Abstract
In an increasingly diverse society, critical pedagogy encourages educators to work alongside their students in order to better understand themselves and their place in the world. Music is a powerful way that humans express themselves and connect to others, so music educators are uniquely placed to engage in this work with their students. The purpose of this review of literature was to examine existing material on critical pedagogy in music education and investigate the barriers encountered to engaging in this work, motivations that inspire currently practicing music educators to reflect on their own teaching practices, and their willingness and ability to apply these theories to adapt their teaching practice.