Derrington 2012 thesis.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

CHAPTER 9
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
9.1 The main findings
The main findings from the study’s quantitative and qualitative data together provide
a positive result to this research investigation: music therapy does make a difference
and can improve the emotional well-being of students at risk of underachievement or
exclusion. Overall, it was found that:
1. There was a need for this research. A review of the current literature made it
clear that a study into the effectiveness of music therapy with youth at risk
was necessary.
2. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods considerably enriched the
findings. Evidence in the music therapy research literature shows that survey
research of this type, which includes a mixture of questionnaires and semistructured
interviews, is an effective way of showing that music therapy has a
positive impact (Wigram, 2005).
3. The music therapy approach used in this study is effective. During their
interviews, students made positive references to feeling free and creative due
to the way that sessions combined playing music and talking.
4. The detailed description of the music therapy approach together with the
examples on the DVD demonstrate new ways of working with adolescents:
the DVD has offered other therapists ideas for working with this client group
and proven useful in teaching trainee music therapists at university and music
therapists via presentations at conferences. 53
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&$ !! “That’s sick, bruv, listen!” Looking at ways to engage with teenage hoodies
and X-factor hopefuls’ presented at VIIIth European Music Therapy Congress in
Cadiz, Spain, 2010; ‘Improvisation in music therapy with excluded adolescents and
how this fits into quantitative and qualitative research’ presented at the Third
International Music Therapy Research Conference in Waterloo, Canada, 2011.
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