Derrington 2012 thesis.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

school time and attendance was higher and more consistent if the work took place
during school hours.!
Krüger (2000) set up work in a contemporary secondary school in Norway as part of
a new strategy for helping secondary-aged students with emotional and behavioural
problems. The students had been labelled as the ‘bad guys’ and were living up to this
name and, by gaining attention from their challenging behaviour, were able to
maintain that role within the school. Within this setting, Krüger found the computer
to be a source of new meaning for clients who had not learned to play an instrument.
Technology leads to ‘broad possibilities of exploring, mastering, arranging, creating
and improvising music’ (p.80) and, importantly, the client can quickly become
confident at using it and being in control. Krüger’s case example clearly shows how
the computer can offer structure as well as a virtual pool of ideas and endless creative
play. His client, Robert, threatened other pupils, had very low respect for authority
and was difficult to talk to but he was able to engage in music therapy. Through the
shared use of information technology the process of a trusting and communicative
relationship was able to develop. Krüger reports how he sat alongside Robert and
encouraged him to master recording techniques. It was important that he allowed
Robert to get angry with him and shout at him too which ‘showed him that I would
always be present and it helped to create bonds between us, giving us the opportunity
to talk about what was wrong in his life’ (ibid. p.82). Ultimately, the process of using
information technology led to a product. Robert became very involved in musicmaking,
burning CDs and creating covers for the CD cases, selling his work and even
publishing his music on school radio.
A preventative approach is described by Nöcker-Ribaupierre and Wölfl (2010). A
music therapy project, introduced into two boarding secondary schools in Germany,
had the aim of helping students to express their emotional state and release aggressive
tension. The project proved particularly successful in classes with migrant students
from diverse cultures who were able to communicate and share effectively through
shared improvisation (p.151).
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