Musical participation and school diversity: an ethnography of six secondary schools

Abstract

Previous research has explored children’s musical participation in relation to motivation, instrumental lessons, extracurricular activities and the historically low uptake of GCSE and A Level music.
This ethnographic study set out to investigate pupils’ musical participation in different school settings, the musical culture within these schools and the place of music in children’s everyday lives, including the wider contexts of home and school. Observations, questionnaires, aural and photo elicitation and focus group interviews were conducted with pupils, parents and teachers and revealed more differences than similarities in four main areas. The results are explored through the themes of teaching and learning, attitudes towards music, continuation of music education and the ‘triad’ of home, school and child.
Schools attracting pupils from more middle-class backgrounds had more established musical cultures compared to those with an intake from economically deprived areas. This was apparent through the resources available to the music departments, the range of instrumental lessons on offer, the number of pupils learning an instrument, the amount of extracurricular provision present and the attitudes of pupils, parents and teachers. The findings from this study also showed that the views children experienced at home, whether positive or negative, were strongly influential.
The results of this study showed the imbalance in provision between school type and socio-economic background and the importance of positive school-parent relationships in pupil engagement and have wider implications for schools and their pupils.