The Music Relationships of Children Experiencing Homelessness
abstract: Over a million children who attend American public schools experience homelessness every year. This study investigates the musical lives of children experiencing homelessness through the lens of the ecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Children encounter music in a variety of...
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2019
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ndltd-asu.edu-item-557042020-01-15T03:01:17Z The Music Relationships of Children Experiencing Homelessness abstract: Over a million children who attend American public schools experience homelessness every year. This study investigates the musical lives of children experiencing homelessness through the lens of the ecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Children encounter music in a variety of ways and develop their own lexicon of meaning that depicts the relationships they have in, through, and around music. Relationship connections in this study were depicted through a system of relationship networks (Neal & Neal, 2013). In this study I present and analyze the cases of nine participants who attended an after-school care program at a homeless shelter for families in the southwestern United States. Participants were 8 to 12 years old and represented diverse ethnicities and genders. Data were gathered over a period of two to eight months, depending on participant, via interviews, music and art making, and observations. Research questions in this study included: What are the relationships, as experienced in, through, and around music, in the lives of children experiencing homelessness; and, What do music experiences tell us about the lives of children experiencing homelessness? Some children experienced fractured music relationships and could not continue to engage with music in comparison to their lives before homelessness. Some children continued to make music regularly before and during their shelter stay. A few children discovered new connections through music interactions at the shelter and hoped to engage with music in new ways in their new homes. Multiple children faced barriers to music making in their respective school music programs. Children preferred to engage in music consistent with current popular culture, accessed through the radio, smart phone, and computer. Use of hands-on activities that fostered active engagement engendered the most participation and connection to music. Recommendations include examination of current procedures and practices to ensure alignment with the McKinney-Vento Homeless Act federal mandate, development of a supportive environment to foster social and emotional growth, facilitating communication with parents, and the inclusion of music from the child’s background in the classroom repertoire. Performance and interactive music opportunities can mitigate the effects of homelessness and restore a sense of dignity, relationship, and autonomy. All stakeholders in the wellbeing of children should include conversations about student experience of homelessness in current dialogue on educational policy and practice. Dissertation/Thesis Box Mitchell, Corrie (Author) Stauffer, Sandra L (Advisor) Tobias, Evan (Committee member) Schmidt, Margaret (Committee member) Arizona State University (Publisher) Music education Education Psychology Bronfenbrenner children education homeless music poverty eng 368 pages Doctoral Dissertation Music Education 2019 Doctoral Dissertation http://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.55704 http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ 2019 |
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English |
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Doctoral Thesis |
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Music education Education Psychology Bronfenbrenner children education homeless music poverty |
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Music education Education Psychology Bronfenbrenner children education homeless music poverty The Music Relationships of Children Experiencing Homelessness |
description |
abstract: Over a million children who attend American public schools experience homelessness every year. This study investigates the musical lives of children experiencing homelessness through the lens of the ecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Children encounter music in a variety of ways and develop their own lexicon of meaning that depicts the relationships they have in, through, and around music. Relationship connections in this study were depicted through a system of relationship networks (Neal & Neal, 2013).
In this study I present and analyze the cases of nine participants who attended an after-school care program at a homeless shelter for families in the southwestern United States. Participants were 8 to 12 years old and represented diverse ethnicities and genders. Data were gathered over a period of two to eight months, depending on participant, via interviews, music and art making, and observations. Research questions in this study included: What are the relationships, as experienced in, through, and around music, in the lives of children experiencing homelessness; and, What do music experiences tell us about the lives of children experiencing homelessness?
Some children experienced fractured music relationships and could not continue to engage with music in comparison to their lives before homelessness. Some children continued to make music regularly before and during their shelter stay. A few children discovered new connections through music interactions at the shelter and hoped to engage with music in new ways in their new homes. Multiple children faced barriers to music making in their respective school music programs. Children preferred to engage in music consistent with current popular culture, accessed through the radio, smart phone, and computer. Use of hands-on activities that fostered active engagement engendered the most participation and connection to music.
Recommendations include examination of current procedures and practices to ensure alignment with the McKinney-Vento Homeless Act federal mandate, development of a supportive environment to foster social and emotional growth, facilitating communication with parents, and the inclusion of music from the child’s background in the classroom repertoire. Performance and interactive music opportunities can mitigate the effects of homelessness and restore a sense of dignity, relationship, and autonomy. All stakeholders in the wellbeing of children should include conversations about student experience of homelessness in current dialogue on educational policy and practice. === Dissertation/Thesis === Doctoral Dissertation Music Education 2019 |
author2 |
Box Mitchell, Corrie (Author) |
author_facet |
Box Mitchell, Corrie (Author) |
title |
The Music Relationships of Children Experiencing Homelessness |
title_short |
The Music Relationships of Children Experiencing Homelessness |
title_full |
The Music Relationships of Children Experiencing Homelessness |
title_fullStr |
The Music Relationships of Children Experiencing Homelessness |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Music Relationships of Children Experiencing Homelessness |
title_sort |
music relationships of children experiencing homelessness |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.55704 |
_version_ |
1719308562982764544 |