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Derrington 2012 thesis.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

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9.7 Looking Ahead<br />

Collaboration with The Institute of Education in London means that the profile of this<br />

research can be raised and the findings will be disseminated through supported<br />

publications and conference presentations. An overview of my approach has already<br />

been published (<strong>Derrington</strong>, <strong>2012</strong>) and I am planning to write a book on the subject<br />

of music therapy with youth at risk in the future.<br />

Such publications inform teachers and other professionals involved in education who<br />

want to know how music therapy helps and whether such a service is worth investing<br />

in. It can be difficult for schools to argue the case for employing a music therapist<br />

because of the lack of available systematic evidence that shows its benefits. This<br />

study goes some way towards addressing this and has given the young people<br />

involved a chance to share their thoughts on why music therapy should be made<br />

available.<br />

The vision behind the Music Therapy Charity’s Youth at Risk project was for<br />

different educational settings to replicate this lead research method. However,<br />

funding has been withdrawn and such a multi-site project is unlikely to continue. One<br />

condensed version of my design, to fit within one school year, was successfully<br />

carried out at The Bridge Learning Centre in Eastleigh. Ten students, with five in<br />

each group, received ten sessions and data were collected before and after music<br />

therapy in the same way as the original method. The qualitative data offered external<br />

validity to the findings from Cottenham and, most importantly, revealed that students<br />

felt that their concentration had improved. The findings from Cottenham and<br />

Eastleigh were presented together at a national conference (<strong>Derrington</strong> and Neale,<br />

<strong>2012</strong>) and are to be published.<br />

Replication of the method would increase the sample size and thereby the power<br />

which was found to be weak in this study and therefore it is hoped that the project<br />

will re-run at The Cottenham Academy. The study also leads to new research ideas,<br />

such as the need to investigate the effects of longer-term music therapy or examine<br />

the effects of music therapy on concentration as a particular area of change. This<br />

project has inspired me to continue with research, just as my enthusiasm for the work<br />

! ##(!

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