Abstract
The last decades have witnessed significant growth in music programmes targeted at various populations in detention, including those in male and female prisons and juvenile detention centres. The aspirations of such programmes have included a concern to improve detainees’ mental and physical health and well-being, develop pro-social behaviours that assist in rehabilitation into the community and diminish the incidence of recidivism. In Australia there is an upward trend in the number of young people in detention. The population is overwhelmingly male, disproportionately indigenous, and largely aged between 15 and 17 years. The Australian Children’s Music Foundation (ACMF) has implemented a number of music programmes in juvenile detention centres as a means to assist young people to develop their sense of self-worth, build skills in self-discipline and communication, foster resilience, and re-engage with life and the community. This qualitative case study identifies and documents participants’ perceptions of the learning outcomes (musical and extra-musical) that emerge from participation in an ACMF music programme in one Australian juvenile detention centre and the learning and teaching practices and contextual factors that support these outcomes. Findings indicate that the programme generated significant musical and extra-musical learning outcomes for youth participants. Significantly, engagement in the programme provided a context through which participants developed a ‘learning identity’.
Introduction and theoretical framework
There is increasing interest in the potential benefits and effects of music participation in a range of diverse populations. The last decades have witnessed significant growth in music programmes targeted at populations in detention, including those in male and female prisons and juvenile detention centres. Whilst there is a considerable history of music programmes in adult prisons and juvenile justice centres (dating back to the mid-19th century in the United States [US]; see Lee, 2010, for example), the degree to which these programmes provide positive outcomes for the individual and society is not well understood, or indeed well documented (Cohen, 2010, p. 3). The aspirations of such programmes have included a concern to improve detainees’ mental and physical health and well-being, develop pro-social behaviours that assist in rehabilitation into the community, and diminish the incidence of recidivism. Research suggests that music education programmes in adult prisons provide a cost-benefit through improving participants’ sense of purpose, discipline, dignity, self-respect and self-esteem, and building skills that might be used in life beyond prison (Brewster, 2010). A study of young adult offenders (aged 18–22 years) in Scotland (Anderson & Overy, 2010) suggests that engagement in music programmes develops participants’ capacity for team-work and commitment to educational activities whilst providing an outlet for stress. Other research has suggested that adult prison music programmes provide a ‘communal sanctuary’ (Harbert, 2010) and function as ‘restorative practice’ for those in detention (Roma, 2010). Whilst there is an emerging body of research into the use and outcomes of music programmes in adult prisons, less is known of those programmes undertaken in contemporary contexts in juvenile detention settings.
Juvenile detention centres have a complex charter in that, whilst their primary purpose is one of incarceration and rehabilitation, they must also address the educational needs of detainees who are subject to the laws of compulsory schooling. As many detainees in these settings have had a troubled history of schooling, their participation and engagement with schooling programmes can be problematic. Many juvenile justice centres provide a programme of activities designed to assist detainees in attaining functional levels of literacy and numeracy and developing inter- and intra-personal and vocational skills that might assist in re-integration into the school system upon release or transition to employment. Research suggests that music participation is a powerful mechanism for advancing social inclusion (Cork City Council, 2009; Odena, 2007) and promoting learning (Portowitz, Lichtenstein, Egorova, & Brand, 2009) for young people. Potentially, music provides a means to contribute significantly to the learning and life outcomes of detainees in juvenile justice centres.
For those who have been disengaged from learning and schooling, the development of a learning identity is critical to the learning process. The relationship between learning and identity has received increasing attention, particularly in relation to the ways in which these elements interact in formal and informal learning settings (Hull & Greeno, 2006). Wortham suggests that learning is a process of becoming, of identity, in that we re-constitute ourselves as we represent ourselves to others (2001). In this way, who we are (social identity) and learning transform each other in a mutually-constitutive process (Wortham, 2004, 2006). Through this process the roles we play in those communities of practice in which we engage may change (Lave & Wenger, 2002; Wenger, 1998), as does our concept of who we are as learners.
Recent studies in the field of formal and informal music learning (Green, 2002, 2008) and music identities (MacDonald, Hargreaves, & Miell, 2002) support the view that engagement in music learning in a range of settings can be transformative of notions of self and identity. The qualitative case study reported in this article identifies and documents participants’ perceptions of the learning outcomes (musical and extra-musical) that emerge from participation in a music programme in one Australian juvenile detention centre and the learning and teaching practices and contextual factors that support these outcomes.
The context: Young people in detention in Australia
An analysis of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) report Juvenile Justice in Australia for 2006–2007 (AIHW, 2009) presents some alarming trends in the rates of participation by young people in the juvenile justice system. Specifically, in 2006–7, 9,540 young people (aged 10–17 years) experienced juvenile justice supervision at some time during the year in Australia (New South Wales [NSW] data is excluded as unavailable). These figures include those young people under community-based supervision (87%) and those young people in detention (13%). When these data are compared with the previous biennium (2004–5), there is an evident upward trend in the detention of young people, with 641 young people in detention in 2006–7 on an average day compared with 520 in 2004–5 (NSW data excluded from 2006–7 figures).
1
In short:
The rate of young people aged 10–17 years in detention during the year increased from 1.7 per 1,000 to 2.0 per 1,000, indicating that a young person aged 10–17 years in 2007–8 was around 1.2 times as likely to be in detention during the year as a young person aged 10–17 years in 2004–5. (AIHW, 2009, p. vii)
The population in detention nationally is overwhelmingly male (90%), disproportionately indigenous (between 50% and 60% of detainees, despite young indigenous Australians representing approximately 5% of the Australian population), and aged 16–17 years of age (7% are less than 14 years of age).
Whilst juvenile justice falls within state or territory 2 rather than federal government jurisdictions in Australia, and is therefore subject to some variability between states and territories, there are some common trends in policy development across the country. These include an emphasis on educational programmes that ‘improve(ing) education, training and employment opportunities for disengaged young people who are in custody, exiting custody or at high risk of entering custody’ (AIHW, 2009, p. 14). It is within this context that the Australian Children’s Music Foundation (ACMF) has initiated the implementation of music programmes in Australia’s juvenile detention centres.
The ACMF is a non-profit organization that draws on music engagement and participation as a means to enrich the lives of Australian children, particularly those who experience disadvantage. Through a range of initiatives the ACMF provides Australian children with an opportunity to participate in school and community music programmes that emphasize positive life engagement and outcomes. The ‘Youth at Risk’ initiative establishes music programmes in juvenile detention centres and provides participants with weekly instrumental tuition and access to instruments. Since 2004, the ACMF has implemented music programmes in 16 3 juvenile justice centres across Australia. These programmes are intended to assist young people to develop their sense of self-worth, build skills in self-discipline and communication, foster resilience, and re-engage with life and the community (see ACMF, n.d.). Whilst anecdotal reports from teacher and student participants and institutional personnel suggest that the programmes are producing positive life and learning outcomes, the nature and extent of these are unknown. In August 2007 a ‘Youth at Risk’ music initiative was established in an Australian juvenile detention centre (AJDC). 4 The music programme employed an informal music orientation (Folkestad, 2005) emphasizing playing and making music with the music teacher in a community of practice in which students could move between peripheral and central roles in the learning process. The content of the programme focused on developing students’ vocal and instrumental skills in guitar, bass and drum-kit, building repertoire based on student choices, and developing song-writing skills. Simultaneous with the establishment of the programme a pilot research study was undertaken (August 2007–June 2008) to identify the life and learning outcomes for young people participating in the programme, and the teaching and learning and contextual factors that underpinned these.
The project
This qualitative case study aimed to: (1) identify and document participants’ perceptions of the learning outcomes (musical and extra-musical) of the ACMF music programme implemented at AJDC; and (2) identify and document the learning and teaching practices and contextual factors that supported these outcomes. The questions that underpinned the research were:
What are the learning outcomes (musical and extra-musical) of participation in the ACMF programme for student participants?
What learning and teaching strategies support these outcomes?
What contextual factors promote positive learning outcomes for students in this setting?
Research design
The research employed a qualitative case study approach (Stake, 1995) in order to investigate the outcomes of the ACMF music programme for participants over the period of its establishment and implementation at AJDC (August 2007–June 2008). Given the size of the facility, the number of young people resident (average 35 detainees), and the extremely low literacy levels of many of the participants, a methodology that was sensitive to the context and population was required. Research techniques employed included individual and group interviews with student participants, individual interviews with key stakeholders (AJDC principal, ACMF music teacher(s), AJDC programmes manager), and observations of music lessons.
Data analysis was undertaken progressively throughout the project and focused on identifying key themes that emerged from the observation and interview data (Cortazzi, 2001; Kvale, 1996). Trustworthiness of data and interpretation was addressed through the use of participant member-checking of interview transcripts (verbal verification with student participants; verbal and/or written verification with adult participants). Triangulation of data sources (multiple categories of participants) and data type (observation, individual and small group interview) was employed in order to enhance the credibility of study findings (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000; Stake, 1995).
Research setting
AJDC is a small facility in a rural setting in Australia. AJDC serves as both a remand and detention facility and services all of the juvenile court jurisdictions of the state (see Table 1).
Monthly number of AJDC detainees on remand and serving a sentence, August 2007–May 2008
Participants
Twenty-two students took part in the music programme between August 2007 and June 2008. This figure represents 63% of the average daily population of the AJDC during the period of the study (approx 33 young people). Seventeen of the music participants (77% of programme participants) were recruited to take part in the research project. Table 2 provides a listing of all students who participated in the research component of the ACMF music programme. Participants (pseudonyms used) are listed in order of their entry to the programme, and the period of their detention and length of participation in the programme is provided.
Participants in research project, August 2007–June 2008, in order of their entrance to the programme
Project implementation
The project was implemented in three phases. In phase one, ethical consent to conduct the project was obtained from the relevant jurisdictions (university, departments of education and justice). Subsequently, the principal of the AJDC provided permission to conduct the research in the centre. Information letters and consent forms were forwarded to potential participants (students and parents/guardians) by the AJDC programmes manager. Potential participants were advised that participation in the music programme was not contingent upon their participation in the research. Despite this a significant number of programme participants agreed to contribute to the research project (17 out of 22 programme participants). A local ACMF music teacher was recruited and employed. An experienced ACMF music teacher visited the AJDC to launch the programme and meet with teaching staff, the researchers, and the local ACMF teacher. During this visit the experienced ACMF music teacher conducted initial music sessions with two groups of students to model the learning and teaching practices he employs. Immediately following this visit the local ACMF music teacher and researchers were inducted into the safety procedures and requirements of the centre. 5 Context-setting interviews were conducted with the experienced ACMF music teacher, the principal of AJDC school, and the AJDC programmes manager in order to develop understanding of: the context; these participants’ hopes and aspirations for the programme; and relevant previous experience.
In phase two, the ACMF programme was implemented. Weekly lessons were conducted with student participants individually or in small group sessions (dependant on the availability of students). Participant attendance varied due to: court appearances; poor behaviour leading to lock-down and exclusion from all activities; participant release from remand after a court appearance; and/or release after completion of sentence.
The research design included three individual interviews with student participants and on-going observations of learning and teaching. Student interviews were conducted at: programme commencement in order to capture hopes and aspirations; mid-term in order to probe student perceptions of the learning and teaching process; and at conclusion in order to record student perceptions of outcomes and their views of how they intended to draw on these in the future. This last interview was designed as an artefact-elicited interview featuring an artefact chosen by the student that represented their involvement in the programme (guitar, CD, song). Artefact-elicited interviews have proven to be an effective means of assisting participants to focus on pertinent issues in depth, and this technique has been trialled successfully in previous work (Barrett & Smigiel, 2003).
Due to the fluid nature of detention at the AJDC, 17 students were interviewed at commencement in the programme. Ten students were interviewed a second time and four were interviewed three times. The full interview schedule was not undertaken with many students due to either their brief period of detention (on remand and release after court appearance, or completion of sentence), or their removal from the music programme (attending court or in lock-down).
Mid-term and exit interviews were also conducted with the local ACMF music teacher, the principal, and the AJDC programmes manager. Field notes were also recorded after interviews and six teaching sessions. Observations were undertaken during the two initial group sessions with the experienced ACMF music teacher. Observations were also undertaken in individual music sessions conducted by the local ACMF teacher with Toby, Baden, Peter, Gina and Arnold. The data generated with each student participant is presented in Table 3.
Interview and observation data collected on music programme participants, August 2007–June 2008
Phase three involved the progressive analysis of data throughout the project. This analysis highlighted a number of emergent themes. In the following sections these are explored in detail.
Musical learning outcomes
Both student and AJDC staff perceptions of the musical and extra-musical outcomes of participation in the programme were overwhelmingly positive, with students who participated consistently and over time in the music programme identifying a range of music learning outcomes. Musical outcomes included the development of performance skills and new repertoire, and musical knowledge and understandings. In relation to performance skills participants commented on learning how to play drums and guitar (Bryan, Matthew, Luke) with some referring also to skills in reading and song-writing:
How to play the drums and how to read music, and hopefully, I should be able to write my own song shortly. Yeah, I’ve got to learn how to play the instruments first. (Luke)
The development of repertoire figured frequently in students’ accounts of their learning, including:
Learning new music and new chords. (Toby) I’ve learned three or four tunes. I’ve learned the hardest tune there is. (Mark) A bit of everything. He’s teaching me part of an AC/DC song. (Luke)
Several students elaborated on their developing musical understandings:
The best part of the programme has been sitting down, talking, and him teaching guitar and learning tunes. Um, just learning all the basics of the songs – just tiny bits of songs and put ’em all together and make a song. And all that. Yeah. (Arnold) Yeah, learning music and rhythm and yeah, learning about songs. Yeah, I’m learning – it’s good. (Toby)
Extra-musical learning outcomes
In addition to those music learning outcomes identified earlier, long-term student participants also identified a range of extra-musical learning outcomes. These included increased positive social behaviours, confidence and self-esteem, and capacity to engage in and persist with learning tasks. Students’ perceptions of a developing capacity to work with others was evidenced in the following:
I’m learning to cooperate, and sit down and listen. (Toby) Instead of getting in trouble, just sitting there and play tunes, and stuff. (Jake)
For Toby, the programme developed ‘something good’ as ‘You learn a talent, [it] gives you something good. I dunno – it’s just great!’.
An increased capacity and motivation to persist at a task and engage in learning was evidenced in the following:
Just, if I’m not doin’ it properly, just tryin’. (Matthew) Um, I’ve learned how to play the guitar. I find it quite interestin’. ’Cause, I don’t know, it’s a bit hard, but I’m getting there. And I like doing it. I’m gonna learn because I want to do it. Yeah. (James)
For some the programme provided opportunity to build possible futures based on their developing skills and capacity to express their thoughts and feelings:
If someone comes up to you and asks if you can play guitar, you can say, ‘Yes!’, instead of ‘No’ . . . Sitting down around the campfire, singing a couple of songs . . . I want to continue with it . . . get a CD brung out . . . sing about past, yeah . . . Freedom, and being locked up and how I feel about being here and me family out there – and how they feel. What I’ve done, around these things, since I’ve been in lock-up. (Toby)
For some the programme provided a means to develop a learning disposition and increased interest in the function and uses of learning:
How to just be cool, and to learn. I dunno – (instead of) not listening, listening, not tryin’ to learn, tryin’ to learn, if you know what I mean. (Toby) I s’pose, if you learn somethin’, you’ve got it forever. (Arnold) Helping out in the community, yeah. Helping other people learn music. Yeah, teach them. (Toby)
Staff and teachers who witnessed the programme’s impact also identified the changes they noticed in student participants in the areas of self-esteem, confidence, persistence and a growing awareness that students may be able to achieve other things in life:
. . . the ones who have done, achieved the most thus far . . . just to show the rest of the population, the staff and the young people, what is possible, in this programme, and what they’ve actually achieved. And I think that’s one of the biggest benefits for them – it’s all about self-esteem and confidence . . . That’s the overall benefit to young people. And just that it broadens their horizons, and they get to try more things. I guess, the one thing the young people get from the programme is that it’s another opportunity to develop skill – whether it’s something that’s already recognized and established, or something that’s going to be completely new and untapped . . . skill, that they may have not realized that they have. So, that’s the main benefit. (AJDC programmes manager) In at least half of the cases, you’d have to be able to say that their self-esteem has improved. (ACMF music teacher) The actual hands-on, practical side of it blows the kids away. I mean, when they come to class, they want to grab that guitar and, you know, because we’ve got the guitars in there, and you forget about that, sometimes, too, the kids’ll pull those guitars out, in front of the other students in the class and just have a bit of a tinker, there in the corner. And no-one bags them out, so that’s got to be really, really good for their self-esteem . . . Yeah, the fact that, ‘I can do this, coupled to what I already do in school’, and ‘I can take chances’, and maybe, you know, ‘I can actually do things’. So, ‘Maybe I can do some more, or I should look at some more education on the outside, or some more training on the outside’. Yeah. (AJDC principal)
In some cases, participation in the programme has encouraged a re-definition of self: a self that does not revolve around criminal activity, and the development of a sense of community among residents. The AJDC programmes manager spoke extensively of the interactive nature of the learning process and identity work in which the students were engaged:
The young people that have achieved, and are still achieving, that there is more to them . . . whatever their level of literacy is, and the level of offending that they’ve been involved – which is pretty much how the young people set the hierarchy in the centre. It’s pretty much how they define it, who they are. So, it’s another option that they can pursue and develop, um for reintegration purposes, next time, when they get out. But yeah, it’s just another positive, another option . . . And by trying more things, then, that whole chance, and effort that we’ve put into changing people’s behaviours is much more, it’s more likely, I guess. Particularly around offending, you know. A lot of the young people that come in here, they’re not thinking about the benefits and consequences of their behaviour in five minutes, let alone tomorrow, and, ‘How will that impact on my incentive level’, or, ‘What I’ve got to do so I can do that programme?’. It’s not stuff that the young people traditionally have managed to set as priorities in their life. But yeah, I think a bunch of variables, including this programme, have definitely helped young people to look further into their futures, and consider change. (AJDC programmes manager)
In one instance (Toby), participation in the programme provided a means by which a young person was able to re-define himself as a community member, as a musician:
A lot of the students did look up to him (Toby), for his musical ability and for his leadership role. And I didn’t realize how great a thing that was until I went to the awards barbecue at the end of the year, when they were handing out the school’s academic awards. And ah, saw how popular Toby was. But not in a ‘hero’ sort of way, but just a, everyone wants to talk to him, everyone asks him his opinion, and when he got up to play drums, everyone went nuts, cheering for him. Everyone felt really happy for him, and he felt the same way. So, in Toby’s case, I feel that it couldn’t be more positive. Like, I got to see how all the non-musical people out there reacted to his music. Yeah, it was very positive. (ACMF music teacher)
Staff members suggest that such successes in the music programme improve the participants’ chances of learning in other curriculum areas through the development of learning skills:
Well, hopefully they learn to take baby steps. You can’t just have this lofty goal in mind, that’s out of reach, you know, and then make it in one big leap. Ah, that you do just one step at a time. And make it a step that you can succeed at, and you will get there. And I think it helps – well, at least half of the students on that list, with patience. Like, I imagine it impacts on their school work, because I’ve noticed that, with me, they’re willing to take their time and make a mistake. Students are very hard on themselves in the first lessons – if they make a mistake – a twang or a fret buzz, and you say, ‘Well, that’s the process, you know. You make mistakes, in order to work out what’s wrong, so that you can do it right, and move on, to the next thing’. And ah, I don’t think I’ve ever failed yet, at AJDC, in getting a student to take their time – do small steps and keep your goal in mind, when you’re doing it. (ACMF music teacher) Yeah, I mean, it’s really self-confidence . . . which I think, then impacts on the rest of their time here with us, as well . . . in other parts of the school . . . if I come to Matthew, you know, here’s Matthew, who couldn’t spell his name. Ahm, he’s 15, so he’s equivalent to grade nine . . . comes in here, can’t spell – I mean . . . how does a young person feel about that, when he knows that he has such low skills? Ah, coming along with the music programme, well, it’s something that you just don’t, ah, learning notes, or playing the guitar, or drums, or whatever – you’ve got to learn that. Ahm, so I guess, he’s had to apply himself to learn that. And, in turn, I think that again, ah, Matthew’s enjoyment of learning is probably really enhanced through this hands-on stuff . . . you know, it’s going to make the learning more relevant . . . I think it’s just reinforcing, you know, that learning is good. (AJDC principal)
Another extra-musical outcome of this programme has been the development of participants’ communication skills:
Almost every student has improved their communication skills with me, and I assume that it’s only improved with other people. But, because you’ve got only 40 minutes, where you do play music, but there’s maybe 15 minutes of conversation with them, over 40 minutes – that’s quite a lot of time to sit there and talk with a stranger who you didn’t know last week and you’ve got to build a relationship with. But, after four weeks, yeah, our communication skills and our ability to talk about frustrations, or practising – things like that, I think that helps all the students I talk to, as well, with music as a focus. Yeah. (ACMF music teacher)
The music programme has also fostered the development of trust between residents and encouraged more positive relationships between residents and staff:
And it probably helps in their relationship with other kids. If they’ve got the guitar and they’re mucking around in the classroom, it’s probably, you know, helps the relationships with other kids. The fact that they must be able to trust the other kids. These kids don’t really like being exposed to things in front of other people, so, ah, it comes back to the old confidence thing – you know, the sort of culture that we’re trying to create in the school. You know, outside of the school’s probably, um, fairly stressful, culture out there, from the rest of the centre, but, ahm, we really try to foster, ah, really trusting, learning relationships. And I just think it really adds to what we already do. (AJDC principal) Ah, well, with Toby . . . he got to the point where he was actually a really helpful teacher for Matthew. And actually, sometimes, I’d – I don’t know whether it was my language, or whatever, but Matthew wouldn’t get the drift of what I was saying. And if it was in a session with Toby, Toby would step in and put it in a way that he did understand. Take on a sort of leadership role in the programme, and help other students. And he did it really well. Like, he used a lot of discretion in how he managed himself in that role . . . And now, a similar thing is happening with Luke. Yeah, he will help other students; he will encourage other students to come along to the sessions with me . . . Yeah, I’ve also noticed that the programme’s also built better relationships between staff members at the centre, and the residents, and I can only imagine that this will translate to the outside world, and these young people will get on better, a little better, with authority figures, or older people, because of the exposure to, building a good relationship with an older person. (ACMF music teacher)
Staff commented that the music programme also encourages students to maintain good behaviour and develop a balanced personal life:
Well, they’ve got to learn that thing – good things for good choices. So, you know, you’re not going to be, to access the programme, you’ve got to be showing the right sort of behaviour, behaving in the right manner, and so forth. So it’s really about good things for good choices, I suppose. Um, yeah, it doesn’t get handed to you on a plate – you’ve got to earn the right to do this. (AJDC principal) Music’s been a stable influence throughout my life, and it could be for them, as well. So, I hope they take away the beauty of it . . . it gives you sensitivity and balance, and teaches you about contrast, dualities, ah, polar opposites, and I think if you’re, if you’ve learnt music through your childhood, you’re more likely to be open-minded, and less bigoted, because you accept difference, as a thing of beauty, rather than, um, something to be afraid of. I think that music teaches you that lesson. (ACMF music teacher)
AJDC staff members openly discussed the behavioural changes they have witnessed in Toby, suggesting that, even though he has been ‘in and out of here for five years’, the programme may have provided sufficient impetus to motivate him to avoid re-offending:
So, the benefits of good behaviour have been quite broad, for the young people – over the last six months, at least . . . Toby was definitely a young person who showed, developed quite a level of maturity in his last period of detention, and the ACMF programme gave him something else to . . . aim for, especially with sticking to the programme. There are long-term benefits . . . (AJDC programmes manager)
Toby’s persistence and commitment to learning the guitar were recently recognized when the school principal invited him to play at one of the regular whole-school assemblies – such a performance has not occurred previously in the school’s history. When we last spoke with Toby, he told us that he hoped to join a band in his life outside:
Yeah. Interestin’ and all. It’s good. Somethin’ to do in my life. Everyone loves music, it doesn’t matter what band it is – you’re bound to find one person that likes that music. Or more than one people [sic]. Everyone likes music. If you had no music, then it’d just be borin’, like no TV or computers. You gotta have music. It’s good to play, itself, so. It gives you somethin’ to do. It’s good. (Toby)
In summary, staff commented on improved self-esteem, confidence, persistence and communication skills in participants. Staff also noted the increased awareness that participants had developed in regard to their own potential. In Toby’s case, this meant a re-definition of self that did not revolve around criminal activity (Wortham, 2004, 2006). Other social learning outcomes included the development of a sense of community amongst residents and an improved, more trusting relationship between staff and residents. Finally, staff also identified behavioural improvements that had resulted from participation in the initiative as success in this programme was viewed as facilitating residents’ chances of applying themselves and increasing their learning in other curriculum areas.
Learning and teaching practices that support these learning outcomes
It is evident from student participants’ descriptions of their schooling that many have had little experience of formal, classroom education. Consequently, they were frequently at a loss when asked to describe the qualities they thought a good teacher should have. James, for example, responded, ‘I don’t know. I never had much school or anything, really. So’. After a more detailed explanation of the question, he commented, ‘Ohhh, well, I like it when they’re straight-forward, and they’re not mucking around about things, you know. Yeah’. Similarly, Kristy thought that it is important for educators to set tasks out in a clear way: ‘Just, like, set it out easily, so I dunno, set the words out, I suppose. Yeah’.
Taking another perspective, Baden highlighted the need for teachers to be patient and to take time with their students. He further suggested that they must have ‘a good personality, so you can sit down and talk to them, you know’. Toby likewise noted, when discussing the ACMF music teacher, that ‘he doesn’t rush things. He just lets you do it in your own time and shows you when to like, do your part in, and all that. Helps you to get the right beat for that song. Yeah’. Eric and Mark identified patience and encouragement as important characteristics for teachers to possess:
Just someone sit there, and spend a bit of time with me. One-on-one, so I can learn. ’Cause, I get a bit, oh, I dunno, shy in front of other people. I don’t like doing it in front of other people. I’d rather do it one-on-one with someone. But, after a while, I’ll do it in front of other people . . . Just keep on telling me, I dunno, encourage me a bit. And I dunno. Just tell me I’m doing good. ’Cause, I dunno, it just makes me feel better about myself and I keep on trying. Yeah. (Eric)
Mark noted that educators should:
. . . encourage us. Show us how to do it, and help us when we muck up, I guess . . . every time we play it wrong, he’ll correct us, and he’s nice. He’s not arrogant . . . if you do it wrong, he’ll show you again and you just do it. (Mark)
Toby further noted that a teacher must be ‘nice and polite and doesn’t growl, if you do something wrong, and just teaches you what you want to be taught’. However, he acknowledged that learning involves mutual obligations of students and teachers: ‘If you come in, you muck around, you don’t get teached [sic]. You just got to listen’. During his final interview, Toby said that the ACMF teacher had ‘been teaching me heaps, which is good’. In an ironic twist, he continued:
I’m proud of him, actually, for teaching me stuff I never learnt. I probably never ever sat down and learnt, on the outside. But now, I can, ’cause I’ve learnt how to do it. Teaching me the chords and all that. I dunno. It’s good, ’cause otherwise, I wouldn’t have learned how to play. (Toby)
AJDC staff also noted that the programme’s success has been due to its individualized, ‘hands-on’ nature:
My understanding of the programme is that it’s very much a hands-on approach, you know, demonstration of, and instruction, type scenario – so students are able to see how it’s meant to be, ahm, strumming style or whatever. They get to listen and then to practice. So yeah, I guess in saying that, all the visual and audio and kinaesthetics are all covered in that programme, which is all important to the young people here. (AJDC programmes manager)
The ACMF music teacher likewise stressed the value of one-on-one teaching that fosters the development of relationships between educators and learners. He said that learning should take place in a non-competitive environment where instructors are free to teach students at their own pace using conversation and modelling:
Well, quite different, because most of the music programmes that I teach in have an established curriculum, whereas, here, I’m establishing it, and doing it, in a sort of one-to-one way – everyone sort of, has their own curriculum. Yeah, it’s very individually tailored, and there’s no standards that I have to meet, no proofs of success I have to meet. No (city music) competitions at the end of the year to dent their confidence. Ah, there’s no sort of competitive environment, other than the friendly competition in the school – so getting prizes. And there’s no assessment, really, other than what I hand back verbally, on the spot – which is like encouragement. There is no run-down, and ‘You got a C, or a B Minus’, or – a lot of things that I don’t like about music teaching, I don’t have to have here. I suppose I could devise a standardized assessment, but I can’t see anything that positive that would come out of it. I think it would put pressure on the students, and make it more like a traditional classroom – which they do have – most students are enrolled in three hours of secondary education out there. So, I think it’s nice to have another activity – and my classes are very similar to art – where, you can do what you choose, as long as you are growing in your capacity – then, it really doesn’t matter what mark you get, or any sort of bench-marks that you have to achieve to – it sort of takes as long as it takes. (ACMF music teacher)
The ACMF music teacher describes his approach as follows:
Ah, they’ve learnt about music from a few angles. Like, one way I teach it is the building blocks approach, where we look at rhythm, melody, harmony, chords – and why they sound the way they do and why they have the effect that they do. And different rhythm, like some rhythms make you want to dance, ah, you know, ‘what sort of rhythms do you use for ballads?’. And that sort of thing, and also the time signatures involved. And another approach I teach to music is ah, ‘Why is music meaningful?’. So, we approach songs from, ‘Why do you care about this song?’, ‘What does this song mean to you?’, ‘What is your favourite song, and why?’, ‘What’s the song you hate, and why?’. So, there doesn’t need to be a technical understanding to talk about meaning in music. And I’ve – within a week or two of meeting each student, I’ve had that conversation with them. And it develops, throughout the weeks, as I teach. Yeah, so I think all students are able to enter into a discussion about music and its components and its meaning. And, also, probably a little bit of that historical context, because, people who have been very guitar focused, I’ve taken them into looking at the lineage of rock guitar, you know, or other, jazz guitar lineage, and how the vocabulary of the certain genre develops over time. And what you can do, and therefore, how you can break the mould, and do something not typical. (ACMF music teacher)
To summarize, participants in this programme identified the following qualities as important in teaching: being patient, encouraging, polite and ‘not arrogant’. Participants suggest that educators should be able to talk with their students and provide clear explanations of tasks and learning expectations. One student also noted that learning involves a mutual obligation between students and teachers. Whilst the student participants focused more on the relational aspects of the learning-teaching enterprise, staff focused more on the pedagogical practices considered necessary for successful learning outcomes. They noted that teachers must adopt a non-threatening, non-competitive, informal (Green, 2002, 2008) ‘hands-on’ approach. These findings suggest that the learning and teaching strategies that support the development of musical and extra-musical learning outcomes include:
clear demonstration and modelling of the desired learning outcome;
clear and concise instructions outlining the procedural steps required to achieve the outcome (e.g., the ‘building blocks approach’);
sufficient time to complete tasks, with each student working at his or her own pace;
attention to individual learning needs;
the building of positive social relationships between student and teacher; and
the provision of feedback and encouragement.
The contextual factors that promote positive learning in this setting
It is evident from the analysis provided here that the environment and context at AJDC in which the ACMF is being implemented is one that values music participation and education and this approach to music learning and teaching. Students are aware that AJDC staff value the programme, indeed, to the point where it is seen to be a privilege to participate in the programme. Whilst such valuing is highly important, it should be noted that there is potential for problems when the programme itself is used as a means to moderate behaviour that has arisen in a non-music context. Students’ valuing of the programme is evident in their conscious transference of the musical and extra-musical skills and knowledge they are acquiring in the ACMF programme to other aspects of their learning and life in the AJDC. This transference also indicates the degree to which students perceive music-making in this setting as a means to take risks ‘safely’, both within the ACMF music classroom and the larger context of the AJDC. Public engagement with music performance is a powerful means by which these students test and demonstrate their commitment to learning and to making a positive contribution to their community. To summarize, the contextual features that support learning in this setting include:
a learning and teaching environment that is perceived as ‘safe’ for experimentation and risk-taking;
evident valuing of the ACMF programme by students as they draw on their developing music skills to participate in and build the AJDC community; and
evident valuing and promotion of the ACMF programme by staff.
Concluding remarks
This case study of the learning outcomes of an ACMF programme indicates that participation in this programme has had a positive impact on the musical and extra-musical life and learning of participants. Significantly, engagement in the programme provided a context through which long-term participants developed a positive view of learning (a learning disposition) and a ‘learning identity’ (Wortham, 2001, 2004, 2006). The music and extra-music outcomes identified here should be considered in light of student access to the programme; that is, these outcomes were achieved via one weekly lesson with an ACMF teacher, with some access to instruments and materials in the intervening periods between lessons. The degree to which such a programme might have a more powerful impact were student access increased and greater resourcing provided for the programme can only be speculated.