They Like it Like That: An Analysis of the Musical Attributes that are Identified as Engaging by Upper Primary School Music Teachers.

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Cardenas, Rosalind (2025) They Like it Like That: An Analysis of the Musical Attributes that are Identified as Engaging by Upper Primary School Music Teachers. Doctoral thesis, University of West London.

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Abstract

Engagement is an essential component of musical skill-building. The phenomenon has been dissected into five modes: appreciating, evaluating, directing, exploring, and embodying, with the understanding that the inclusion of all five is essential for a well-rounded music education and that there are activities best suited to specific modes (Brown, 2015). Whilst Brown (2015) has described the types of activities conducive to modes of musical engagement, and some research has been done into the types of musical and learning styles which teachers identify as engaging (Campbell, 2010; Ilari et al, 2020; Creech, Saunders and Welch, 2016), minimal knowledge exists regarding the attributes of repertoire and activities which encourage
musical engagement – in its different forms – in the primary classroom.
This thesis presents a constructivist grounded theory study into the musical attributes of repertoire and activities that primary music teachers have identified as engaging. Findings from interviews with music teachers of 7- to 11-year-olds demonstrate that there are specific characteristics identified by teachers as engaging. Data from semi-structured interviews also highlights the importance of embodied music cognition (Leman, 2019) as a function of engagement.
Substantiating with existing knowledge in the areas of music pedagogy (Atkinson, 2018; Green, 2008; Jeanneret and DeGraffenreid, 2012; King, 2018), children’s musical preferences (Ilari et al., 2020), and methods of musical analysis (Frith, 2017; Middleton, 2000; Moore, 2016; Tagg, 2013), this thesis details which musical attributes are found to be engaging in the upper primary music classroom, and why. As well as contributing to the academic fields of musicology and music education, it offers clarity to upper primary music teachers, in an area where it has consistently been lacking (Spruce, Stanley and Li, 2021)

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Identifier:	10.36828/thesis/13412
Subjects:	Music
Depositing User:	Marc Forster
Date Deposited:	02 Apr 2025 09:08
Last Modified:	02 Apr 2025 09:15
URI:	https://repository.uwl.ac.uk/id/eprint/13412