Musical culture and the primary school: an investigation into parental attitudes to

Whole Class Ensemble Teaching in the English primary school and potential impacts
on children’s musical progress
Abstract
Musical cultures in primary schools are influenced by motivators which include intrinsic and
extrinsic factors. Whole Class Ensemble Teaching (WCET) as realised through provision
from Music Education Hubs (MEH) in England, is an extrinsic factor which has been widely
influential. This article explores the dynamics in play in parental engagement in music
provision, as realised through domains of musical value and progression in the context of
WCET provision. It presents research, based on data from one primary school in the
English Midlands, drawing on responses from children, parents, the WCET teacher and the
head teacher of the school. The research used semi-structured interviews and graphical
elicitation as research methodologies, to create a conceptual map of theoretical perspectives
for parental responses to WCET, and suggests that triangulating motivating influences from
parents, WCET and learners remains an emergent domain.

Keywords: musical cultures, Whole Class Ensemble Teaching (WCET), Music Education
Hubs (MEH), value, progression

Introduction
Musical cultures in schools consist of multiple inter-relating and inter-acting dynamics. The

generation of such cultures in England subsists in diverse agentic constituents. These

include musical histories of children and teachers within schools (MacDonald et al., 2002),

perceptions of National Curriculum orders (DfE, 2013) by music teachers, relationships with

musical organisations, such as Music Education Hubs (MEHs), and the influences which

diverse parental perspectives bring to bear on this aggregate field. MEHs seek to draw

together musical provision in a geographical area to create integrated music provision

(Fautley and Whittaker, 2016). In this arrangement, the Department for Education (DfE) is

often the primary funding partner, with accountability and performance monitoring structures

managed through Arts Council England (ACE). One particularly dominant paradigm evident

in the formation of musical cultures within primary schools, is whole class ensemble tuition

(WCET), previously known as “Wider Opportunities” (Henley, 2011; 53). WCET was later

developed as an entitlement for young people to learn to play a musical instrument, and to

participate in ensembles, and its ideals were articulated as “core roles” in the National Plan

for Music Education (DfE, 2011; 6). Evaluations of the implementation of these roles became

1
part of performativity measurements on MEHs, as administered through Arts Council

England (DfE, 2011).

Research reports have consistently drawn attention to the significance of parents in

continuity rates, where musical activities are described as “being perceived of value in the

wider community” (Hallam 2016; 7), but where continuity rates can be as low as 15%

(Hallam, 2016; 8). In 2016, the national average WCET continuation rate across all

government regions in the UK was 28.87% (Fautley and Whittaker, 2016), although clarity of

‘continuation routes’ is an area of concern for some hubs (Fautley et al., 2017). Research

responses from some MEHs have indicated that parental support, positive engagement by

parents, and the importance of parental choice in continuation (Fautley et al., 2017), are

significant factors in enabling continuation beyond the WCET experience for children, which

often takes the form of one term of engagement (Hallam 2016, Fautley et al., 2017). This

paper further investigates WCET formulations of music education in the primary school,

discusses its place in enriching and enhancing musical culture in schools, and explores the

parental dynamic as a motivating influence in musical learning. In the discussions which

follow, the classification of ‘parent’ and ‘parental’ represents the parental role, as fulfilled

though a dichotomy of caring arrangements. For the sake of clarity of discussion, ‘parent’ is

intended to represent consistently all these potential domestic dynamics.

Research Questions

Motivations in music education are as complex as they are numerous. WCET is no different,

as there are many stakeholders that play a part in the early stages of learning. To uncover

motivating factors for parental engagement with music education and how these are

influenced by the MEH which informs this study, this research centres its investigation

around parental conceptualisations of value of musical culture in schools. Whether music

possesses intrinsic value (music for music’s sake), or has value that is created by what

2
parents think music can do for their children, were among the questions this study sought to

address. The research questions were therefore formulated as:

Q1: What seem to be the motivating factors that might encourage parents or children to want

to continue with music education?

Q2: What values appear to be inherent within these attitudes?

Q3: What are the possible implications that these attitudes have on children’s further

progression in music education?

Literature Review

Motivations in Music Education

Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations have been generally discussed and delineated as freedom

and autonomy within contextual conditions, understood in terms of basic psychological

needs (Ryan and Deci, 2000). Hallam (2002) summarises extant research into motivational

theory. These fall into three main groupings: motivation from within the individual (intrinsic);

motivation driven by environmental factors (extrinsic); and an interaction between the two.

In intrinsic and extrinsic motivations in music, political and economic factors impact musical

opportunities. Political influences change the value society places on music education over

time (Hallam, 2002), and the increasing pressures on Primary schools in England to raise

attainment in English and Maths, means that music is increasingly being squeezed out of

schools. Intrinsic motivation is therefore largely influenced by characteristics of the

individual, including perceptions of musical identities, self-perception and self-awareness

(Hallam, 2002; Sloboda, 1991). Sichivitsa (2007) proposes extrinsic motivation as evident in

younger age groups, at earlier stages of learning, with intrinsic factors, such as self-concept

emerging only in later musical engagements. Other studies with congruent findings include

those in which the persistent musician benefited from external sources of motivation in the

initial stages of learning (Davidson, et al., 1995). Sosniak (1985) found that parental

3
encouragement through support was more important than parents’ musical skills, and a

commitment to assist a child as more motivational than any ‘high-level’ musical knowledge

which a parent may possess. This raises key questions for WCET’s engagement with

parental support in the early stages of children’s development, suggesting that triangulation

of motivating influences from the parents, WCET, and learners remains a domain to be

explicitly mapped.

Parental judgements on the relative worth, or values of educational activities, is already

known to be significant to levels of participation (Ashbourne and Andres, 1985). However,

links between parental perspectives on their children’s involvement with WCET as a conduit

for musical learning, and realised cultural practices within schools, remains an emerging

field. Whilst studies of longitudinal development over time exist in varied contexts (Andres

and Wyn, 2010), understanding the influence of cultural practices in England during

developmental stages of learning, and the part parental perspectives play in this dynamic,

demonstrates some divergence (Aust and Vine 2007; Scherger and Savage, 2010). A

coherent narrative is therefore problematic to articulate.

Value of music education

The motivations parents identify in encouraging music in the lives of their children is

evidence of how they perceive its value. Brandstrom (2000), discusses what he describes

as “optional music education” (2000; 36) centring mainly on one-to-one instrumental tuition

on a variety of instruments, as social engagement, which is impacted by context, exploring

the extent to which parents “use music education” (2000; 36). He argues that whilst not

directly determinate, parental background variables, including parental lifestyles and

professions, influence levels of musical engagement which they facilitate for their children.

Parental values therefore shape and determine contexts within which musical experiences

may occur. Reeves’ (2015) considers parental perceptions of musical value as nested within

family traditions and notions of musicality. Development of character and attainment, in

4
whatever formulation, are regarded as subsidiary to what he as describes as “natural talent”

(2015; 493). Family histories in parental perspectives of musical value, therefore focus on

instrumental proficiency as realised through models of one-to-one tuition. There is limited

evidence that musical value is described in terms of cross-disciplinary traits or social mobility

within families. In more wide-ranging discussions, Fautley (2017) discusses divergence in

rationales for the inclusion of music in educational programmes, but describes the “key

reasons” (2017;1) for music education, (within which value may subsist), as that which

evidences the sentient nature of humanity, where music itself is a “powerful force” (2017; 1).

For Regelski (2002), music can have no intrinsic value as this depends on human agency

operating on static elements. Despite their absence in the literature, descriptions of cross-

curricular benefits, and music as an enabling force for social justice, nevertheless appear as

narratives to justify musical education in the arena of public discourse. This dissonance

between concerted cultivation and natural growth (Lareau, 2003), therefore demonstrates

the importance of research in examining bridging moments between educational and family

cultures, and the extent to which these interact and influence each other.

Progression in music education

When discussed in the context of music education, progression has been defined and

interpreted in various modalities. In relation to WCET, Fautley, Kinsella and Whittaker have

distinguished between progress and progression and have defined progression as:

. . .to go from WCET to a school band (etc.), then to an area band, then a music
centre band, and so on. In other words to make progress… and then avail
oneself of progression routes available via the local hub. (2017; 3)

Music education professionals do not consistently articulate descriptions of progress and

progression in this distinct manner, however, and the research from which this statement is

drawn included interviews with 24 MEH leaders who contributed more organic definitions.

5
This is a problem because definitions may only be understood when used consistently by all

stakeholders, including schools and parents.

In formal educational settings progression has been defined by the percentage uptake of

music at Key Stage 4 (14 – 16 year olds in secondary schools) (Hallam et al., 2017).

Alternative conceptualisations of progression routes that are not recognised within either a

school setting, or the WCET progression route, also exist. Work initiated by the charities

Awards for Young Musicians, The Musicians Benevolent Fund and Youth Music (MPR,

2012), describe individual progression journeys as more significant than only well-trodden

paths, (such as graded exams), describing complex ingredients that create environments for

progression. The Returning our ambition for musical learning report (MC, 2019), considers

progression as formulated on axes of acquisition, application and self-actualisation, resulting

in a complex and highly individualised map, unique to each learner. This model depends on

the validity of its axes for its reliability and formulating progression as acquisition of

knowledge is problematic for music, where knowledge can be understood in multiple

dimensions. A sample of some of the discussions around musical dimensions of knowledge

reveals: knowledge as active process (Paynter, 1992), knowledge as personal encounter

(Swanwick, 1994), conceptual knowledge in which different discourses are enabled to speak

to each other (McPhail, 2012) or as knowledge for musical meaning (Philpott, 2017). Further

multiple formulations also exist, which are beyond the scope of this paper to explore.

Therefore, although some discussions of musical progress exist in policy documentation and

there have been some studies considering musical instrumental learning and motivation for

the individual (Taylor, 2018), consideration of the dynamics of progress as conceptualised

for WCET remains an area for discussion and development, hence the need for this paper.

Participants and ethical considerations

6
In seeking to understand the culture of WCET and to explore research questions considering

musical value, progression and continuing in music education, this research gathered data

from one primary school. The school was selected as a representative primary school that

already participated in WCET projects provided by a music service in the English Midlands,

and was engaged with music education and therefore receptive to the concept of further

research into this formulation of music education. The school is a larger than average

primary school with two thirds of the children from white British backgrounds, with the

remaining third coming from mixed ethnic minority groups. The number of pupils who are

eligible for free school meals is above average and there is also an above average

percentage of children with Special Educational Needs. There are a disproportionate number

of learners who start and leave the school other than at commencement and conclusion of

the academic year. The school is situated on the outskirts of a city centre housing estate, the

majority of which consists of social housing. All children are first generation musicians, which

in this study is defined as children who do not come from families where there is a history of

playing a musical instrument. A sample of seven children (year 4, 8 – 9 year olds) and four

parents constituted the participant group from the WCET class, the head teacher (HT), and

WCET teacher for the music service (WT) engaged with the research via semi-structured

interviews.

In order to ensure that research was conducted in an ethical manner, BERA (2011) ethical

guidelines were adopted and informed consent was sought from all participants before the

research began. The school head teacher approved the research in writing for all proposed

participants, before individual permissions were also sought. Parent and WCET teacher

interviewees’ participated on a voluntary basis and participants were able to withdraw at any

time. All children in the WCET class of the chosen school were asked to take part in the

research activity. In asking all the children to participate a more informal approach that can

be perceived as fun and not stressful was engendered, rather than selecting individuals and

7
removing them from music lessons, potentially leaving remaining children to feel excluded or

under-valued. By gathering data from some of the parents of these children, data

triangulation was also possible. Anonymity of the school was also preserved by removing

traceable data from results findings and all names in this article are pseudonyms.

Methodology

This study was structured as an empirical enquiry within localised boundaries of space and

time (Bassey, 1999). It followed an interpretivist case study approach, enabling data

emersion in a case study advocate positionality (Stake, 1995). Such a theoretical stance

acknowledged research locus (Thomas, 2017), but enabled generalisability only within the

confines of the study itself (Denscombe, 2010). The case study was structured as a

singularity, incorporating viewpoints of multiple stakeholders to create a holistic view of a

unique case (Yin, 2009).

The research project used semi-structured interviews (Pole and Lampard 2002; Kvale, 1996)

for adult participants and graphical elicitation (Rouse, 2013; Wall et al., 2012) for child data.

Interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic coding (Robson, 2011), facilitated

through a role-order matrix, enabling cross-data comparisons amongst participant data.

Graphical elicitation was selected to enable child conceptualisations to emerge which the

young participants may not otherwise have been able to articulate (Rouse, 2013). It assisted

in reducing problems caused by power dynamics in child/researcher interactions, allowing

greater integrity of data (Wall et al., 2012). Such an approach also facilitated themes of

intrinsic/extrinsic motivating agents, and musical value as highlighted in the literature, to

become evident, if present. Graphical elicitations were compared in a congruent

comparative manner as semi-structured interviews, thereby facilitating triangulation of data

(Newby, 2010).

8
Assimilating theoretical frameworks, research questions and perspectives on motivations,

progression and value, required research interactions to enable overt analysis and

development. In order to facilitate this, a conceptual framework which sought to capture

dynamics between the interplay of parental attitudes to WCET and implications this had for

children’s progression was therefore created. This representation framed the research

activity which formed the core of the project and is given in Figure 1:

[Figure 1: Conceptual Framework of parental attitudes to WCET given in separate TIFF file]

Data and discussion

Following parental interviews, some uncertainty amongst these participants became evident,

in relation to questions which considered the dynamics of musical interactions. (P1’s closing

comment “I hope that’s alright?” is one example). Some interview questions were therefore

modified within the interview schedule for clarity. The use of “values” also raised some

difficulties, in which semantic understandings became obscured in the interview process.

The head teacher identified this, describing the term as “a very culturally leading word”.

Questions relating to values were therefore re-framed into aspirational language, asking

parents what they “hoped for” in relation to their children’s education.

Children from a WCET class were asked to draw a picture of how they saw themselves in

the future in relation to music, and to include anything linked to their WCET learning. These

drawings were analysed through inductive analysis (Wall, 2014) and this formed the data set

collected from the children (see figure 2: Example of graphical elicitation). The whole class

were learning the same instrument, chosen for them by the head teacher of the school. (This

is the case in a large percentage of WCET and first access music programmes where

9
children are not consulted on instrumental choice (Hallam, 2002)). Questions were then

applied to each of the drawings with a colour-coded system:

 What have they drawn?

 Is there any representation of music in the drawing?

 What is the location? Where are they in the drawing? (i.e. on stage, in a car)

 Is there an indication of their age in the drawing?

 How (if at all) have they interpreted the ‘future’?

 Are there any links to now in the drawing? (i.e. How are they building on what they

might have learnt in a WCET session?)

[Figure 2: Example of graphical elicitation given in separate TIFF file]

Using an interpretive approach, interview data were also analysed using constant

comparative coding. These constructs were initially collated in table form. A small extract of

research data quotations which indicates the emergent theme of a child-led paradigm is

shown in Figure 3:

10
Themes:

Head WCET Parent Parent 2 Parent 3 Parent 4 Parent 5

teacher teacher 1 (P2) (P3) (P4)
(P5)
(HT) (WT)
(P1)

Progression “It has to No data “I think “He [the “Mary [Child [When asked if
in Music be music on this James child] always came she would
education is educatio theme. will wants to wanted downstai have actively
child led n that is take it do so a guitar” rs and sought out
according to right for further that’s showed music lessons
parental the as he’s why we mum for her child,
perspectives children really not going somethin parent said:] “If
in research and it into it… to stop g he’d it was
data has to be if anything” taught something she
one that they’re himself]: wanted to do”
Italics indicate
involves enjoyin “I think
child-led
parents.” g it, it’s
emphases
why not somethin “There’s no
carry g he point in trying
on” likes to to force them
do while to do it… if
he’s here they don’t want
(at to, if they’re
school) not interested”
because
it’s
somethin
g he’s
just
doing”

Figure 3: Example of participant coding referenced against themes

Themes were then mapped in a network analysis (Thomas, 2017), applying hierarchical

notions to them and identifying where one theme linked or arose as a result of another:

[See Figure 4: Network analysis of themes arising from interview data in separate TIFF file]

11
This intertwining sub-branching of overarching and associated themes were related back to

research questions, rather than the questions leading to final conclusions.

The value of music: enjoyment vs achievement

What emerged from parent interview data was the value parents placed on their children’s

enjoyment in music. When parents were asked what would encourage them to think about

their child continuing with music, P1 commented, “If he is enjoying it then why not carry on?”

and P4 “the fact that he enjoys it so much”. Across the parent interview data recurring words

such as love, happy and enjoyment were consistently part of parent descriptions of musical

experience of their children. Hallam (2002) discusses the interplay between intrinsic

motivation and personal characteristics in the early stages of positive emotional responses

to music, and identifies associations and impacts for music-making. Because the parents in

this study witnessed a positive emotional response from their children’s involvement with

music, parents encouraged their children to continue with musical engagement through

WCET. Other studies have also demonstrated the significance of parental influence as a

motivating factor in the initial stages of musical learning (Sichivitsa, 2007). The present study

also indicates that parents and children can influence each other’s attitudes to music.

Because children were perceived to be enjoying music, parents interviewed supported their

child’s music making: “showing an interest….listening to them playing with others… because

it shows that I’m interested and not just - get on with it!” (P1); “I always try and make sure

he’s got his instrument’ (P4). Parents do not consider isolated actions such as iterating the

need for practice and reminding children to bring instruments, as a necessary support to

develop musical learning. Behaviours where parents encourage their children to engage in

practice, therefore accompany musical activity (as parents listen to their children’s music-

making, for example). This is congruent with studies which identify parental encouragement

in response to children’s musical realisations as more important than parental musical skills

12
per se; where a commitment to assist a child may be more motivational than, for example,

possessing a high level of musical knowledge (Davidson, et al., 1996).

Parent data also contains consistent references to performing music, and how parental

views of music education at school changed. P3 spoke about how beautiful the children

sound “when they all play together” and P4 commented on how visible the progress they had

made was, when seeing the young people’s performances spread out over a period of time:

“they seem to have really improved from when they did a morning assembly a while ago and

then they did one recently”. All parents interviewed also mentioned the recent competition

that the children had performed in. Other WCET research also mentions the power of

performances, summarising their role in engaging parents, and the impact of performance

on children’s progress in instrumental learning (Hallam, 2016).

In examining future musical projections of themselves, drawings the children produced

illustrated progression through continued engagement with music. What is more difficult to

determine is the link between activities the children drew, and their experiences as part of

WCET. The progression they were depicting was not congruent with definitions outlined in

the WCET report cited above (Fautley et al., 2017). Only one child in the class depicted

themselves playing the same instrument that they were learning in WCET lessons, in

contrast to the progression model suggested by Fautley et al. (2017). For the children in this

research, progression was more self-led: they were clear about the music they wanted to

play, the music to which they wanted to listen, and their future musical activities. For

drawings analysed in detail, children also supplied a commentary. Andrew shared: “I’ve

always wanted to play the piano…learning brass might make me better at the piano” and Lily

said, “I’ve always liked singing and I’ve played the guitar at home all the time…playing brass

now has helped because in the future I’d like to be a (music) teacher”. So whilst links to

progression on the same instrument were absent, all children depicted an ongoing

engagement with music. This suggests that WCET engagement established music as part of

13
the children’s lives, as all included it in their future graphical projection. The children’s

varying drawings indicate the complex nature of progression in its various manifestations.

These widely conceived and visualised natures of musical progression make it problematic

to predict how individuals will develop (Lamont, 2011). This is also echoed in other recent

research (Pitts, 2017), which suggests that raising awareness of progression pathways, and

assisting young people in understanding links between formative music-making is critical to

future musical engagement.

Young children begin to learn to play a musical instrument for a variety of reasons – and

these may not be autonomous choices (Hallam, 2002). The children in this case study

school learned to play through WCET because their school decided to prioritise it, by both

funding the project and allowing the class and school teacher time to engage. However,

analysis of visual data, questions whether children self-selecting their own instrument for

WCET would mean they would engage with music-making for longer (Taylor, 2018). Whilst

there is limited research into this domain, these drawings would suggest that children are

clear about the instrument that they want to learn. After having been introduced to the

concept of learning a musical instrument through WCET, children could be given more

choice about their next steps and this in turn may have a positive effect on rates of

progression.

Parental data also suggested emphasis on musical value as realised in life outcomes. These

were articulated in phrases such as working as a team, building confidence, and notions of

improving educational outcomes across disciplines. P3 stated: “I’m just hoping they will

achieve something in life, not like me and their dad…the head teacher said, and our next

door neighbour, that once you play music it helps you find a job in life. I didn’t know if that

was true at first”. This parent had therefore developed a new value of music education

through WCET. Although some have argued that there is little research indicating that

parents encourage their child to engage in music education because of the traits it may

14
enable in their child (Reeves, 2015), this study indicates that once children have engaged in

music via WCET, parents placed increased value on the place of music education. All

parents interviewed stated that they loved to listen to music and did so as a family. The

children drew pictures involving listening to music on car radios and in their bedrooms. This

would appear to indicate an overlap between school music and musical experience in family

life. Music is therefore valued at these moments of school and home crossover, when

musical enjoyment and musical development are combined. This was also evident in the

interview with the head teacher: “I wanted to have a project that would have longevity and

would give the children a sense of succeeding and achieving … I believe passionately in the

power of music to do that”. The motivation for including music in school life was therefore

about a change of culture: the musical culture of a school. Music was therefore perceived as

a vehicle for cultural change, within which longevity and school engagement were critical

constituents for children’s progress. It was this potential for cultural change that musical

education enables, that the head teacher wished to be included in parental engagements.

Although the WCET teacher’s (WT) training as a music educator and musician was a

different educational profile from the head teacher of the school in this study (HT did not

continue with musical activity beyond her own primary school experience), both held

corresponding views on the centrality of musical interactions, considering progression to be

evident when schools make music an integral part of school life. WT spoke about research

into music impinging on other aspects of education and attainment, suggesting that this

should be highlighted to schools, noting “if head teachers can accept this, then they would

go for it definitely”. There is thus an intertwining of aspirations from WT and HT to create a

school culture where music is embedded and forms a core of aspirational values, just as

parental values inform and shape family priorities. How culture is understood within a

school, and how musical values are identified, can become intertwined in the process of

musical planning within a whole-school framework. HT and WT contributions to research

interviews support the perspective that music justifies its place within a school by

15
demonstrating its cultural value. Teaching content, and the nature of musical experience is

therefore interpreted through ends beyond itself (Bowman, 2014). Where WCET

programmes are individualised and offer musical choices to children, there is potential for

greater musical impact within school contexts, as boundaries on how culture is understood

are reconceived.

Musical opportunity and school location

Although children described musical impacts in their lives as including radio and YouTube

consumption, without the school’s participation in WCET, parents commented that they

would not have selected musical activities for their children outside of their school context.

In this scenario, WCET genuinely constitutes “first access”, which is an additional synonym

which appears in policy and research literature discussing WCET (Fautley et al., 2017).

Parental interview responses included: “No I wouldn’t have given it a second thought, a

musical instrument” (P1) and ‘‘it’s not something we’d really thought about until he started

doing it” (P4). The socio-economic background of the school and its associated families, the

cultural place of music within the lives of these families and the fact that music was only

introduced to children via WCET in a musically pro-active school, highlights that

multitudinous strands of musical engagement exist, each of these requires careful alignment

to create a facilitating environment for first time experiences in music education, and, in turn,

progression. Without WCET, therefore, musical engagement may remain outside the

cultural experience of children in schools. The ‘all’ children is important here, as currently

MEHs are being challenged with the activity of making music education more inclusive and

accessible for disadvantaged pupils (Gibb, 2017). This may be a problematic aspiration

when hubs are engaging with communities where music is not part of school culture and the

schools are also not engaged with musical provision on offer through MEHs.

HT and WT when asked about what contributes to children progressing with learning

musical instruments, both said that commitment from the school was vital, in particular ‘buy-

16
in’ from the head teacher. Head teacher engagement has long been identified as a critical

motivator to musical learning in the school environment. Ofsted charged hubs with the task

of engaging in “challenging conversations” (Ofsted, 2013; 14) with schools, as one means to

facilitate progression more effectively for all learners. There remains a continuing challenge

with this dialogue, as schools do not have a budget that is specifically ring-fenced for music

education spending, nor are they compelled to engage with the MEH offer. MEHs, and

therefore children, are reliant on head teachers who value music in the curriculum, (perhaps

either intrinsically, or through motivation by what it offers for school improvement), deciding

to prioritise their budgets and staffing time to ensure that music, and specifically WCET, is

offered in their school. This can result in an ad hoc approach to musical education, in which

access and equality for all is not guaranteed. As WT stated in the research study: “I actually

started in that class by accident…I got it by chance, by accident really”. Many adults reflect

on missed opportunities as a child, or recall that they had music education only by chance,

although opportunity alone may not be enough to enable significant metamorphosis in

musical outcomes (Lamont, 2011). Longer-term musical engagement is therefore facilitated

through enriched interactions with stakeholders both from within, and outside of schools

working together, and thereby enabling a wide variety of cultural experiences for children.

Conclusions

Analysis of data in this study reveals a complex set of philosophical values evident in the

practices of those involved in the music education of children. As well as raising questions

concerning the potential ad hoc nature of opportunities within current local and national

manifestations of music education, WCET also emerged as a chosen medium for specific

‘culture changing’ purposes within the case study school. This may be a more widespread

pattern, but it is not possible to draw this conclusion from research data and further

investigation of culture change as facilitated through WCET is therefore required. Evidence

of improvement in self-confidence and achievement gave the head teacher a reason to value

WCET and invest in it on a long-term basis, consequently allowing musical progression to

17
occur. This sense of value attached to musical enactions conforms to arguments that all

forms of music are considered as valuable relative to their function in life (Regelski, 2002).

However, perhaps more significantly, in the case of parents, data from this study also

suggested that music would not previously have been a consideration for this demographic,

and that value therefore emerged at a later stage, either by parents witnessing musical

enjoyment or through activity at home, or musical performance in the lives of their children.

Motivation in the early stages of learning is therefore significantly influenced by levels of

parental support, and there would appear to be a role for music hubs to discuss with parents

how they can further enable such interactions for musical progression. One of the most

significant findings from this research project was the importance of child agency in

articulating instrumental selection, and the impact of this on musical development. This

connects to ‘school’ music as experienced by children, where it has the potential to fulfil an

institutional function (Regelski, 2002). Other recent research has also discussed the

significance of musical agency in breaking down barriers and increasing school engagement

for young people (Kinsella, et al., 2019). Child participant graphical elicitations revealed

engagements with music in multitudinous interactions: as listeners, performers and

educators, each retaining original ideas and identity characteristics. This study therefore

concludes that it is relevant to consider how music could become part of home and school

life in order to facilitate what is essentially ‘first access’ without boundaries. Raising

awareness of progression-pathways with children and parents, and establishing links

between formative music-making and future interactions (Pitts, 2017), could lead to more

meaningful long-term engagements in musical activity in schools, and underpin musical

development in the lives of young people, and in the experiences of their families.

References

18
Andres, L. and Wyn, J. (2010). The Making of a Generation: the children of the ‘70s in
adulthood. Toronto: Toronto University Press.

Aust, R. A. and Vine, L. (2007). Taking Part: The National Survey of Culture, Leisure and
Sport: Annual Report 2005/2006. London: Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Ashbourne, D. and Andres, L. (2015). Athletics, Music, Languages, and Leadership: How
parents influence the extracurricular activities of their children. Canadian Journal of
Education, 38 (2), pp. 3-34.

Bassey, M. (1999). Case study research in educational settings. Buckingham: Open

University Press.

BERA (2011). Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research. London: BERA.

Boal-Palheiros, G. M. and Hargreaves, D. J. (2001). ‘Listening to music at home and at

school. British Journal of Music Education, 18 (2), pp. 103–18.

Brandstrom, S. (2000). For whom is music education intended? Bulletin Of The Council For
Research In Music Education. 147, pp. 36-39.

Bowman, W. (2014). The Ethical Significance of Music Making. Retrieved from:

https://jfin107.wordpress.com/scholarly-paper-the-ethical-significance-of-music-making-
bywayne-bowman/. Accessed on: 07/08/18.

Denscombe, M. (2010). The Good Research Guide for small scale social research projects
(4th edition). Berkshire: Open University Press.

Davidson, J.W., Sloboda, J.A. and Howe, M.J.A. (1996). The Role of Parents and Teachers
in the Success and Failure of Instrumental Learners. Bulletin of the Council for Research in
Music Education, (127), pp. 40-44.

Department for Education (2011). The Importance of Music: A National Plan for Music
Education. London: Crown Copyright.

Department for Education (2013). Music Programmes of Study: Key Stage 3. London:
Crown Copyright.

Fautley, M. and Whittaker, A. (2016). Key Data on Music Education Hubs 2016.
Birmingham: Birmingham City University.

Fautley, M. (2017). Music education: Why bother? British Journal of Music Education, 34 (1),
pp. 1-3.

Fautley, M., Kinsella, V., and Whittaker, A. (2017). Whole Class Ensemble Teaching
Research Report. Birmingham: Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences, Birmingham
City University.

Gibb, N. (2017). Letter to Arts Council following Music Hubs Review. London: Department
for Education.

Hallam, S. (2002). Musical Motivation: Towards a model synthesising the research. Music
Education Research, 4 (2), pp. 225-244.

19
Hallam, S. (2016). Whole Class Ensemble Teaching (WCET) Final Report. London: UCL
Institute of Education and Music Mark – the UK Association for Music Education.

Hallam, S., Creech, A., and McQueen, H. (2017). Can the adoption of informal approaches
to learning music in school music lessons promote musical progression?, British Journal of
Music Education, 34 (2), pp. 127.

Henley, D. (2011). Music Education in England. London: Department for Culture, Media
and Sport.
Kinsella, V., Fautley, M. and Whittaker, A. (2019). Exchanging Notes Research Report.
Birmingham: Birmingham City University.
Kvale, S. (1996). Interviews: An Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing. Thousand
Oaks: Sage.
Lamont, A., Hargreaves, D. J., Marshall, N. A., and Tarrant, M. (2003). Young people's
music in and out of school. British Journal of Music Education, 20 (3), pp. 229–241.

Lamont, A. (2011). The beat goes on: music education, identity and lifelong learning. Music
Education Research, 13 (4), pp. 369-388.

Lareau, A. (2003). Unequal Childhoods: class, race and family life. Berkeley: University of
California Press.
MacDonald, A. R., Hargreaves, D.J. and Miell, D. (2002). Musical Identities. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.

McPhail, G. (2012). From singular to overcrowded region: Curriculum change in senior

secondary school music in New Zealand. British Journal of Music Education 29 (1), pp. 43 –
57.

Music Commission (2019). Retuning our ambition for music learning. London: ABRSM and
ACE.
Musical Progressions Roundtable (2012). Retrieved from: http://www.musical-
progressions.org/. Accessed on 04/02/18.

Newby, P. (2010). Research Methods for Education. London: Pearson.

Ofsted (2013). Music in schools: what hubs must do. London: Crown Copyright.
Payner, J. (1992). Sound and Structure. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Philpott, C. (2017). Assessment, musical meaning and the music classroom. Unpublished
paper presentation at the sixth International Symposium on Assessment in Music Education:
Birmingham City University, UK.
Pitts, S. (2017). What is music education for? Understanding and fostering routes into
lifelong musical engagement. Music Education Research, 19 (2), pp.160-168.

Pole, C. and Lampard, R. (2002). Practical Social Investigation: Qualitative and Quantitative
Methods in Social Research. Harlow: Prentice Hall.

Reeves, A. (2015). Music’s a Family Thing’: cultural socialisation and parental transference.
Cultural Sociology, 9 (4), pp. 493-514.

20
Regelski, T.A. (2002). Musical Values and the Value of Music Education. Philosophy of
Music Education Review, 10 (1), pp. 49-55.

Robson, C. (2011). Real World Research (3rd edition). West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons.

Rouse, L. (2013). A Change of View: using visual methods to explore experience in

qualitative research. Retrieved from: http://blog.efpsa.org/2013/05/15/a-change-of-view-
using-visual-methods-to-explore-experience-in-qualitative-research/. Accessed on: 25/01/18.

Ryan, R. M. and Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: classic definitions
and new directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25 (1), pp. 54 – 67.

Scherger, S. and Savage, M. (2010). Cultural Transmission, Educational Attainment and

Social Mobility. The Sociological review, 58 (3), pp. 406-428.

Sichivitsa, V.O. (2007). The influences of parents, teachers, peers and other factors on
students' motivation in music. Research Studies in Music Education, 29 (1), pp. 55-68.

Sloboda, J. A. (1991). Music Structure and Emotional Response: Some Empirical Findings.
Psychology of Music, 19 (2), pp. 110 – 120.

Sosniak, L. A. (1985). Learning to be a concert pianist. In B.S. Bloom (ed), Developing

talent in young people. New York: Ballentine.

Stake, R.E. (1995). The Art of Case Study Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Swanwick, K. (1994). Musical Knowledge: intuition, analysis and music education. London:
Routledge.

Taylor, N. (2018). The Best Way to Learn to Play a Musical Instrument: who, what and why.
Retrieved from: http://www.psychreg.org/learn-musical-instrument/. Accessed on: 02/02/18.

Thomas, G. (2017). How to do your research project: a guide for students. (3rd edition).
London: Sage.

Wall, K., Hall, E., and Woolner, P. (2012). Visual methodology: previously, now and in the
future. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 35 (3), pp. 223-226.

Wall, K. (2014). How to do Visual Data. Retrieved from:

https://www.academia.edu/7616324/How_to_do_visual_methods. Accessed on: 10/06/18.

Yin, R.K. (2009). Case study research: design and methods. (4th edition). Thousand Oaks:
Sage.

21
22
23