The Assessment of Musical Attainment: Acquiring Cultural Capital And
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The Assessment of Musical Attainment: Acquiring Cultural Capital and Building Learning Power in Instrumental Music Tuition A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Nottingham Trent University for the degree of Doctor of Education June Bonfield-Brown November 2018 Copyright Statement This work is the intellectual property of the author. You may copy up to 5% of this work for private study, or personal, non-commercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within this document should be fully referenced, quoting the author, title, university, degree level and pagination. Queries or requests for any other use, or if a more substantial copy is required, should be directed to the owner of the Intellectual Property Rights. Abstract This thesis describes an action research project undertaken within a mass participation instrumental music programme situated in East London. This action research project aimed to improve the way in which instrumental music pupils are assessed through the use of the graded examination. It also intended to provide opportunities to gain social and cultural capital for children in East London that are available in more affluent areas of the United Kingdom. The action research methodology was employed over three cycles of research. The research involved six instrumental music teachers, including myself, as an active participant. Data was collected through focus group interviews and semi-structured interviews which were analysed using thematic and narrative analysis. Amongst the main findings of this thesis are the following: The current graded examination is unsuitable and inaccessible to children learning to play musical instruments in a group learning context. The cyclical nature of the action research created a new type of accessible graded examination providing cultural capital and social justice for children in music education, developing and building their learning power and independent learning. The new type of graded examination was introduced into sixty-five primary schools as a form of assessment across East London impacting the practice of 180 teachers and the learning journey of over 10,000 children. Acknowledgements There are several people I would like to acknowledge for assisting me on my doctoral journey. I would like to thank all of my supervisors, past and present. Dr Kevin Flint for his inspiration from the outset and Dr Tina Byrom and Dr Tony Harris for their support during those middle years. A special thank you to Dr Motje Wolf for her music specialism and encouragement to present my research on the international stage. I am eternally grateful for my lead supervisor Dr Helen Boulton. Without her guidance, support and belief in me over the past two years, I would not be writing this now. Thank you so much, Helen, for everything you have done for me. Thank you to all the participants in this research. I truly appreciate the time you gave me and your dedication. Also to my colleagues Gareth, Jamie and Fraser, your input was invaluable. I am forever grateful to my husband, Frank, and my dear friend Marie. You kindly listened to me and provided encouragement when I needed it the most. To my mum, Grace and my late Dad, John, you always believed in me and instilled a love of learning. I am so very fortunate to have parents that provided so much love that make me the person I am today. Finally, I would like to thank Sir Robin Wales and Professor John Howard for bringing this research to life and sharing my belief in the power of music education for children in East London. Contents Abbreviations ................................................................................. 1 Chapter 1: Outline of the thesis ........................................................ 2 Introduction ................................................................................... 2 1.1 Overview .................................................................................. 2 1.2 Context .................................................................................... 8 1.3 Professional context ................................................................... 9 1.4 Ontology and epistemology ....................................................... 10 1.5 Ethical context ........................................................................ 13 1.6 Developing knowledge through assessment ................................. 16 1.7 Assessment for independent learning, learning to perform independently ............................................................................... 17 1.8 Building learning power for independent learning ......................... 18 1.9 Research questions .................................................................. 20 1.10 Rationale .............................................................................. 21 1.11 Thesis structure ..................................................................... 26 Chapter Two: Literature Review ...................................................... 28 Introduction ................................................................................. 28 2.1 Culture ................................................................................... 28 2.2 Hegemony .............................................................................. 38 2.3 Postcolonialism ........................................................................ 41 2.4 Musical ability ......................................................................... 49 2.5 Assessment ............................................................................ 53 2.6 Assessment in instrumental music tuition .................................... 57 Chapter Three: Methodology ........................................................... 63 Introduction ................................................................................. 63 3.1 Action research defined ............................................................ 63 3.2 Challenges in action research .................................................... 66 3.3 Emancipating, enhancing critical action research .......................... 69 3.4 Ethics .................................................................................... 71 3.5 Participants ............................................................................. 72 3.6 Data collection ........................................................................ 73 3.7 Focus group interviews ............................................................. 74 3.8 Semi-Structured interviews ....................................................... 76 3.9 Data analysis .......................................................................... 76 3.10 Procedure ............................................................................. 77 3.11 Acknowledging prior research .................................................. 79 3.12 Participatory action research ................................................... 81 3.13 Living educational theory ........................................................ 82 3.14 Action research process .......................................................... 84 3.15 Experience ............................................................................ 85 3.16 Educational values ................................................................. 91 3.17 Imagine ................................................................................ 95 Chapter Four: The First Cycle: An Assessment Planning Format ........... 98 Introduction ................................................................................. 98 4.1 Cycle one ............................................................................... 98 4.2 Gaining access to cultural capital .............................................. 102 4.3 Irrelevant aspects of the graded examination ............................. 103 4.4 Benefits of the graded examination ........................................... 104 4.5 Creating an alternative assessment ........................................... 105 4.6 Reflective evaluation ............................................................... 113 Chapter Five: The Second Cycle: Creating the Performance Awards and Graded Examinations .................................................................... 116 Introduction ................................................................................ 116 5.1 Cycle two .............................................................................. 117 5.2 Reflective evaluation ............................................................... 127 Chapter Six: The Third Cycle: Delivering the Performance Awards and Graded Examinations .................................................................... 132 Introduction ................................................................................ 132 6.1 Cycle three ............................................................................ 134 6.2 Reflective evaluation ............................................................... 140 Chapter Seven: Discussion ............................................................ 143 Introduction ................................................................................ 143 7.1 The three cycles of action research ........................................... 143 Chapter Eight: Conclusion ............................................................. 149 Introduction ................................................................................ 149 8.1 Ontological