What does it mean to be a good parent?

I spent the last two days at the Mid-Western Educational Research Association Conference in Evanston, IL.  Over the course of the conference, I attended different sessions with papers associated with themes of parenting, culture, and education.  Listening to each speaker brought up the question, “what does it mean to be a good parent?” 

The first session I attended focused on a study that was completed at high achieving schools that are primarily populated by families from higher socioeconomic statuses.  This presentation focused on Baumrind’s model of parenting styles and the benefits of authoritative parenting.  Authoritative parenting styles promote high levels of support, warmth, and structure.  The parent-child communication tends to be bi-directional.  The speaker described how they support parents at his school and they try to coach them away from being over-bearing parents that are sometimes referred to as “helicopter parents” or “Tiger Moms”. 

The second session related to parenting was a cross-cultural comparison of parent involvement in the United States and Taiwan.  The U.S. school was an urban school that receives Title 1 funds; this is a school with families from lower socioeconomic statuses.  In both places, the researchers found that parent involvement was not always obvious.  While parents might not be as present in the school or have as much communication with teachers, parents were often involved in more “behind the scenes” ways.  The presenters also remarked on cultural beliefs such as the Taiwanese parent’s expectations that teachers are the experts on curriculum and school discipline.

The last session that I attended related to parenting highlighted a Chicago area school that supports young moms by providing access to child care, parenting support, and mentoring programs.  The presentation included two young moms who talked about their love for their children and their intense motivation to transform their lives to best provide for their children.  The young women spoke candidly about the judgment that they face from others; some people telling them that they had “ruined their lives”.  These young moms were dynamic, motivated women who are leaders in their community who spoke with great confidence about their ability to be a good parent to their children.

So, what does it mean to be a good parent?  Is there one answer to that question?  If you look at some research, there is a suggestion that there is one best way.  This becomes a challenge to educators who work to engage parents in schools.  I remember being on many special education teams where we had to carefully negotiate relationships with parents.  I have also been on teams where there is a strong sense of judgment directed towards the parent that does not fit the expectations.  

There was one more session that added some further information to this discourse.  The keynote speaker at the conference was a very famous educational research who focuses his work on statistics and measurement.  He teaches at a major research institute and was appointed to a federal board that examines education.  During a question/ answer session after his speech, this speaker told a story that highlighted the importance of understanding evidence through the lens of local wisdom.  He described an incident where scientists from England had comes up with a new strain of barley that they felt would be much more productive.  All of their research demonstrated great results, but Irish farmers would not use the new barley.  The English researchers thought the Irish farmers were just stubborn and uninformed until they went to Ireland and tried out the barley in the Irish fields.  In that process they learned that Irish farmers used different practices for working the land that were not effective for the barley and therefore the barley did not grow well in Ireland.  I am not sure if this story is factual or just a great anecdote, but I think it offers great insights into the importance of understanding local context.

Understanding local context is important when we look at questions related to parenting too.  To understand what it means to be a good parent, we need to understand the context of the parent rather than trying to fit parents into some pre-existing idea that may or may not fit their context.  This is essential for educators as we try to foster parent engagement.  An attendee at the cross-cultural session shared that she was a principal at an urban school and they have a practice of doing home visits to help understand the family’s context and the best possible way to engage with the family.  Bravo to this school that makes such a tremendous effort to connect with their families.  Bravo to all of the researchers to continue to work on this complex question.  Bravo to all of the parents around the world who work hard every day to be the best parent for their child.

Community Learning Spaces

Yesterday, I was pleased to accompany my college, Dr. Jinai Sun, and a group of students from North Central College to visit the Ray Chinese School.  The school is a vibrant community.  Between two local sites, they serve approximately 1,400 people.  The school is a weekend school that provides language instruction in Chinese and English, academic enrichment programming, and cultural arts education.  During our tour, we learned that the school opened 20 years ago with just 12 families.  While the school pays their teachers, most of the work of administering the program is done through volunteer efforts.  Classes and workshops are offered for parents at the same time as the children so whole families can attend at the same time.  We also observed other parents and grandparents interacting in the halls, playing with younger children, or completing their own work. 

The Ray Chinese School is a wonderful example of a learning space that has evolved to meet the needs of a community.  Also, the community is highly invested in the experience and appears to take on a sense of group ownership to make sure that the children are receiving high quality educational experiences.  We visited one classroom and saw a very energetic adolescent who volunteers in the class to mentor the younger learners.  This was yet another example of the collaboration that appeared to define this school.

After our tour of the school, we extended our cultural excursion with a lunch at a local Chinese restaurant.  We sampled so many different dishes and all discovered something delicious.

Educational programs created from within the group seem to have a unique way of meeting the needs of their community.  Programming that allows parents and children to simultaneously engage in their own process and an overall commitment of adolescent and adult members of the community to teach and guide younger children is consistent with Vygotskian ideas of socio-cultural learning.  The community defines the content and the path of learning experiences. 

First Year Experiences in Higher Education

Last week, I was fortunate to attend and speak at the Midwest FYE Conference at Northern Illinois University.  The keynote speaker, Dr. Vasti Torres from Indiana University, delivered a strong address that highlighted the current status of higher education.  The current climate of higher education includes a more diverse student population, students who are less prepared as evidenced by more remedial education experiences, higher public accountability for degree completion, and less funding available to meet the growing expectations.  Dr. Torres went on to claim that there are more part-time college students and national studies indicate that 68% of part-time college students do not complete their degrees.

The current state of higher education is definitely fraught with challenge.  In order to meet these challenges, it’s crucial to understand who are students are and what are the available tools and resources available to support students.  Dr. Torres described one of her studies in which she examined how first generation Latino students engage in information seeking behaviors.  Her research found that students will typically seek out early support from trusted friends (whether those friends have good information or not).  After they face a larger challenge, they may eventually seek out institutional supports.  It is therefore important to create connections with students earlier and foster stronger connections with the institution through high impact practices.

Throughout the conference, many different institutions shared their examples of practices designed to support students including peer mentor programs, parent information programs for Spanish speaking parents, and collaboration between student and academic affairs.   My colleague from North Central College and I shared about a summer bridge program for students.  I completed an interview study with students who had participated with the program in 2010.  Interview data showed that the program helped students gain a more accurate schema of college life and helped to develop a connection to the campus community. 

College offers opportunities for the development of skills and knowledge needed for career development.  College also provides individuals will opportunities to stretch personally and develop life skills that will provide an important foundation for future life experiences.  College is also a rich and complicated experience that requires structured supports and developmental insights.

Midwest First Year Conference  http://www.mfyc.org

Culture, Emotions, and Play

How do children learn to play?  How does play relate to emotional development?  How does culture shape both play and emotions?  Gaskins & Miller (2009) wrote a terrific article that examined these questions by comparing research with two distinct cultural groups—European-American middle class and Yucatec Mayan families.  Children’s engagement in pretend play was significantly different in each of these groups.  Children from the European-American middle class families were encouraged to engage in pretend play and were provided with resources such as toys and representations of fictional characters through television and reading.  For these children, pretend play offered opportunities to explore emotions, develop a repertoire of emotions, and explore the themes represented by fictional characters.  Children from the Yucatec Mayan families were noted to have less time to engage in pretend play as children were more involved in other functions in the family.  Their play tended to mimic the adult patterns that they observed around them and they had limited exposure to fictional characters.  

Gaskins & Miller’s work demonstrates that context has tremendous influence.  From a young age, social experience fosters ideas about how and what to do.  Children develop a social and emotional repertoire of behavior based on what they observe around them and opportunities they have for exploration.  The skills that they develop are often highly adaptive for their environment.  Children in the Yucatec Mayan families are developing an emotional repertoire that will likely serve them well in that environment.  My only critique of this work is that it presents some broad generalizations.  It was my experience working as a developmental therapist for early intervention, that there were some significant differences between individual families related to how play was supported in the family.  I worked in some homes where toys were plentiful, but the child struggled with organizing around play.  In other homes, the toys might have been fewer, but the play was rich.  As families moved through different transitions, the role of play sometimes changed.  Also, there are individual differences in children.  Some children will take the resources they are presented with and self-regulate their own play experiences.  Other children benefit from support to encourage and expand their play.  

The research presented by Gaskins & Miller is significant in that it reminds us to be aware of our own cultural lens.  They write, “cultural assumptions shared by researchers and participants were so familiar that they were nearly invisible” (p. 6).  We need to step back and examine experiences through a wider lens in order to be more aware of how context shapes development and learning.  It is, however, also important to adjust our lens between macro-culture and micro-culture levels of understanding.  Within each group, there may be a variety of experiences.  Play can serve as an important way that children learn about the world around them and develop a repertoire that will help develop adaptive behaviors for their local context.

 

To further extend on this idea, consider what happens when a child transitions between one context to another such as from home to school.  Sometimes the patterns of family learning serve the child well for adaptive behaviors in the school setting.  In other circumstances, however, there may be differences between the child’s skills and the demands of the context.  I once had a student who was an elementary school teacher.  She had a young student who was presenting with some challenging classroom behaviors.  The child constantly demanded attention.  When the teacher explored more about the child’s context, she found out that the child lived in a very crowded home environment and he was one of the youngest members of the family.  It is likely that the attention seeking behaviors were a means of survival in a crowded home environment.  Those skills that were adaptive in the home environment created challenge in the school environment.  Once the teacher viewed the student through this lens, she focused on teaching him a new repertoire of social and emotional behaviors that would serve him better in the school environment.  

Children learn from their environment.  They learn to adapt to that environment.  In our roles of parents, educators, therapist, or researchers, we can support that learning.

Gaskins, S. & Miller, P. (2009). The cultural roles of emotions in pretend play. In Clark, C.D. (Ed.)

                Transactions at Play. University Press of America.

Learning and Development

Psychologist Lev Vygotsky shaped the way people look at learning and development.  Vygotsky developed the concept of the zone of proximal development which identifies the level at which an individual can engage in a task independently in comparison to the level at which he or she can complete a task with assistance.  In fact, Vygotsky argues that a true measure of an individual’s capabilities is to look at what he or she can do with assistance or in a social relationship.  The social process “awakens a variety of internal developmental processes that operate only when the [person] is interacting with people in his environment and in cooperation with his peers” (p. 90).   The social context is essential for learning and development.

The summer Olympics is a good demonstration of Vygotsky’s concept.  All of the stories about Olympic athletes highlight the important relationships with coaches and other social supports.  Gymnast Gabby Douglas stole the hearts of the world with her gold medal performance.  At age 14, Gabby left her family to study with the coach she believed would help her reach her goals.  Her capabilities were maximized through that relationship.

This zone of proximal development does not just apply to Olympic athletes.  Children need parents or other adults to support and challenge their learning.  Students need dedicated teachers and opportunities to engage with their peers to create meaningful learning experiences.  Therapists provide the tools and foster experiences that extend the range of the client and promote healthy practices.  

As a college instructor, I consistently examine my own teaching practices.  Through reflection and reading, I look at what I am doing to support my students and extend their learning.  One of my favorite classes to teach is Educational Psychology.  This course is a requirement for education majors, but typically taken early in the teacher prep program.  Therefore, most students have very limited experience in the formal role of being a “teacher”.  I work to expand the definitions of teacher and learner to promote the idea that theories from the course apply to a wide variety of situations and relationships.  

This past spring, I took a more careful look at how I use personal application as a way to promote conceptual knowledge.  Through reflective journal writing, I explored how I use personal examples and invite students to connect with their own examples of how the concepts are present in their lives.  Assignments were structured to promote students’ personal application.  A survey was distributed to the students at the end of the term and responses strongly indicated that students perceived that personal examples and opportunities to apply the concepts to their own life increased their understanding. 

 

Every day we engage in the process of being a teacher or a learner; we teach our children, mentor a co-worker, learn from a neighbor… The measure of our own capabilities is in part, how we are able to take what we learn from our environment and add to our own development.

Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Conflicting Cultures: Ethical Dilemmas

In his books on multicultural education, James Banks describes how we all live as part of various microcultures.   Microcultures are the smaller cultural units that exist within a larger macroculture.  Banks states that while there are “overarching values, symbols, and ideations” in the larger cultural structure, “various microcultural groups…may mediate, interpret, reinterpret, perceive and experience” (p. 56) these ideas differently.  One theme that I have seen emerging from different studies that I am working on is the notion of conflict between different microcultures that create ethical dilemmas for individuals.  

During a focus group study with music therapists, several participants brought up ethical dilemmas that occur when their personal values or ideals are in conflict with the families or institutions they are serving.  One participant described how his institution regularly brings in visitors or potential funders into music therapy sessions.  While the institution prioritizes the need for funding and support, the clinician was concerned about the impact on the quality of clinical sessions.  Another music therapist who worked in hospice care mentioned the concerns that arise when family member have different ideas about pain management then what the clinical team would recommend. 

 

In a different study with frequent visitors at a local children’s museum, one mother described her concerns when she saw other parents that she felt were not engaged with their children at the museum.  She felt that parents should be playing with their children rather than using their phones or other technology.   The same parent talked about inviting other neighborhood children to come to the museum with her family to get them out of the house.  This mother seemed to have a clear idea what children need for healthy development and she experienced a dilemma when she did not observe those same behaviors in other families.  

My dissertation study explored the experience of growing up with a sibling with an autism spectrum disorder.  Several of the young adult participants described tensions with their parents when they felt  their parent was not giving their sibling what they needed.  The siblings faced the dilemma of deciding which family member to support—their sibling or their parent.

 

 Within any large, long standing group, there are smaller subgroups.  As we share a common space with each other, it may be important to recognize the variation in values and ideas that occurs within some of these smaller group structures.  The value and ideas that we have form our sense of right and wrong.  Variations in beliefs can create conflict and other ethical dilemmas. 

Banks, J. A. (1999). An Introduction to Multicultural Education. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Learning from the Story Inside a Community

Communities are dynamic places that include so many individual and group stories.  There’s something so fascinating when you experience the transition of knowing the surface of a community to really beginning to understand some of the nuances, trends and motivations within the community. 

Last summer, I took a class in community-based qualitative research.  The class was held in a Chicago neighborhood.  Like many other people in the class, I knew very little about this neighborhood prior to taking this class.  I recall some first impressions of this neighborhood through the surface perception of the businesses, housing, people and overall geography.  Over time, we all learned more about this community through visits from leaders in community organizations, reading research, being participants in community events, and being consumers of the local businesses and arts.  During the class, we were charged with developing an interview project with one of the local organizations or businesses.  I was delighted to spend some time in the local high school learning about their exceptional programming to support social-emotional learning. 

 

Some of us have maintained a connection to this place through an on-going research group that is examining the process of this course.  Earlier today I was delighted to witness the final presentations of students who completed the course this summer.  It was wonderful to hear about their transformations as they moved from their initial impressions of the community to more sensitive understandings.  A few community leaders were also in attendance.  I am always inspired by the leaders’ intelligence, dedication and passion.  They are the true insiders who understand best the stories that this community has to tell.

Every person has a story.  Every community has a story.  Communities are dynamic and changing, but we have so much to learn if we just take the time to listen. 

Raising Children in the Community Context

One of the research projects that I am working on this summer is an interview study of people who are frequent visitors to a local children’s museum.  The interviews have explored a number of interesting points, but one of the interesting ideas that emerged is how families use community resources to both cope with the day to day challenges of raising a young family and provide their young children with experiences to learn social behavior.  The teaching of social behavior is essentially a way that parents, grandparents and caregivers can teach cultural norms.  

Participants in this study went to the children’s museum at least 20 times in the past year.  One person went as many as 99 times.  In addition to the children’s museum, the participants described going to local parks, libraries, and other family-friendly community spaces. 

When asked about the benefits of taking the children in their lives to the museum, the participants stated that the museum was fun and a good place for learning.  Additionally, they talked about needing a break and knowing that if they took their children to the museum, the children would be safe and engaged and they could have a short time to rest.  Grandparents who took care of their grandchildren on a weekly basis described how they felt it was so important to have a place to “get out of the house”.  

While in the museum space, some of the parents described observing other families and how they were interacting with their children.  They also observed how children responded to different media and experiences.  The social comparison helped participants feel like they were doing ok. 

Finally, the participants discussed how bringing the children to a public space like the museum created opportunities for the children to interact with other children, learn manners, and work on other social conventions such as cleaning up a space or waiting for a turn.  The museum offers both the materials and the people that are not available in the family’s homes.

Engaging young children in the community provides tremendous opportunities for families to support their child’s learning.  Whether its trips to the local park, the grocery story, or a children’s museum, public spaces provide families with resources they need to guide their children through social learning experiences. 

The Musical Culture of a Family: Implications for Music Therapy Practice

Music is a central part of life with some families.  Parents are music makers and they actively use music with their children on a regular basis.  Family members may engage in formal study of music or they may just have a keen appreciation of different styles of music.  In other families, however, music has a much more minimal role.  So, how does the musical culture of the family impact music therapy services?

In my current study which examines family and institutional cultural practices, participants described working with families with a range of experiences.  Some families engage in regular music making.  One music therapist shared about a family that had family music time once a week.  Families that identify with music and regularly engage with music may already see music as a source of relationship building, learning, and healing.  The music therapists noted examples of families who advocated for music therapy services for their children.  Families with a previous relationship with music helped to foster on-going interactions with music therapy to benefit their child. Simply said, they believed in the music.

Other families resist active music making and claim, “I have never played anything”.   Therapists described parents that get anxious when encouraged to sing with their children.  In this case, the music therapist needs to focus on coaching the parents as music makers and reminding them that their children are not looking for perfect singers.  These families may need more education and support about the benefits of music and music therapy because their own relationship with music is either minimal or filled with anxiety. 

Family context and the practices of the family shape belief systems and behaviors.  Seeking information and understanding of the family context can help develop supports and directions for music therapy programming and intervention.  Whether the family members are present in the process or not, their presence may be felt in the acquired beliefs and behaviors of the client.  Whether the “child” is 3 or 83, they may still be influenced by messages and practices of the family members.  Therefore, it may be important to take time to learn about the musical culture of the family. 

Stepping Into a Cultural Context: Institutional Practices

Music therapists often work in ways that demand that the therapist provides services in multiple settings.  Many clinicians work for agencies or function as independent contractors.  This past spring, I completed two focus groups to examine how family and institutional cultural practices impact clinical music therapy services.  Nine of the ten focus group participants either work for agencies that send them to multiple locations, combine multiple part-time positions or run their own music therapy business.  Because of this style of work, the music therapist is constantly in the position of stepping into the cultural context of those that he/ she is serving. 

During the focus group sessions, we explored the types of institutions that the participants worked in.  The list was varied: rehabilitation hospitals, family’s home, long term care facilities, public schools, private schools, psychiatric hospitals, children’s hospitals, and community centers.  Each setting has a unique set of practices that the therapist must negotiate.    One study participant described the differences or working in a rehabilitation hospital which he described as “medical and professional” and then starting work at a community adult day program for older adults.  When he first started working in the adult day program, his professional demeanor was “alarming to the staff”.  He went on to describe that he had to “completely shift my approach” and “the way I used the music” to work effectively in the adult day program.

In addition to the changing role of the music, music therapists describe how the practices of different contexts also changed things like goal setting, documentation and collaboration.  Another study participant described working in two different school settings—public and private.  Although both schools serve a similar type of student, the cultures of the two different institutions were unique.  The music therapist described how at one school, he tended to work more closely with the physical and occupational therapists to use music to support their goals and in the other setting he work tended to work more closely with the teacher to support curriculum driven goals. 

Music therapists have to work in almost a chameleon-like way; stepping into diverse institutional contexts and significantly modifying their service approach to best meet the needs of both the clients and the institution.  This speaks to the skills of the clinicians, but also further demonstrates the power of the medium of music that can be both transformed and transformative. 

Full results of this study will be shared at the American Music Therapy Association conference this fall:

Saturday, October 13, 2012
Pheasant Run Resort, St. Charles, IL
1:30pm – 3:30pm
Examining Cultural Practices and Contexts of Development: Implications for Clinical Music Therapy Practice; Nicole R. Rivera, Ed.D., MT-BC

http://www.musictherapy.org/assets/1/13/2012ConfMiniPrelimi.pdf

Cultural Influences on Parenting and Education

I just finished reading a book entitled, How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm, by Mei-Ling Hopgood.  This book explores ideas about parenting through multiple cultural perspectives.  Each chapter focuses on a different topic that parents find important—sleeping, eating, toilet training, family connections, play, work and education.

In the chapter on education, Hopgood takes on the notion that Asian children tend to out-perform children from other cultural groups.  She examines culture and ethnicity as a variable for academic achievement by through a review of research, informal interviews and reflecting on her own experiences.  Her inquiry stresses how parents are the purveyors of cultural messages to their children about the importance of academic success.

Last year, I completed a series of interviews with a group of first year students at a Midwestern college.  The focus of the second interview was to examine how family and community contexts have shaped the beliefs and attitudes of the student and how those beliefs translated into their college experience.  I asked the students about why they chose to go to college and what they believed about education.  As a follow up, I asked them what they thought their parents believe about education and how that message was delivered to them.

Students in the group described education as a means to getting a job and success as well as improving themselves as a person.  For example, one person stated, “I think it opens your mind to what’s out there” and “taking classes will make you smarter and at the same time more personable”. 

When asked what they thought their parents believed about education, the students consistently stated that their parents thought education was important.  They described both direct messages around the dinner table about the importance of education and working hard.  They also described indirect teaching through parents modeling their own learning and being engaged and involved in their child’s education.  What the parents did mattered.  The actions and words of the parents translated to the personal beliefs and motivations that students have for their own education. 

Hopgood reported on several studies and polls that show that students in the United States are not performing as well as counterparts in other countries.  She raises the question that even though American parents likely want their child to success, are we really devoting the time “to instilling in our children with value of studying and working hard to achieve what they want and to overcome any so-called barriers or lack of opportunity” (p. 251).  With the broader cultural lens, we have to also consider rich factors such as societal expectations, political systems, media representations, etc., but we still get the idea that what the parent does or does not do makes a difference. 

Hopgood, M. (2012). How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm: And Other Adventures in Parenting. New York: Algonquin Books.

Gender and Clinical Practices

As part of the study about culture and music therapy practices, I held two focus groups with music therapists that work in a variety of settings.  One of the groups had three males and two female music therapists as participants.  This is a unique combination in a field that predominantly female.   Not only is the field predominantly female, but music therapists also work in places such as early childhood settings, schools for individuals with disabilities, and facilities that serve older adults; all of which tend to be female dominated.

The unique composition of this group brought out some very interesting conversation about gender and music therapy practices.  The male participants described how they may have to face the perceptions of other people who are suspect of males working with young children or the challenges of people who think that a male might not know about how to interact effectively with young children.  

As the conversation continued, some of the female members of the group spoke about interactions with male clients.  One clinician brought up the social convention of males complimenting the appearance of a female and how complicated it can be when those social conventions cross into the therapeutic relationship.  It is important for the clinician to set appropriate boundaries, while not creating a tone of disrespect.

Both of these examples bring up some interesting ideas about gender role schema, or the expectations that we have about behavior based on socialized notions of gender.   We need to be conscious of not only our own beliefs about gender, but also the belief s of our co-workers, clients and client’s families in order to create understanding and avoid limitations.

The Language of a Group: Implications for Clinical Music Therapy Practices

I am currently working on a study to explore the implications of family and institutional practices of different groups of clinical music therapy practice.  These practices make up the local culture.  While some music therapists are employed by one agency and strictly serve one type of clientele, many music therapists provide contractual services for multiple agencies or work within institutions that such as hospitals or community agencies that provide services for people from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences.

An important component of culture is the language that a group uses.  I am not referring to just the type of language spoken (i.e. English, Spanish, etc.), but also the specific vocabulary and social intent that is connected with the group or institution.   Each group tends to have its own jargon.  For example, if you work in special education, you need to be familiar with concepts like IEPs, benchmarks and goals, and scaffolding.  Clinicians who work in hospitals need to understand the names of procedures and the labels and roles of different members of the team.  One study participant commented how parents were re-identified.  She indicated how the parent of a child in the hospital typically became known as “mom” or “dad”—identified by their role as opposed to their name or individual identity. 

As with all elements of culture, language shows us something about the beliefs and values of the group or setting.  For example, special education is very much driven by the need to use legal frameworks and guides such as the Individualized Education Program (IEP) to establish educational and therapeutic programming for children with special needs.  In the hospital setting, however, there is a team that surrounds the sick child and each member of that team has a role.  In both examples, the music therapist must develop an understanding of the culture of the institution and how to best work within that system.  One study participant indicated, “There are many things that are not spoken.”  It is therefore up to the clinician to take time to not only learn the vocabulary of the group, but also be a careful observer about the communicative intent in order to best understand the role of music therapy within that structure.  The study participant above reflected on her transition from a special education type of setting to a hospital setting when she indicated, “I found that I really had to tie into my humanness and my intuition and my sensitivities as a person more than a set of tools or songs or concrete things.”  She had to learn the expectations of the new group through their language.  She had to re-learn her way of being as a clinician. 

Studying Cultural Behaviors: Insights into Development and Learning

I find myself in the midst of a few very different qualitative research studies.  One study is examining the implications of family and institutional culture on music therapy practices.  Another study is examining how families interact with a local institution of informal learning.  The third study is looking at how individuals, as informed by their contexts, are navigating a new context.  While the populations are very different for these three studies (music therapists, families/ caregivers with young children, and college students), the central question that threads through all of the studies is the idea of how an individual’s local context shapes their experiences, transitions, and learning. 

Overall, these studies represent an exploration of cultural variables on a more micro level.  Rather than examining culture related to larger ethnic or geographic variables, these studies are an attempt to examine culture for day to day experiences.  In a previous entry, I shared Spradley’s definition that culture is the knowledge that allows us to interpret and engage in social behavior.  Each of these studies therefore attempts to examine the nature of the cultural knowledge and how that knowledge guides behaviors and learning.

What is the value of this sort of examination?  Why is it beneficial to examine the everyday lived experience?  In a recent conversation with a research colleague, we were discussing the perception of a researcher from the hard sciences who claimed that examining the everyday occurrences is just looking at what is common knowledge.  The researcher did not see the value in studying what is known.  Last night, I was reading a passage by Geertz in which he was talking about the nature of studying culture.   He was describing the importance of theoretical formulations in the interpretation of cultural behaviors.  Geertz claims that, “stated independently of their applications, they seem either commonplace or vacant” (p. 25).

So, what is the value of studying the common place?  I believe it’s about really seeing what is right in front of us.  I just finished teaching a child development course.  Students in the class were required to complete a child observation paper which included 4-5 hours of direct observation of a child or group of children.  Typically, students will select children that are familiar to them (i.e. cousins, friend’s children or even younger siblings) out of convenience.  By the end of the project, students often report seeing things in the child that they never noticed before.  In some cases, the transformation in their perception of the child is so significant.  They shift from seeing the child just as this loud, obnoxious child to really seeing how their behaviors are shaped by numerous factors.   The students use developmental theory to guide their interpretations of the children’s behaviors so the commonplace becomes a point of insight and understanding.

Careful examination of everyday behaviors as guided by theoretical formulations allows for deeper interpretation and understanding.  This process can drastically alter the way that we understand others and how we interact with them.  I believe this is the value of the commonplace. 

Geertz, C. (1973).  The Interpretation of Cultures.  New York, NY: Basic Books. 

Knowledge is Indeed Precious

Last week, PBS aired a film entitled Precious Knowledge.  This film highlighted a program in ethnic studies in the Tucson, AZ high schools which focused on Latino students and their rich histories.  The curriculum program was born out the need to support students with historically high drop-out rates who have been failed by standard educational programming. 

The film features bright, articulate students who talk about a sense of finding their identity.  The students were empowered to believe that they could shape their own destiny rather than being controlled by stereotypes and limitations.

 Unfortunately, the story took a bitter turn when the classes were swept up into the politics of a state that appears to be bent on controlling populations of people through scare tactics and legislation.  In 2011, the Arizona lawmakers passed legislation that effectively abolished the ethnic studies classes.   The more faculty and students tried to express their voices, the more there were labeled as radicals who were intent on overthrowing the government.

This poignant story underscores the importance of examining public institutions and policies that try to control parts of the population for their own good.  It is imperative that we look closely at our own lens and think about how our individual reactions shape the experiences of all of the individuals we work with whether they are students, clients or co-workers.  Are we creating a place for people find their voice or are we part of the efforts to control?

One of the courses that I regularly teach is an introduction to special education course.  Students who enroll in the course plan to become teachers in special education, elementary education, early childhood education or related human service fields.  At the end of the course, I challenge students by encouraging them to think about how they can become advocates for persons with disabilities.  I explain how advocacy can range from monitoring our own language and using language that is culturally and contextually sensitive, to learning more about different groups through active inquiry, to volunteering our time to serve others, to speaking up on the behalf of others. 

Watching Precious Knowledge brought the message of advocacy right home.  We can all be advocates.  We can all take a stand through our behaviors, beliefs and attitudes.  Most importantly, we can open our minds to knowledge from the world around us which can be truly precious. 

 Precious Knowledge. PBS Video. Retrieve from http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/precious-knowledge/

The Autism Community: Coming Together for Change

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 1 in 88 children will be diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder.  The increased incidence of autism and related disorders is astounding.  When I started working as a music therapist in the early 90s, the prevalence figures were much less.  There were fewer supports for individuals with autism and their families.  More families had a sense of isolation.

With the increase of the incidence of autism, there is also an increase in the number of individuals and families impacted by this lifelong disability.  Early this morning, I volunteered for the Autism Speaks walk in Chicago.  Hundreds of volunteers, numerous organizations, and thousands of individuals with autism and their families and friends all convened at Soldier Field in Chicago to respond to the need to bring attention and dollars to this very important cause. 

As with many charity walks, people form teams.  The teams make t-shirts and carry signs in support of their friend of family member with autism.  Some of the teams were 50+ members strong.  It was wonderful seeing so many people rally around individuals and their families.  Families that many years ago would likely have felt very much alone are now surrounded with their friends and family.  Families are now surrounded by organizations and a promise for resources that will lead to on-going research and support.

There has been a dramatic change in the autism community over the years that is representative of the larger changes in disability culture.  There is a tone of empowerment and a demand for continued change.  The people that will see the benefit of this cultural shift are the many individuals with autism spectrum disorders.

Autism Speaks.  www.autismspeaks.org

New Data on Autism Spectrum Disorders. (March 29, 2012).  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/Features/CountingAutism/

Race and Culture

In one of my classes we recently watched the HBO Documentary, Little Rock Central: 50 Years Later (2007).  This powerful documentary juxtaposes the school’s history with current challenges.  Over 50 years ago, this school was the focus on tremendous conflict because of the forced segregation of nine African American students during the height of the Civil Rights Movement.  The segregation was representative of the conflict of long standing racial beliefs and demands for change.   Fifty years later, things have changed and yet they have stayed the same.  The documentary shows that although the African American population is now the majority group at the school students of color continue to be marginalized in many ways.  Students and teachers talk about the barriers for African American students to be involved in advanced placement classes or other achievement oriented school activities.   African American students at Little Rock Central are more likely to be in remedial education or struggling with multiple socio-economic and family challenges.

One of the most compelling scenes of the film is when one of the Little Rock Nine,  Minnijean Brown, speaks to a group of current students.  Ms. Brown talks with the group of students about their own self-segregation within the classroom.  Several students claim that they are just sitting by people they know or one person cannot truly make a difference.  Ms. Brown tells the students that they are not making choices.  Their behaviors demonstrate a set of societal standards.  This scene is striking because we see a woman who engaged in such a courageous act as a teenager confront students who live under an assumption that they don’t have the power to change anything.

The documentary is interesting and provocative on many levels.  The story shows how the culture of the local institution is shaped in such a dramatic manner by larger social and legal issues.  The film also shows in dramatic fashion how culture leads to patterns of thinking that are very ingrained into individual beliefs. 

Minnijean Brown reminds us that one person can make a difference.  Her story demonstrates the importance of breaking out of stereotypes.  Her story reminds us all to examine our own belief systems.  Are we just playing out long standing societal patterns?  Are we aware of our own cultural context?

Little Rock Central: 50 Years Later. (2007). HBO Films

Scene: Minnijean Brown talks to a group of current students http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8Or8OBrMzg

Changing Cultural Practices: Music Therapy and Autism Spectrum Disorders

I was delighted to attend the Great Lakes Region of AMTA Music Therapy Conference this weekend.  I shared a presentation entitled, “Examining Cultural Practices and Contexts of Development: Implications for Clinical Music Therapy Practices”.  The presentation highlighted many of the ideas that I have been sharing in this blog and explored how ideas about culture and development shape clinical practices. 

I shared Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Model of development as a guiding framework for the presentation.  His model emphasizes how each individual’s development is shaped by multiple layers of influence.  In short, we are never working with a client in isolation.  Each client is uniquely shaped by his or her family, community, prior experiences, ethnic identity, and larger social and political issues of the day.  Even the time at which an individual develops shapes his or her developmental trajectory.

 I worked with individuals with autism spectrum disorders throughout my career as a music therapist.  When I first entered the field there was very limited information available and the prevalence figures seemed to be a few individuals in 1,000.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released updated prevalence figures that indicate that 1 in 88 children are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder.  These numbers are absolutely shocking.  In addition to the increased numbers, there is also a dramatic increase in the information available about autism and approaches for treatment and support.

Knowledge and beliefs change over time.  It is more likely now, that children with autism spectrum disorders will be accurately diagnosed and connected with appropriate services.     Music therapists and other clinicians can access a wealth of research and first person narratives to better understand how to best serve a client with autism.  Living at this time creates a unique set of circumstances which will impact the development of each person. 

Changes in the autism community represent one example of changes in culture.  These changes have tremendous implications for families, schools, communities, health care, legal systems, and larger social structures.  Additionally, these changes have tremendous implications for music therapists and other clinicians.

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The Ecology of Human Development.   Harvard University Press.

“New Data on Autism Spectrum Disorders”. ( March 29, 2012). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/Features/CountingAutism/. 

Integration of Cultural Ideas

The process of identifying with a cultural perspective is not the same for every person.  Spiro (as cited in D’Andrade & Strauss, 1992) defined the internalization of cultural models according to four distinct levels:

·         1^st level: person is acquainted with cultural norms, but may be indifferent or even reject some norms

·         2^nd level: cultural beliefs are acquired as clichés; people wear the banner, but don’t fully integrate the belief

·         3^rd level: the cultural information becomes part of the person’s belief system in a genuine way

·         4^th level: the cultural system is internalized and salient; the individual holds the ideas with both beliefs and emotions

With the opening day of the baseball season just about a week away, it’s easy to imagine these levels of integration.  Baseball fans engage with their favorite teams on a variety of levels.  Many casual fans may listen for the reporting of score on the local news and occasionally attend a game.  The “die hard” fans, however, follow the team closely and sincerely believe that “this will be the year”.  I would put my grandfather in the second group—the “die hard” fan.  I remember him listening to games on his radio and going to games with his score card in hand.  When he wasn’t watching his favorite professional team, he was on the ball fields in his town supporting local youth and teaching them the love of the game. 

Spiro’s model reminds us that just because a person has an association with a group we cannot assume his or her level of internalization of the cultural models of the group.   Teachers and clinicians may find it valuable to learn some of the cultural values and traditions of the students and clients they are serving, but it’s important not to assume that every person with that group shares the same knowledge or integration of that knowledge.