Music Early Learning Programs: Parental beliefs, aspirations and participation Vicky Shirley Anne Abad Bachelor of Arts – Music Post Graduate Diploma of Music Therapy Master of Education - Research A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2017 School of Music 1 Abstract In recent years there has been a proliferation of formal music programs available to families with young children. Little is known about the reasons why parents attend these programs, what they hope to gain by attending, or if attendance shapes the way they use music in the home. Concurrently, advances in digital technology have revolutionised the way we engage with music, as well as the way we receive and understand new and existing information. Additionally, the popular media provides parents with information of the ‘science’ behind music and early learning, and its positive impact on early childhood development. These changes have coincided with a period in which access to arts education has decreased. While all parents have the potential to use music to support their parenting current understanding of how we experience music, and its impact on childhood development, may lead some parents to question their own potential to be musical in their everyday parenting, and see them turning to ‘experts’ for support. This study researches parental beliefs, aspirations and use of music in the home from participation in Music Early Learning Programs (MELPs). It also seeks to identify those structures of MELPs that support parenting in the home. The investigation was conducted through a constructivist research paradigm and a contextualist framework. Ethnographic methods, including interviews, observations, written and video diaries are combined with the relational qualities of narrative inquiry to present five narrative case studies. Findings identified four themes and 10 subthemes pertaining to reasons parents attended MELPs, and what they hope to achieve through their attendance, and six MELP structures that shaped the way parents used music in the home. Three strategic uses of these structures were further identified. The themes identified for attending MELPs and parental hopes included: a high value for music, shaped by both positive and negative musical experienced in their own childhoods, or a lack of music education. A high value for music as a tool for child development was also an identified theme, with music for cognitive, language, communication, emotional and social skill development identified as subthemes, along with music as therapy. Parents identified that they attended music programs to foster and enrich family relationships, family time at home and family rituals. Finally, parents attended MELPS to access social support from other adults. MELP participation shaped the way music was used in the home by providing structures and content that parents learnt and applied at home and in their parenting. MELP attendance provided a mechanism to support parents to incorporate music as part of home routines, rituals, and transitions, 2 as well as a tool for regulation and to scaffold learning. This was achieved by emulating the MELP structures of: voice leading; using a large repertoire of songs; interacting via different musical modes; attuning to the child’s needs and assisting with emotional regulation; using music to structure behaviour; and increased confidence to improvise in the moment. Parents used these structures strategically at home by singing. They then used song and music making and engagement for regulation and to scaffold learning. How they used these structures was shaped by their own childhood experiences of music, their sense of being a musical person, their identity as a musical parent, the ways in which they value music, and their belief of what being musical means. This research advances the fields of music education, music therapy and music early learning, including early childhood education, by contributing new knowledge and understanding about the reasons why parents invest in music early learning for their children and by identifying the potential role of the MELP to support and empower parents in their parenting. Currently there are no legislative guidelines on what constitutes a MELP, or any minimum training qualifications required to conduct one. This research provides a working definition of a MELP, and identifies the structures that parents draw from well-designed MELPS that support their parenting in strategic ways. It also highlights the important role of MELP facilitators in supporting age-appropriate music and early childhood music pedagogy to enhance parent-child musical interactions Recommendations arising from the research include the need for clear practice and policy guidelines indicating what constitutes a MELP and the minimum level of training required to design and run a MELP. Further research recommendations include investigating the possible impact of MELPs on parent mental health, particularly in light of the busy lives parents lead; the capacity of a MELP to empower parents to teach their children about self-regulation; the ways that parenting impacts music identity, and the role of technology in supporting parents to use music in the home. 3 Declaration by author This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have included in my thesis. I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my research higher degree candidature and does not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for another award. I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and, subject to the policy and procedures of The University of Queensland, the thesis be made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 unless a period of embargo has been approved by the Dean of the Graduate School. I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of that material. Where appropriate I have obtained copyright permission from the copyright holder to reproduce material in this thesis. 4 Publications during candidature Peer-reviewed journal articles Williams, Kate E., Barrett, Margaret S., Welch, Graham F., Abad, Vicky and Broughton, Mary. (2015). Associations between early shared music activities in the home and later child outcomes: findings from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 31 (2), 113-124. doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2015.01.004. Edited Books Thomas, D.M., & Abad, V. (2017). The Economics of Therapy. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Book chapters Abad, V. (2017). Case Study: Managing business growth from the bottom up – turning your small niche passion into a business (pp.180-199). In D. Thomas & V. Abad (Eds.), The Economics of Therapy – Caring for clients, colleagues, commissioners and cash-flow in the creative arts therapies. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Abad, V., & Barrett, M.S. (2017). Families and Music Early Learning Programs: Boppin’ Babies (pp.135-151). In S. Jacobsen and G. Thompson (Eds.), Music Therapy with Families. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Abad, V., & Thomas, D. (2017). RAILE – Building a win-win business model for therapy (pp.50- 67). In D. Thomas & V. Abad (Eds.), The Economics of Therapy – Caring for clients, colleagues, commissioners and cash-flow in the creative arts therapies. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Edwards, J., & Abad, V. (2016). Music therapy and parent-infant programmes (pp.135-157). In J. Edwards (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Music Therapy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Thomas, D., & Abad, V. (2017). The Economics of Therapy: Caring for Clients, Commissioners and Cash-flow (pp 24-37). In D. Thomas & V. Abad (Eds.), The Economics of Therapy – Caring for clients, colleagues, commissioners and cash-flow in the creative arts therapies. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. 5 Invited Keynote presentations and papers during candidature Abad, V. (2016). Music Therapy in Early Intervention and Special Education in Australia: Looking back and looking forward, a new angle on music therapy for families. Keynote presentation at the 1st SPED-Music Therapy Conference, Singapore, 3&5th September, 2016. Abad, V. (2016). The Economics of Therapy in Practice. Keynote presentation at the 1st SPED- Music Therapy Professional Development Seminar, Singapore, 4th September, 2016. Abad, V. (2016). Early Childhood Training: Musical Beginnings. Invited Speaker at the Association for Music Therapy Singapore (AMTS) Pre-Conference Teacher Training, September 1-2, 2016. Abad, V. (2016). Early Childhood Training: Musical interactions between parent and child. Invited Speaker at the Association for Music Therapy Singapore (AMTS) Pre-Conference Teacher Training, September 1-2,