Developing child-centred methods to better understand the impacts of music tuition: an exploration of In Harmony, Opera North

This thesis examines the impacts that arise from participation in the music education programme In Harmony, Opera North (IHON). The value of music education is often described in terms of the impacts that music has on personal, social, and academic development. Such impacts may apply to IHON, which delivers free instrumental and vocal tuition to children in areas of deprivation in Leeds. However, IHON’s specific contribution to extra-musical impacts cannot be assumed based on existing research from different contexts or the popularity of these narratives. Furthermore, engaging with the perspectives of children participating in IHON is essential to understand the programme’s impacts. This research therefore aims to understand how IHON specifically contributes to extra-musical impacts based on the perspectives of the children involved.

The research consists of three studies examining IHON’s potential impact on children’s (aged 7-11 years) emotional, social, and academic experiences. The emotions study collaboratively developed a questionnaire with focus group participants which explored emotional experiences and was completed by 51 participants. The social study devised a visual social mapping method which was carried out with 31 participants. The academic study explored academic and musical self-efficacy beliefs through questionnaires interviews which were completed by seven participants.

Findings suggest a diversity of impacts arising from participation in IHON as discussed in relation to key themes: 1) the amount and type of contact that IHON offers; 2) the unique and individual experience of IHON; 3) IHON’s difference to and isolation from other aspects of schooling and life; and 4) the interconnected and multidirectional nature of IHON’s impacts. On this basis a model of factors determining IHON’s impacts is proposed. Findings also explore the efficacy of the new methods developed throughout the research highlighting the merits and challenges associated with this form of child-centred research.