Robert Faulkner

Men in chorus: Collaboration and competition in homo-social vocal behaviour

The present article is part of an ongoing research project investigating the role of singing in the everyday lives of contemporary Icelandic men. Men in the study group are all members of a large male-voice choir based in a remote rural area of north-east Iceland. Whilst two other papers illustrate how the wider study implicates singing as a central construct of self and gender identity, this article focuses on mens perceptions of social processes in the learning, rehearsing and performing of songs. Emerging through Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, themes are examined here within the theoretical framework of competition and cooperation and the context of the studys idiographic setting. Whilst competition and cooperation feature prominently in wide-ranging social science disciplines and are often perceived as having simplistic gender connotations, findings from this study illustrate the complexities of competitive and collaborative interaction as these particular men sing together in chorus. Furthermore, mens perception of singing in harmony implies that this vocal behaviour is not only a metaphor for human relationships, but an essential and enriching way of relating to others, fulfilling basic needs for vocal and social connectedness.

Meeting in music: The role of singing to harmonise carer and cared for

This paper reports on practitioner research being undertaken at the University of Western Australia in which singing is being used for its health and well-being potential with a range of community groups. The specific case reported here is a choir established for a not-for-profit organization, The People Who Care, who offer support for frail, aged people and those with disabilities. The organization approached the university to develop a choir suitable for paid employees, volunteers and clients. This emphasis on the carer and cared for is explored in this paper, along with a brief discussion of how in the case of this type of work it is both fitting and appropriate for groups to be run by community musicians and not specialist music therapists, although there is a need for core musical, social and facilitation skills. The paper discusses how, after one year, The People Who Care Choir has plans for sustainable development, alongside evidence of a great and growing harmony between its members.

Group Composing: pupil perceptions from a social psychological study

Abstract The following paper examines pupil perceptions of the processes, effectiveness and value of group composing in the classroom. These themes emerged in a wider study of musical behaviour and meaning from a social psychological perspective of composing in the classroom. Though essentially qualitative phenomenological research, the original study employed a range of methodologies. The present article concentrates on the salience of group composing as it emerged from analysis of pupils’ responses at three stages of the study; a self-administered survey, self-assessment of longitudinal video portfolios, but chiefly through reflective semi-structured interviews. The uniqueness of the local setting—a small rural school, with pupils aged 6–16, in northeast Iceland—emphasises the essentially idiographic nature of the study. Analysis reveals that pupils see group composing as enjoyable, effective and meaningful. Pupils are also able to clearly articulate processes which find resonance in constructivist and systems theories of creativity and which challenge discreet reductionist categories of musical behaviour. The study’s findings have implications for the ongoing debate about the value and effectiveness of group composing, for reductionist thinking about musical behaviour, and not least, for the development of social psychological research in music education.

The value of data mining in music education research and some findings from its application to a study of instrumental learning during childhood

The use of data mining for the analysis of data collected in natural settings is increasingly recognized as a legitimate mode of enquiry. This rule-inductive paradigm is an effective means of discovering relationships within large datasets — especially in research that has limited experimental design — and for the subsequent formulation of predictions and rules. The method is dramatically under-used in education research in general, and is hardly represented in music education, if at all. The present article reports on several decision trees that emerged from mining for knowledge in datasets constructed from the musical journeys, experiences and abilities of 157 young people in Australia from the outset of instrumental tuition in primary school and for the following 12 years. This article illustrates the validity of knowledge discovery in databases for forecasting outcomes and behaviours in educational settings generally and, more specifically, it considers early predictors of students’ short- and long-term commitment to instrument learning. This machine-learnt knowledge provides music educators with useful information about the relationship between various attributes of student experience. Within months of beginning instrumental tuition, reported levels of self-regulation, practice on Sundays, parental reminders and self-efficacy beliefs emerge as potentially predictive of students’ ongoing musical engagement. Findings are discussed in relation to self-regulation and motivation theories. La valeur de l’exploration de données dans la recherche en éducation musicale et quelques résultats de son application dans une étude sur l’apprentissage instrumental au préscolaire L’utilisation de l’exploration de données pour analyser une collecte de données effectuée en milieu authentique est de plus en plus reconnue comme étant une technique d’investigation légitime. Ce paradigme basé sur l’induction est un moyen efficace pour identifier les relations existantes dans de larges bassins de données — plus particulièrement lors de recherches qui possèdent un cadre expérimental restreint — et pour la formulation future de prédictions et de règles. Cette méthode est généralement sous-utilisée dans la recherche en éducation et elle est encore moins employée dans le domaine de l’éducation musicale. Le présent article fait état de quelques arbres de données qui ont été extraits d’un ensemble de données issues du cursus musical, des expériences et des habiletés de 157 jeunes en Australie depuis leur inscription à la formation instrumentale du primaire jusqu’aux douze années suivantes. Cet article met en avant-plan la validité de l’Extraction de Connaissances à partir de Données afin de prédire des résultats et des comportements dans un programme éducationnel, en considérant plus spécialement la prédictibilité d’engagement à court et à long terme de l’apprentissage d’un instrument chez un étudiant. Cet outil du savoir procure aux enseignants en musique de l’information quant aux relations existantes entre divers facteurs qui constituent l’expérience vécue par l’étudiant. Dans les premiers mois qui ont suivi le début de l’inscription, on a rapporté que l’autorégulation, la pratique le dimanche, le rappel des parents et le sentiment d’auto-efficacité sont des facteurs émergents prédictifs de l’engagement musical de l’élève. Les résultats sont mis en lien avec les théories de l’autorégulation et la motivation. Der Nutzen der Datenauswertung in der musikpädagogischen Forschung und Hinweise auf deren Anwendung bei der Untersuchung kindlichen Instrumentalunterrichts Die Nutzung von Datenbanken bei der Analyse von Daten, die in natürlichen Umgebungen gewonnen wurden, wird zunehmend als legitime Form der Untersuchung anerkannt. Dieses Regel-induzierende Paradigma bildet ein wirkungsvolles Mittel, um Beziehungen in einer großen Datenmenge aufzuspüren — insbesondere in Untersuchungen mit einem begrenzten experimentellen Design — und um unmittelbar Vorhersagen und Regeln formulieren zu können. Dieses Verfahren wird insgesamt in der musikpädagogischen Forschung dramatisch vernachlässigt und ist kaum, wenn überhaupt in der Musikerziehung präsent. Dieser Artikel stellt einige Entscheidungsbäume vor, die sich aus der Datenauswertung für das Wissen, das in Datensätzen aus musikalischen Erfahrungen und Fähigkeiten von 157 jungen Australiern vom Anfang des Instrumentalunterrichts in der Grundschule für die folgenden 12 Jahre gespeichert ist, ergeben. Dieser Artikel zeigt die Aussagekraft der Wissenserschließung in Datenbanken zur Vorhersage für das Verhalten in Unterrichtszusammenhängen im Allgemeinen und lässt frühe Anzeichen für eine kurz- oder langfristige Hingabe an den Instrumentalunterricht erkennen. Dieses Wissen bietet dem Musiklehrer wertvolle Informationen über die Beziehung zwischen verschiedenen Merkmalen der Lernerfahrung von Schülern. Innerhalb weniger Monate seit Beginn des Instrumentalunterrichts treten bestimmte Formen der Selbstregulation, des Übens am Sonntag, der elterlichen Ermahnung und des Glaubens an die Selbstwirksamkeit als voraussagekräftig für das weitere musikalische Engagement auf. Diese Ergebnisse werden im Zusammenhang mit Theorien zur Selbstregulierung und Motivation diskutiert. El valor de la extracción inteligente de datos en investigación en educación musical. Hallazgos a partir de su aplicación en un estudio de aprendizaje instrumental durante la infancia La extracción inteligente de datos para el análisis de información recogida en contextos naturales se reconoce cada vez más como un modo legítimo de investigación. Este paradigma inductivo es un medio efectivo para descubrir relaciones dentro de grandes conjuntos de datos (sobre todo en investigaciones con un diseño experimental limitado) y la consiguiente formulación de predicciones y reglas. Este método está enormemente infrautilizado en investigación educativa en general, y apenas está presente en educación musical. Este artículo presenta varios árboles de decisión que surgieron a partir de la búsqueda de conocimiento en bases de datos a partir de las trayectorias, experiencias y capacidades musicales de 157 jóvenes australianos desde el inicio de su formación instrumental en la escuela primaria y durante los doce años siguientes. Este artículo ilustra la validez del Descubrimiento de Conocimiento en bases de datos para predecir resultados y conductas en contextos educativos y, más concretamente, tiene en cuenta predictores tempranos a corto y largo plazo del compromiso de los estudiantes en su aprendizaje instrumental. Este conocimiento adquirido a través de máquinas proporciona a los educadores musicales información útil sobre la relación entre diversas características de la experiencia del estudiante. A los pocos meses de comenzar su formación instrumental, los niveles de autorregulación, las prácticas dominicales, los recordatorios a los padres y la confianza del estudiante en su propia eficacia, emergen como factores potencialmente predictivos de la marcha de la implicación musical del estudiante. En este artículo se abordan las conclusiones con respecto a las teorías de la autorregulación y de la motivación.

Motivation to study music in Australian schools: The impact of music learning, gender, and socio-economic status

This study extends an eight-country mapping exercise (McPherson & O’Neill, 2010; see Research Studies in Music Education issues 2010–2011) to include students’ motivation to study music within the Australian context. It sought to determine whether music learners (students learning an instrument or voice), might be more motivated to study academic subjects at school, and whether gender and socio-economic status (SES) affected student motivation to learn music at school. A total of 2,727 students from grades 5 to 12 completed a questionnaire based on Eccles and Wigfield’s expectancy-value framework. Data collected included: ratings of competence beliefs, interest, importance, usefulness and difficulty for music, English, maths, and science; indications of whether the students were currently learning a musical instrument or voice (music learners); and whether they would like to if given the opportunity. There was an overall significant decline in competence beliefs, interest, importance, and usefulness across the school years, in contrast with increased task difficulty ratings across the school years. Music learners reported significantly higher competence beliefs, interest, importance, usefulness, and less task difficulty than non-music learners. This advantage applied across all school grades for music, competence beliefs for English in upper primary and lower secondary school grades, and for maths in lower secondary grades. Although females reported music as more important and useful than males, their competence beliefs and task difficulty ratings were equivalent. Music was considered slightly less interesting for females than for males. The value of music as a subject declined significantly for upper SES students from upper primary to lower secondary schools. The greatest number of participants (40.8%) who expressed a desire to learn a musical instrument came from the lower SES category in upper primary school. This is an important result in the Australian context, indicating that this may be a positive time to recruit learners. This study provides new information regarding the relationship between motivation and desire to learn a musical instrument across school grades, gender, and socio-economic factors.

Exploring the academic and psychosocial impact of El Sistema-inspired music programs within two low socio-economic schools

We sought to understand the potential for positive non-musical outcomes for economically and socially disadvantaged primary school students who are involved in instrumental music learning programs. Two schools with students experiencing generational poverty, current or first-generation immigrant or refugee status who were running El-Sistema inspired music programs participated in the study. Ninety-two students in Years 3–6 completed audio-visual assessments of non-verbal reasoning, verbal and mathematical ability, and psychosocial well-being. Comparisons by school and program participation over a period of 12 months, indicate improved non-verbal (visuo-spatial) reasoning, verbal and mathematical skills, and psychosocial well-being for students at School 1. Findings indicate some evidence of positive outcomes for low socio-economic status and socially disadvantaged children who participate in El Sistema-inspired extra-curricular music programs. Given the substantial number of students involved in such programs worldwide, these findings suggest outcomes for disadvantaged students may be improved through music learning opportunities.

Leading the small rural school in Iceland and Australia Building leadership capacity

This study builds on a set of Australian case studies exploring the impact of Place on the work of principals and of the importance of Place in the preparation and development of principals. The project compares the ways that principals in Iceland and Australia build leadership capacity in small rural schools. Leaders of small schools in both settings face challenges because of their remoteness, such as lack of access to professional learning opportunities, professional isolation and teaching roles in addition to leadership and administrative responsibilities. Qualitative data from interviews and observations were used to construct narrative accounts of salient aspects of the principal’s work. It was evident that these schools were good schools, hardly noticed and rarely visited by their respective educational authority personnel. Their principals accommodate the changes they face, accepting the conditions they find. These schools are characterised by a culture of acceptance, where expectations for performance and behaviour are known and shared and not questioned. But is this enough? Could they be great schools or even simply better schools? In what ways? At what cost? How might these schools become great schools if principals were to develop a culture of inquiry?