"The notes look all blurry." Emergent learning diversity in the instrumental music studio

When children commence instrumental music tuition, unacknowledged diversity in their learning can arise. Learning diversity refers to differential needs that children may require in order to facilitate successful musical skill development. The primary focus of this research project is an investigation of children’s lived experiences of the first 18-months of learning to play the cello and how this impacts ongoing musical development. However, an unexpected finding of the research was that across the data collection period, half of the child participants presented with issues that created extra challenges for their learning. These challenges included dyslexia, dyspraxia, suspected attention deficit disorder, learning processing disorders, anxiety and intrusive synesthesia. This paper investigates the ways that children’s learning diversity can emerge and how these challenges can compound the personal and social factors that influence children’s motivation to persist with their musical development. Specifically, this paper examines how children’s additional learning needs can be identified and accommodated by the child, teacher and parent for productive learning outcomes

Children's experiences of emergent diverse learning needs in the instrumental music studio

Background When children commence instrumental music tuition, diversity in their learning processes can emerge. Diverse learning needs refers to the range of challenges that can impact predictable learning processes and require additional support to facilitate successful development. However, children’s experiences in instrumental learning, including how diverse needs can present and be appropriately managed, are rarely examined in music education research. This study aims to address this gap in the research literature. Research Questions 1. How do diverse learning needs in seven-year-old children emerge in the instrumental music studio and affect continued engagement? 2. How can children’s diverse learning needs be appropriately supported by teachers? Summary of Content A longitudinal, qualitative investigation of seven-year-old children’s lived experience of cello skill development was undertaken. Unexpectedly, half of the child participants encountered diverse learning needs that extended beyond individual difference and presented extra challenges for musical development. Diverse needs included dyslexia, motor skill deficit, learning processing disorders, attention and focus issues, persistent anxiety, and intrusive synaesthesia. This study investigated, in fine-grained detail, the children’s experiences of emergent diverse learning needs, including how needs were identified, managed and accommodated by the children, teacher and parent. Findings indicated that the children’s diverse learning needs were idiosyncratic, and that their investment and self-perception in musical development, together with pragmatic, practical support and emotional guidance from the teacher and parent contributed to longer-term engagement. Significance This study, conducted by the teacher as researcher, provided the rare opportunity to investigate children’s experiences of emergent learning diversity in the instrumental music studio. This offers a unique contribution to the literature with important pedagogical implications for teaching practice and further research

"It's like being the hero of your own story": perceptions of musical skill development for the beginner cellist

Background: When children commence learning a musical instrument, they are introduced to a diverse range of skills from the cognitive, expressive and psychomotor domains. Children’s capacity to adopt and integrate these musical skills can directly affect their progress and influence ongoing interest. However, as many of these skills are unfamiliar to the beginner musician, their development requires specialised support, deliberate attention and focussed practice. The outcomes of these learning processes can also be a critical to children’s future musical engagement. Children’s lived experience of musical instrument skill acquisition is rarely examined in music education research; therefore, the current paper adopts a novel case study approach to investigate how children perceive and manage musical skill development. Intrapersonal factors and interpersonal relationships including those with the teacher, who is the principal researcher, are also examined. Aims: 1. To investigate seven-year-old children’s lived experience of cello skill development within the first 18-months of tuition. 2. To investigate how children’s musical skill development is affected by intrapersonal factors and interpersonal relationships. 3. To investigate how the experience and perceptions of skill development in early learning influences children’s longer-term musical engagement. Method: Through a longitudinal Action Research methodology, 14 seven-year-old children’s lived experiences of learning the cello were tracked across the first 18-months of tuition. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of interviews with the children and their parents were integrated with the teacher-researcher’s recorded observations from work with the children. Results: During the early stages of learning, children prioritised the development of skills in one of the three learning domains and this was attributed to initial competencies and affinities at the beginner level. As tuition progressed, teaching and learning challenges included ensuring that all skill sets developed according to the children’s individual, differentiated needs. Central to this developmental process was how the children’s intrapersonal factors interacted with their interpersonal relationships to shape their learning behaviour at home and in the instrumental music studio. Regardless of skill level or ability, all of the children measured their process in musical skill development through critical evaluation of their sound production. The children’s sophisticated perception of sound included discerning nuanced difference in quality of tone, intonation, volume, fluency and timbre. Production of an ideal sound that integrated these qualities was described as an aspirational goal in practice and performance. Sound was perceived also by the children as a powerful conduit for self-expression and musical communication. In this context, musical skill development fulfilled children’s creative needs and satisfied their desire to be seen and hear by others as capable musicians. This result generated growth in the children’s sense of agency and autonomy. When the complex process of skill attainment, sound production and musical expression was achieved successfully, students experienced transformed representations of their internal selves that positively impacted their emotional states. These transformative experiences were linked to a close affinity with their cello and this was evidenced by the children’s use of language devices such as metaphor, simile, analogy and imaginative narrative to describe how skill development strengthened their bond with the instrument. Further, some children ascribed anthropomorphic traits to their instruments, defining them as a person or ally and assigning names and gender pronouns. Investigation of students’ learning over time indicated that children who experienced beneficial interpersonal growth and productive interpersonal relationships through musical skill development maintained active longer-term musical engagement. These children described imagining themselves in positive performance and learning environments in their projected musical futures. Taken together, the findings from this investigation of children’s perceptions of musical skill development highlight how instrumental music learning can profoundly affect children’s inner worlds. The breadth and depth of the experience contributed to the children’s enjoyment in engagement and affected motivation to continue with their musical development. Conclusions: This research, conducted by the teacher as researcher, makes a unique contribution to the literature by identifying the importance of children’s perception of sound in the process of cognitive, physical and emotional engagement with musical skill development. It identifies how this can have a transformative effect on a child’s sense of self and influence their future musical engagement. Implications: Monitoring children’s perception of sound production and its impact on musical expression in the development of skills in the three learning domains is integral to instrumental music teaching and fosters meaningful, ongoing engagement outcomes

PRISM (Program of Resources, Information and Support for Mothers): a community-randomised trial to reduce depression and improve women's physical health six months after birth [ISRCTN03464021]

BACKGROUND: In the year after birth one in six women has a depressive illness, 94% experience at least one major health problem (e.g. back pain, perineal pain, mastitis, urinary or faecal incontinence), 26% experience sexual problems and almost 20% have relationship problems with partners. Women with depression report less practical and emotional support from partners, less social support, more negative life events, and poorer physical health and see factors contributing to depression as lack of support, isolation, exhaustion and physical health problems. Fewer than one in three seek help in primary care despite frequent health care contacts. METHODS: Primary care and community-based strategies embedded in existing services were implemented in a cluster-randomised trial involving 16 rural and metropolitan communities, pair-matched, within the State of Victoria, Australia. Intervention areas were also provided with a community development officer for two years. The primary aim was to reduce the relative risk of depression by 20% in mothers six months after birth and to improve their physical health. Primary outcomes were obtained by postal questionnaires. The analysis was by intention-to-treat, unmatched, adjusting for the correlated nature of the data. RESULTS: 6,248 of 10,144 women (61.6%) in the intervention arm and 5057/ 8,411 (60.1%) in the comparison arm responded at six months, and there was no imbalance in major covariates between the two arms. Women's mental health scores were not significantly different in the intervention arm and the comparison arm (MCS mean score 45.98 and 46.30, mean EPDS score 6.91 and 6.82, EPDS ≥ 13 ('probable depression') 15.7% vs. 14.9%, Odds ratio(adj )1.06 (95%CI 0.91–1.24). Women's physical health scores were not significantly different in intervention and comparison arms (PCS mean scores 52.86 and 52.88). CONCLUSION: The combined community and primary care interventions were not effective in reducing depression, or in improving the physical health of mothers six months after birth

Characteristics associated with risk taking behaviours predict young people's participation in organised activities

Participation in organised activities (OAs) such as sports and special groups can shape adolescent risk taking behaviours. Sensation seeking and inhibitory control play an important role in the emergence of adolescent risk taking behaviours and may explain variations in OA participation as well as inform the development of more effective interventions that use OAs. Data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (England) were analysed using logistic regression to test whether inhibitory control and sensation seeking predicted participation in OAs at a mean age of 11.7 years (n = 2557) and 15.4 years (n = 2147). At 11 years of age higher sensation seeking predicted participation in any activity, sports and special groups while low inhibitory control predicted less participation in sports. At 15 years of age higher sensation seeking predicted participation in sports and activity breadth. Opportunities to develop targeted interventions aimed at increasing participation are discussed

PRISM (Program of Resources, Information and Support for Mothers) Protocol for a community-randomised trial [ISRCTN03464021]

BACKGROUND: In the year after birth one in six women has a depressive illness, and 30% are still depressed, or depressed again, when their child is 2 years old, 94% experience at least one major health problem (e.g. back pain, perineal pain, mastitis, urinary or faecal incontinence), 26% experience sexual problems and almost 20% have relationship problems with partners. Women with depression report less practical and emotional support from partners, less social support overall, more negative life events, and poorer physical health. Their perceptions of factors contributing to depression are lack of support, isolation, exhaustion and physical health problems. Fewer than one in three affected women seek help in primary care despite frequent contacts. METHODS/DESIGN: PRISM aims to reduce depression and physical health problems of recent mothers through primary care strategies to increase practitioners' response to these issues, and through community-based strategies to develop broader family and community supports for recent mothers. Eligible local governments will be recruited and randomised to intervention or comparison arms, after stratification (urban/rural, size, birth numbers, extent of community activity), avoiding contiguous boundaries. Maternal depression and physical health will be measured six months after birth, in a one year cohort of mothers, in intervention and comparison communities. The sample size to detect a 20% relative reduction in depression, adjusting for cluster sampling, and estimating a population response fraction of 67% is 5740 × 2. Analysis of the physical and mental health outcomes, by intention to treat, will adjust for the correlated structure of the data

Exploring the links between unhealthy eating behaviour and heavy alcohol use in the social, emotional and cultural lives of young adults (aged 18–25)::A qualitative research study

Alcohol use peaks in early adulthood and can contribute both directly and indirectly to unhealthy weight gain. This is the first qualitative study to explore the links between unhealthy eating behaviour and heavy alcohol use in the social, emotional and cultural lives of young adults. We conducted 45 in-depth interviews with 18–25-year-olds in North-East England to inform development of a dual-focused intervention to reduce health risk due to excess weight gain and alcohol use. Data were analysed thematically, following the principles of constant comparison, resulting in three intersecting themes: (1) how food and alcohol consumption currently link together for this population group; (2) influences upon linked eating and drinking behaviours and (3) young adults’ feelings and concerns about linked eating and drinking behaviours. Socio-cultural, physical and emotional links between food and alcohol consumption were an unquestioned norm among young adults. Eating patterns linked to alcohol use were not tied only to hunger, but also to sociability, traditions and identity. Young adults conceptualised and calculated risks to weight, appearance and social status, rather than to long-term health. This study is the first to evidence the deeply interconnected nature of food and alcohol consumption for many young adults. Findings have important implications for intervention development, UK public health policy and practice, and point to a need for similar research in other countries

The Global Trachoma Mapping Project: Methodology of a 34-Country Population-Based Study.

PURPOSE: To complete the baseline trachoma map worldwide by conducting population-based surveys in an estimated 1238 suspected endemic districts of 34 countries. METHODS: A series of national and sub-national projects owned, managed and staffed by ministries of health, conduct house-to-house cluster random sample surveys in evaluation units, which generally correspond to "health district" size: populations of 100,000-250,000 people. In each evaluation unit, we invite all residents aged 1 year and older from h households in each of c clusters to be examined for clinical signs of trachoma, where h is the number of households that can be seen by 1 team in 1 day, and the product h × c is calculated to facilitate recruitment of 1019 children aged 1-9 years. In addition to individual-level demographic and clinical data, household-level water, sanitation and hygiene data are entered into the purpose-built LINKS application on Android smartphones, transmitted to the Cloud, and cleaned, analyzed and ministry-of-health-approved via a secure web-based portal. The main outcome measures are the evaluation unit-level prevalence of follicular trachoma in children aged 1-9 years, prevalence of trachomatous trichiasis in adults aged 15 + years, percentage of households using safe methods for disposal of human feces, and percentage of households with proximate access to water for personal hygiene purposes. RESULTS: In the first year of fieldwork, 347 field teams commenced work in 21 projects in 7 countries. CONCLUSION: With an approach that is innovative in design and scale, we aim to complete baseline mapping of trachoma throughout the world in 2015

Integration of water, sanitation, and hygiene for the prevention and control of neglected tropical diseases: a rationale for inter-sectoral collaboration.

Improvements of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure and appropriate health-seeking behavior are necessary for achieving sustained control, elimination, or eradication of many neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Indeed, the global strategies to fight NTDs include provision of WASH, but few programs have specific WASH targets and approaches. Collaboration between disease control programs and stakeholders in WASH is a critical next step. A group of stakeholders from the NTD control, child health, and WASH sectors convened in late 2012 to discuss opportunities for, and barriers to, collaboration. The group agreed on a common vision, namely "Disease-free communities that have adequate and equitable access to water and sanitation, and that practice good hygiene." Four key areas of collaboration were identified, including (i) advocacy, policy, and communication; (ii) capacity building and training; (iii) mapping, data collection, and monitoring; and (iv) research. We discuss strategic opportunities and ways forward for enhanced collaboration between the WASH and the NTD sectors