SONG for the PLANET: EDUCATOR PERCEPTIONS of an ENVIRONMENTAL SCHOOL MUSIC PROGRAM By
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SONG FOR THE PLANET: EDUCATOR PERCEPTIONS OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL SCHOOL MUSIC PROGRAM By ELNORA LARDER B.Sc. University of British Columbia, 1974 M.Sc. University of British Columbia, 1981 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard .......................................................... Dr. Wendy Donawa, Thesis Supervisor University of Victoria .......................................................... Dr. Milt McLaren, Program Head .......................................................... Dr. Anthony Boydell, Director School of Environment and Sustainability ROYAL ROADS UNIVERSITY September 2010 © Elnora Larder, 2010 ii Abstract This study examines educators’ perceptions of the environmental impact of Holly Artzen’s Artist Response musicians’ program for schools. In this case study, Artzen and five educators were interviewed about their perceptions of the program’s impact on students at five B.C. elementary schools. The researcher’s “observational narratives” also convey experiential examples of the program in action. Educators perceive that the program provides students and their families with a memorable, nature-focused musical experience that also enhances their understanding of, and concern for, the environment. Based on the six participants’ interviews, the researcher argues that programs like this offer role models for children, enhance community, provide opportunities for cross- curricular learning, and involve multiple intelligences. The study concludes that, despite obstacles, the program engages emotions, raises awareness that enhances students’ decision-making skills, and influences the adults in their lives. Participants also perceived the need for a formal environmental curriculum to be integrated into elementary schools. iii Acknowledgements I would like to thank the participants who gave their time to this research, including Holly Arntzen and the five teachers and school administrators I interviewed. Thank you for your cooperation and insightful contributions. I would also like to thank my thesis supervisor, Dr. Wendy Donawa, for the many hours she spent inspiring me to improve my writing and editing my work. Finally, I would like to thank my husband, Andrew, and my daughters Rebecca and Amanda, for their patience throughout the thesis process. iv Table of Contents Abstract…………………………….………………………………………………….....ii Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………...iii Table of Contents………………………………………………………………………...iv List of Figures………………………………………………………………………...…vii List of Tables……………………………………………………………………...…....viii Chapter 1: Introduction and Background…………………………….....……………1 Research Problem………………………………………………………………….....…..3 Research Question..……………………....…...……………………………………….…4 Study Limitations and Delimitations…………………………………………………….4 Need or Significance………………………………………………………………...…..4 Researcher’s Perspective…………………………………………………………….…..5 Chapter 2: Literature Review…………………………………………………………6 Emotions, Motivation, and Action………………...………………………….…...….....6 Music and the Brain…………………………………………………………...…….…..7 Environmental Philosophies………………………………………………..…….……..9 Environmental Education Philosophies……………..……………………………….....10 Curriculum Fulfillment………………………………………………………………....12 Chapter 3: Methodology…………………………………………………………...…19 Research Design and Rationale…………………..……………….…….………….….19 Data Collection………...……………………………………………………….….......20 Participants and Site……………………………………………………………..…….21 Data Analysis……………………………………………………………………….....23 v Observational Narrative I: Beating Together: Drum Circle Initiation……………….....24 Chapter 4: Findings…………………………………………………………….…….26 Outcomes: The Projects, the Study…………………………………………………….26 Observational Narrative II: Primary Students’ First Rehearsal with Holly and Kevin.....28 Observational Narrative III: Solo Auditions…………………………………………………………….….29 Observational Narrative IV: Poised for Performance (Before the Dress Rehearsal)……30 The Interviews: Six Education Professionals Discuss the Power of Music……...……32 Concepts and Emotions……………………………………………..…………...…32 Role Models……………………………………………………………...……..….33 Choosing the Music…………………………………………………………….….34 Music and Memory………………………………………………………….....…..35 Gathering Community……………………………………………….…………….35 Long-term Impact………………………………………………………………….36 Concerns………………………………………………………………………………37 Limited Drawbacks……………………………………………………………......37 Teacher Involvement Needed……………………………………………….…….38 Cost………………………………………………………………………………..39 Perceptions of Offensiveness………………………………………………….…..40 Pedagogical Considerations…………………………………………………………..41 Curriculum Pressure: Curriculum Gap………………………………………….…41 Teacher Handbooks……………………………………………………………..…43 Selecting Songs……………………………………………………………………44 Older Children…………………………………………………………………..…45 vi Multi-ethnic Schools…………………………………………………………....…46 Multiple Intelligences and Fine Arts……………………………………….…...…47 Participants’ Perceptions: “Deep Learning” and the Artist Response Program.......49 The Researcher Reflects ……………………………………………………………...50 Summary of the Findings………………………………………………………….…..51 Chapter 5: Discussion and Conclusions………………………………….……...….52 Discussion………………………………………………………………………..……52 Summary of the Study……………………………………………………………..52 Implications for Curriculum Development……………………………………………62 Rational and Emotional Decision-making…………………………………………62 Decision-making and Reflection Over Time………………………………….…...63 The Need for a BC Environmental Curriculum………………………………....…64 Maximizing ARP Benefits: Teacher Involvement……………………...……….…64 Children’s Singing as a Vehicle for Environmental Messages…………………...…...65 References…………………………………………………………………………..…67 Appendix A: Interview Questions………………………………………….…………71 Appendix B: Sample Song Lyrics…………………………………………………….72 Appendix C: Interviews With Six Education Professionals.…………………..….......73 vii List of Figures Figure 1. Examples of a concert program (above), and a school concert poster in English and Punjabi (below)……………………………………………………………………27 Figure 2: Holly and producer/drummer Kevin Wright perform. (Holly Arntzen homepage) ……………………………………………………………………………..30 viii List of Tables Table 1: Some Influences on Teacher Use of the Program ……………………………..39 1 Chapter 1: Introduction and Background Now, divine air! Now is his soul ravished! Is it not strange that sheep’s guts should hale souls out of men’s bodies? Benedick (on hearing an air played and sung) William Shakespeare (1598) Much Ado About Nothing, Act II, Scene III The purpose of this study is to investigate educators’ perceptions of whether a school music program can increase environmental concern among students and the adult audiences to whom they perform. It also examines teachers’ perceptions of the pedagogical design principles that intensify students’ feelings for nature. Although music is well known to stir people to action in other contexts (e.g. advertising jingles, national anthems, military music), few papers have appeared on the use of music to intensify environmental education and to increase people's concern for the environment. However, experts have noted that listening to music activates parts of the brain that are involved with emotion and motivation in humans (Levetin, 2006, p. 191). Music also helps us remember things (Sacks, 2007, p. 258); memories accompanied by emotion are ‘tagged’ by our brains as being more important (Levetin, 2006, p. 231). Another quality of music is its ability to promote social coordination and cooperation (Levetin, 2006, p. 258). So music, which approaches us through our emotions, may prove to be a useful tool for rousing a community to environmental action. For many years, environmental education was based on the premise that when people knew the facts about what was happening to the environment, they would be motivated to take action (Sobel, 2007, p. 16). Eventually, studies showed that this was not the case; knowledge about the environment did not necessarily lead to action (Orr,1992, p. 3; Sobel,2007; Lee, 2008). People needed to experience a feeling of 2 connectedness to nature to be motivated to perform ecological behavior (Mayer and Frantz, 2004, p. 503). The fine arts allow people to further explore and deepen these feelings of connection to nature (Guerevitz, 2000, p. 255). The capacity for children, when singing, to influence their audience of parents forms part of the design of the Artist Response Team’s program, investigated in this study. Recently, researchers have examined intergenerational learning as a way for children to act as catalysts to promote environmental action among their parents and communities (Duvall and Zint, 2007, p.23). This thesis centers on the work of the environmental musicians known as the “Artist Response Team”(ART), who have taught songs about the natural world as guest artists in schools since 1990, with a focus on hope and action. Holly Arntzen, leader and moving force behind her team, and her colleagues aim to influence adults through their children. “The target audience is working professionals…people who have time only for their families and jobs. They don’t go to environmental meetings, and they don’t read government brochures…but they do pay attention when their children and grandchildren speak!” (Fresh Outlook Foundation website, 2009). In view of climate change and other growing environmental problems, more engagement of the general public in caring for the environment is urgently