Musical Futures and Irish primary schools: an investigation into the impact of informal learning and non-formal teaching on music education

ABSTRACT

Musical Futures is an approach to music education grounded in the principles of informal learning. Research has shown that Musical Futures has profoundly impacted teaching and learning in music, pupil engagement and educational strategies for music (Green, Lucy. 2002. How Popular Musicians Learn: A Way Ahead for Music Education. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2008b). This paper presents changes in music teaching and learning using Musical Futures approaches conducted in six primary schools in the Republic of Ireland. Using Participatory Action Research, teachers (n = 7) and students (n = 137) engaged with Musical Futures from a period of ten to thirty weeks. Data collection instruments included: pre- and post-engagement semi-structured interviews with generalist teachers; focus group interviews with students; lesson observations; video recordings of lessons; researcher journaling; and teacher reflective notes. Building on the pilot study conducted in Ireland by (Moore, Gwen. 2019. “Musical Futures in Ireland: Findings from a Pilot Study in Primary and Secondary Schools.” Music Education Research 21 (3): 243–256.), no study has examined the potential of the approach in this manner within the Irish primary context. Shifts in practice in music teaching and learning are examined from the teacher and student perspectives respectively, with findings indicating changes in the ownership of learning; assessment practices in music; and musical and extra-musical skill development. This paper proffers new perspectives into music teaching and learning, furthering the understanding of, and enhancing practice within the Irish primary generalist context.

Keywords:

• Musical Futures
• informal learning
• non-formal teaching
• primary music education
• Irish generalist teachers
• participatory action research

Acknowledgements

The author would also like to acknowledge that this research has received funding from The Irish Research Council, Mary Immaculate College, and the Irish National Teachers' Organisation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Irish Research Council under grant number GOIPG/2020/374].

Notes on contributors

Edmond Gubbins

Dr Edmond Gubbins is currently lecturing in music education at Marino Institute of Education in Dublin. His doctoral research, which examines informal and non-formal learning in music education within primary generalist teacher practice in Ireland has received funding from the Irish Research Council, Mary Immaculate College, and the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation. He is the 2020 winner of the Eda Sagarra medal of excellence for being the top-ranking postgraduate scholar in the domain of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences under the Irish Research Council’s Government of Ireland funding. His research interests include: primary music education, informal learning, Musical Futures, and generalist teacher practice in music education.