Preliminary communication
https://doi.org/10.15516/cje.v23i1.3824
Group Identity in a Secondary School Classroom Constructed through Musical Creation
Carlos Lage-Gómez
orcid.org/0000-0001-7264-7725
; Faculty of Education Complutense University of Madrid Rector Royo Villanova s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Roberto Cremades-Andreu
orcid.org/0000-0002-9930-1609
; Faculty of Education Complutense University of Madrid Rector Royo Villanova s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Abstract
Music plays an important role in the construction of identity in adolescence. However,
few studies have explored the relationship between the formation of group identities
in adolescence and musical creation as an experiential group activity in secondary
school. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to shed light on the formation of
group identities in the classroom and determine the factors involved in this process.
An educational project focusing on participatory musical creation was carried out in
three Spanish secondary schools, involving 267 students. Data were collected by means
of participant and non-participant observation, a classroom diary, a questionnaire
and video recordings, analysed within the framework of activity theory. The results
revealed the influence of a number of interconnected determinants on the formation
of group identity in the classroom: (1) student involvement in all stages of the project;
(2) the construction of meaningful musical experiences through the students’ role
as musicians; (3) the classroom climate; (4) the emergence of positive emotions; (5)
high motivation to learn; and (6) student identification with their own music. These
results indicate the useful role of music creation in the formation of group identity.
Keywords
activity theory; creative learning; music; participation; secondary education
Hrčak ID:
256407
URI
Publication date:
23.3.2021.
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