Discussing a methodology for researching the long-term impact of music education: Drawing on learners’ memories and self-accounts

Abstract

In this article, based on a longitudinal study that the author conducted in a primary school in Japan, a methodology for assessing the long-term impact of music education is discussed. With the intention of understanding the meaning of primary music education from the perspectives of the learners, retrospective data were collected from former primary school students who became university students. Methodological possibilities are discussed in the light of nine themes, including the use of retrospective data and video recordings, focus group interviews, the involvement of teachers, subjectivity, and the view of narrative understanding. While most impact case studies pay little attention to how student learning actually takes place, the proposed methodology in this article emphasizes the importance of qualitative understanding in the initial stages as well as underscoring learners’ retrospective valuations of their own learning experiences.

Investigating the Roles of Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Music Education: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Payne et al (2019) emphasize structured assessment. However, as Matsunobu (2023) notes, the danger is that a too rigid structure can sometimes sideline the essence of musical creativity. There's a balance needed between a systematic approach and fostering an organic, creative learning process, which may not have been deeply explored in this study.…”

The consumption and reggaeton´s language under debate among adolescents

“…The nature of the object of study invites us to propose a qualitative research design where the discourse and the perception of the protagonists acquires the main interest, like other studies carried out (Escobar-Fuentes & Montalbán-Peregrín, 2021; Díez-Gutiérrez, 2021). Among the different qualitative research techniques that guarantee this premise, we have chosen to use focus groups (Matsunobu, 2022). We agree that it is an ideal research method to deep on perception of music.…”