The impact of music making outdoors on primary school aged pupils (aged 7–10 years) in the soundscape of nature from the perspective of their primary school teachers

Abstract

The benefits of taking pupils’ learning outdoors have been widely reported around the world. However, it is argued the simple act of stepping outside the classroom does not inevitably bring rewards. This study examines teachers’ perceptions of the impact of primary school pupils’ music-making in various outdoor rural locations. It analyses qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with seven teachers from six different primary school classes, who observed their classes as they took part in the music-making. The validity of the teachers’ perceptions is triangulated with evidence from semi-structured interviews with six groups of children from the six different classes. The analyses show the teachers perceived that the space, the new soundscape and the close contact with nature afforded by the different locations engendered enhanced experimentation and expressiveness. The teachers suggested that, as a result, the children became immersed in, and focussed on, their music-making. The study suggests teachers identify potential benefits for children aged 7–10 years in making music in outdoor locations. We conclude greater phenomenological, body-focussed understandings in education and an increased awareness of somaesthetic perspectives may be beneficial for teachers to explore in pupils’ music- making and in other creative areas of the curriculum.

A Systematic Review of Arts-Based Interventions Delivered to Children and Young People in Nature or Outdoor Spaces: Impact on Nature Connectedness, Health and Wellbeing

“…Eleven reports of studies were included in this systematic review ( Bruni et al, 2017 ; Gray and Birrell, 2015 ; Gray and Thomson, 2016 ; Adams and Beauchamp, 2018 , 2019 , 2020 ; Murphy, 2018 ; Arbuthnott and Sutter, 2019 ; Sobko et al, 2020 ; Tiplady and Menter, 2021 ; Moula et al, 2021 ). However, two studies were reported in more than one article ( Gray and Birrell, 2015 ; Gray and Thomson, 2016 ; Adams and Beauchamp, 2018 , 2019 , 2020 ). Therefore, the findings from eight studies were synthesized.…”

“…This systematic review encompasses data from 602 participants in total, with sample sizes ranging from 11 to 187 participants. Where more than one study had utilized data collected from the same samples ( Gray and Birrell, 2015 ; Gray and Thomson, 2016 ; Adams and Beauchamp, 2018 , 2019 , 2020 ), the participants numbers have been included only once in the systematic review’s total.…”

“…Three studies were conducted in the United Kingdom ( Adams and Beauchamp, 2018 , 2019 , 2020 ; Tiplady and Menter, 2021 ; Moula et al, 2021 ), one in Ireland ( Murphy, 2018 ), one in Hong Kong ( Sobko et al, 2020 ), two in the United States ( Bruni et al, 2017 ; Arbuthnott and Sutter, 2019 ) and one in Australia ( Gray and Birrell, 2015 ; Gray and Thomson, 2016 ).…”

“…All included studies varied in terms of their study design. Studies included action research ( Murphy, 2018 ), grounded theory ( Adams and Beauchamp, 2018 , 2019 , 2020 ), ethnographic-inspired co-production ( Tiplady and Menter, 2021 ), controlled before-and-after designs ( Arbuthnott and Sutter, 2019 ), uncontrolled before-and-after designs ( Bruni et al, 2017 ; Gray and Birrell, 2015 ; Gray and Thomson, 2016 ; Moula et al, 2021 ), and a two-arm randomized control trial ( Sobko et al, 2020 ). Only two studies made comparisons with control groups.…”

“…• inner calm and peace (Adams and Beauchamp, 2019;. • emotional engagement, expressiveness and regulation (Gray and Birrell, 2015;Adams and Beauchamp, 2020;. • happiness and resilience (Murphy, 2018;.…”