Musical culture and the primary school: an investigation into parental attitudes to Whole Class Ensemble Teaching in the English primary school and potential impacts on children’s musical progress

Abstract

AbstractMusical cultures in primary schools are influenced by motivators which include intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Whole Class Ensemble Teaching (WCET) as realised through provision from Music Education Hubs in England is an extrinsic factor which has been widely influential. This article explores the dynamics in play in parental engagement in music provision, as realised through domains of musical value and progression in the context of WCET provision. It presents research, based on data from one primary school in the English Midlands, drawing on responses from children, parents, the WCET teacher and the head teacher of the school. The research used semi-structured interviews and graphical elicitation as research methodologies to create a conceptual map of theoretical perspectives for parental responses to WCET and suggests that triangulating motivating influences from parents, WCET and learners remain an emergent domain.