Teaching with the Archive: How University–Music Archive Collaboration Shapes Culturally Responsive Music Pedagogy in Kenya

Abstract

This paper examined the influence of university–music archive collaboration on lecturers’ use of archival materials in culturally responsive music teaching in Kenyan public universities. Music archives hold culturally significant resources that can enrich university music teaching, yet lecturers’ use of these materials may depend on the extent of collaboration between universities and music archives. A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was employed, combining questionnaire data from 91 music students across four public universities with semi-structured interviews involving seven purposively selected music lecturers. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, and multiple linear regression, while qualitative data were analysed thematically. Exploratory factor analysis identified institutional collaboration and student engagement as two dimensions of university–music archive collaboration. These dimensions explained 45.6 per cent of the variance in lecturers’ use of archival materials, with student engagement showing a slightly stronger influence than institutional collaboration. Interview findings indicated that collaboration enhanced access to culturally relevant materials, specialist knowledge, and professional networks. However, collaboration was predominantly informal and dependent on individual lecturer initiative. The study demonstrates that access to archival resources alone does not produce culturally responsive teaching; pedagogical value emerges when institutional support is combined with lecturers’ and students’ active engagement. Universities and music archives should therefore formalise partnerships and integrate archival resources into curricula, teaching activities, and assessment.