Ecological Model of Student Artistic Development in Jazz Education: Career Implications

Jazz education is an essential aspect of music education that must adapt to changing student needs, industry trends, and societal expectations. By being responsive to these changes, jazz education can best prepare the next generation of jazz scholars, practitioners, and advocates. This article explores a temporally focused adaptation of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory as put forth by Constance McKoy and Vicki Lind as it applies to jazz education, with particular attention to the microsystem—the interaction between different academic community members, faculty members, students, and the chosen and given families of students. This subsystem of intersections and relationships is significant because it often bears the most affirmational weight on the journey of a young jazz scholar. By adopting an adaptive approach in consideration of all of the systems in the Bronfenbrenner model, jazz educators and institutions of jazz learning can ensure that their programs live on. Additionally, by considering the impact of time and its dimensions, jazz educators can provide students with a comprehensive and meaningful learning experience that connects them to the past, present, and future of this vibrant art form.