Pupils’ perceptions of informal learning in school music lessons

Abstract

Music education has faced considerable challenges in trying to bridge the gap between music in young people's lives and that taking place in the classroom. The 'Musical Futures' initiative aimed to devise new and imaginative ways of engaging young people, aged 11-19, in music activities through a process of informal learning based initially on popular music. This research aimed to explore pupils' perceptions of the impact of adopting the Musical Futures approach on students' learning and attainment. 671 students completed a questionnaire and 171 participated in focus group interviews to establish their perceptions of informal learning. The findings showed that the adoption of the Musical Futures approach enhanced student interest and confidence and increased their musical skills. Students appreciated the control that they had over their learning but some raised issues about working in groups and the level of support that teachers were able to offer.

The effect of participation in a popular band program on students’ musical and extra-musical outcomes in Korea

“…Throughout the interview process, we found that students were enthusiastic about learning new instruments that they previously had little opportunity to play in their private lives or in schools; this seemed to positively influence students’ interest in popular band music. This finding supports previous studies that similarly determined that students’ actual experiences with new, popular music instruments seem to encourage them to learn and have more positive interest toward music (Hallam et al, 2017, 2018).…”

Perfiles de aprendizaje musical formal e informal en educación superior

“…Los resultados de esta investigación, en relación con la motivación y aplicación de estrategias de aprendizaje formal e informal, tanto dentro como fuera de la escuela, sugieren notorias diferencias entre estudiantes en función de sus experiencias formativas y musicales. Estos resultados son un reflejo de las diferencias que han caracterizado la formación de estudiantes dentro de las instituciones de educación superior, en comparación con aquellos formados en contextos de aprendizaje informal, mostrando cómo el alumnado que ha recibido entrenamiento musical formal, particularmente dentro de la tradición clásica, realiza con mucha menor frecuencia actividades de improvisación (Sarath, et al, 2016;Vitale, 2011), tocar de oído (Shifres y Holguín-Tovar, 2015;Varvarigou, 2017), y tocar en grupo, dado que se privilegia el aprendizaje individual bajo el esquema de maestro-estudiante (Hallam, 2018;Holguín-Tovar y Martínez, 2017).…”

Early Socialization and Opinions of Musicianship Among Preservice Music Teachers

“…This is all evidence that a large number of young people are making music but not participating in school programs. Research evidence indicates these people likely make music in different ways and use different skills than do musicians in schools (Green, 2017; Hallam et al, 2018; Lebler, 2008). Teacher preparation programs should identify and admit more of these young musicians who already possess different musicianship skills and have experience making music independently of the school music program so that diverse populations of students might interact and learn from one another.…”

“…Making music at any level, across specializations, and with comprehensive competence remains a challenge and, at least according to NASM accreditation criteria, a desirable outcome for all college music students. Researchers have shown that musicians from popular music backgrounds typically learn music in ways that differ from classical musicians, use a different set of skills, and that these differences have significant implications for school pedagogy and the realization of calls for reform in music teacher education (Green, 2017; Hallam et al, 2018; Lebler, 2008).…”