school. The implicit premise of this study was what classroom pedagogy and cultural change might reveal from the participation of music education in the continued production and reproduction of gendered music practices in the contemporary music classroom. Though further research may be necessary, the immediate implications of the present study are important for understanding the impact of cultural and racial identity formation of gender and music practices in the contemporary world.