Derrington 2012 thesis.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

formal recognition of success in short units of work. The majority of students in the
mainstream college achieve GCSEs but this is rare for students at The Centre School.
The AQA Unit Scheme recognises the achievement in all non-qualification contexts
which means that students can succeed as they go and, even though it is not a formal
qualification, have a record of what they have learnt.
Their use of therapy is not being scored but the skills which students can acquire by
default from using music as a means of self-expression can be acknowledged through
these unit awards. To date I have written five unit awards for music therapy which
have been validated by the AQA and are available on their national database for any
assessment centres to use, such as schools, Pupil Referral Units or hospital education
services. The units (appendices 3.5.5 – 3.5.9) are:- Exploring Self-expression
Through Music; Communicating Through Music; African Drumming (2007);
Expression Through African Drumming (2008) and Songwriting (2009). The
certificates are awarded after the work has been completed and are only discussed in
sessions if it seems important and useful for that student. At the end of term, on
receiving his certificate, one student said: “That’s nice isn’t it… But it’s all about the
music really”. This supports my view that such awards do not interfere with the
therapeutic process.
Rewards are given generously and appropriately at The Centre School to encourage
the will to succeed and a student’s belief in themselves. If students can start to lose
the feeling that they always fail (some students even cite failing as something they are
good at), they can begin to appreciate when things do go well and start the spiral of
positive feedback (Stern, 1985). Students generally attend sessions on time, can
organise their space, want to play and make the most of music therapy. It is this
commitment and ability to apply themselves that is acknowledged through the AQA
rewards and not how well they do in therapy.
3.6 Conclusion
‘Music is the art of expressing oneself in sound: through it, we turn inner body
sensations, movements, feelings and ideas into external sound forms that can be
heard’ (Bruscia, 1998a, p.62). This is the motivation for many students who want
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