Abstract:

The purpose of this article is to present a pilot music-educational program consisting of 23 structured music sessions for adolescents and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The program was designed to explore whether self-determination skills - such as choice-making, decision-making, problem solving, goal setting and attainment, self-observation, self-evaluation, and self-enhancement - enhanced through a self-determined learning approach in music education, can contribute to strengthening self-esteem and reducing feelings of loneliness.

Six adolescents and young adults (three boys and three girls) aged 14–20 years participated in the program, which was implemented at the University of Macedonia. During the 23 one-hour sessions, participants engaged in singing, dancing, playing musical instruments, and communicating with peers through music. Following the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction, they worked through the three phases of the model: selecting goals, implementing specific steps to achieve them, and evaluating their actions.

To evaluate the impact of the program, three assessment tools were used:
(a) AIR Self-Determination Scale (student and parent form),
(b) Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and
(c) UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3). The researcher adapted the tools by incorporating emojis to make them more accessible and engaging, encouraging participants to use the full range of scale points.

The results of this pilot program were largely positive: most participants demonstrated increased self-esteem, decreased loneliness, and improved self-determination skills by the end of the sessions. These findings suggest that music education, when combined with a self-determination approach, can provide adolescents and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities meaningful opportunities for goal setting, self-expression, communication, and participation through music and movement. This pilot initiative may serve as a model for future programs aimed at fostering self-determined behavior and learning through music education.

Keywords:

Music education, self-determination, disabilities, self-esteem, loneliness.