Creating Music Cultures in the Schools

This book focuses on the powerful influence music programs can have on well-being and connectedness in schools. It is written specifically for music specialists working in school communities, including music therapists, classroom music teachers, instrumental teachers, and generalist teachers. The first three chapters outline relevant philosophies, policies, and practices to provide a rationale for why an expanded view of music is needed in contemporary schools. Drawing on theories and practices from community music therapy they then demonstrate how music cultures can be developed and nurtured when the values of mutuality, respect, empowerment, and commitment are applied through a collaborative model of action and reflection. Seven chapters provide different examples of how this might look, with each written from the perspective of either the school principal, classroom teacher, instrumental teacher, music coordinator, service manager, assistant teacher, and of course, the music therapist.  These examples convey the authors’ experiences of building strong music cultures in schools, in collaboration with colleagues. The book concludes with a discussion of evaluation that is grounded in the values that drive collaborative programs, and an evaluation tool is provided with two examples of how it should be applied.  McFerran and Rickson’s stories and theories clearly draw on their decades of experience as registered music therapists, music therapy teachers, and researchers working in special schools, special education units, and regular mainstream schools with staff, and learners who have an array of cultural knowledge, skills, and abilities.  This book offers a much-needed expansion of traditional ways of using music in schools and will inspire the reader to explore new ways of fostering growth in their own school community.