Abstract:

Search for ways to promote student engagement in learning is one of the most important research focuses in contemporary education. Engagement can be defined as a high level of interest expressed through behavioural, cognitive, and emotional categories or as a set of elements of focus, inner interest, interactivity, motivation, and functionality. Pupil engagement in learning can be examined by exploring specific contexts and be measured by different instruments. Incorporating the topic of students’ engagement into the discourse of music education is important for creating communication and collaboration-based educational processes, evaluating different perspectives, initiating change, and making music education more democratic and accessible to all. To hear student voice in music education, I conducted art-based research focused on one of its methods, i.e. collage and its narrative. 37 participants of the Lithuanian Music Olympiad were asked to prepare a collage of at least 15 pictures/symbols illustrating their experience in music. Thirty-seven collages and their narratives became the basis for the data analysis.

The results of the research showed that student engagement manifested itself in all three categories: behavioural, emotional, and cognitive. Most cases of engagement were observed in pair or group work and during artistic practices. The research evidenced that students positioned themselves in music as active learners, linking their experience to a specific musical activity and/or instrument. The emotional relationship between music and musical activity was the most important feature of the students’ engagement. The results of the research allowed us to provide recommendations for improving the quality of music education: inclusion of emotional variables into the teaching-learning process, development of practice-based educational strategies, and initiating continuous discussion with students what and how should be taught in music lessons.

Keywords:

Students’ engagement, music education, collage, narrative.