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.