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Arts & Communication Inclusive musicking: A narrative inquiry

2. Methods also be used in comparative cultural research and as a tool
for capturing different perspectives within a single school
Based on my teaching experience, this study employs culture. Regarding story construction, in the present
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narrative inquiry in music education as a research method. study, to enhance the depth of comprehension of the shared
Abeles and Conway indicated that narrative analysis is experience, other researchers and teachers also read the
included in qualitative research methodologies in music narratives that the researchers had individually written. The
education, especially when the research is descriptive majority of the narrative review sessions occurred through
and co-constructed. Meanwhile, rethinking music Zoom meetings, emails, and regular mail. Although Ely
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engagement, education, and inquiry in music education defined a theme as a strong statement of meaning that runs
can be accomplished through the use of narrative work. 25 throughout all or most of the pertinent data, marginal
which reconceptualizes the approaches in which we think remarks or minority responses were also incorporated
about such aspects. This is in line with Clandinin and in this study to examine various perspectives on student
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Connelly, who described narrative inquiry in music learning and music-making. Meanwhile, triangulation, that
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education as being more responsive and inclusive of is, the process of conducting peer reviews and participant
people’s lives. As an action-based narrative inquiry, the checks during narrative construction, was important for
research team illustrated narratives built upon a succession achieving trustworthiness in this type of research. Finally,
of cases reflectively based on our actions. this study combined the narratives and commentaries in
The case in this study was constructed using my line with Holt, who outlined the process of creating the
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10 years of experience in longitudinal musicking and practice in situ. In How Children Learn, Holt observed
collaborations with fellow researchers, students, teachers, learning in naturally occurring settings and concentrated
guest artists, music specialists, and caregivers in Japan. 8,11-18 on his frequent encounters with young children. His
The overall purpose was to implement a philosophy and descriptive narratives led him to the conclusion that
research-informed musicking practice in Japanese music children learn the best in environments that are free from
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education. 8,11-18 pressure. Holt also claimed that instead of attempting
to explain effective learning, studies should provide a
2.1. Participants and settings narrative representation of the process. 31
The participants comprised 10 students from the first to 2.3. Ethical dimension
sixth grades at a public elementary school in the northern
part of Okayama Prefecture, Japan. They were classified This study placed special attention on the ethical dimensions
as having either an intellectual disability or emotional of researching young children, as a part of the musicking
disorder, or both. In addition, two homeroom teachers practice. Although the teachers and caregivers agreed to
and two university students supported the research volunteer all the data for this research, including letters
project as participant observers. This study commenced in by parents addressed to me indicating the participants’
November 2023, with a special class on musicking followed willingness to cooperate, this study protected their right to
by a practice session. A 60-min focus group discussion privacy. Specifically, the names of the children, the teachers,
followed the practice session. and the facility were presented as pseudonyms. Moreover,
no full names or precise locations were indicated in the
2.2. Data collection and analysis research logs and all the research data and materials were
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The team of researchers maintained field notes and added kept in my private office. Permission to withdraw from
information during the planning session and during and this research project for any reason was verbally given to
after the practice session. Although the data collection did the teachers and caregivers.
not consider official interviews, the researchers asked the 3. Results
teachers and university students to describe anything that
they noticed during the musicking activities. Specifically, The following narrative depicts the practice session in this
by applying the methodology of “video-cued multivocal study:
ethnography” proposed by Tobin et al. or the so-called That morning, buses going from central Okayama
“Preschool in Three Cultures Method,” this study presented city to the northern mountainous region were
various narratives discussing the same set of circumstances crowded, causing delays of approximately
and practices. 28 30 min. The northern region was experiencing
Recent research indicated that multivocal ethnography depopulation, with a serious problem of deer fawns.
can be used as a tool for understanding not only visible That day was a special day when one could ride a
but also invisible learning outcomes. This technique can bus for just $1 – $2, instead of the usual $40 – $50.

Volume 2 Issue 4 (2024) 3 doi: 10.36922/ac.2747