The Lived Experience of Children's Musical Identity

264 Pages·2015·1.37 MB·English

Georgia State University
ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University
Department of Middle-Secondary Education and
Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional
Instructional Technology (no new uploads as of Jan.
Technology Dissertations
2015)
Winter 12-20-2012
"Music is Waiting For You:" Te Lived Experience
of Children's Musical Identity
Michelle Mercier De Shon
L. Michelle Mercier-De Shon
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Mercier, Michelle De Shon, ""Music is Waiting For You:" Te Lived Experience of Children's Musical Identity." Dissertation, Georgia
State University, 2012.
htps://scholarworks.gsu.edu/msit_diss/100
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ACCEPTANCE

This dissertation, “MUSIC IS WAITNG FOR YOU: THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF
CHILDREN’S MUSICAL IDENTITY, by L. MICHELLE MERCIER-DESHON, was
prepared under the direction of the candidate’s Dissertation Advisory Committee. It is
accepted by the committee members in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Education, Georgia State University.

The Dissertation Advisory Committee and the student’s Department Chair, as
representatives of the faculty, certify that this dissertation has met all standards of
excellence and scholarship as determined by the faculty. The Dean of the College of
Education concurs.

______________________________ ______________________________
Joyce E. Many, Ph.D. David E. Myers, Ph.D
Committee Co-Chair Committee Co-Chair

______________________________ ______________________________
Dana L. Fox, Ph.D Jodi Kaufmann, Ph.D.
Committee Member Committee Member

______________________________
Date

______________________________
Dana L. Fox, Ph.D.
Chair, Department of Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology

______________________________
R.W. Kamphaus, Ph.D.
Dean and Distinguished Research Professor
College of Education
AUTHOR’S STATEMENT

By presenting this dissertation as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
advanced degree from Georgia State University, I agree that the library of Georgia State
University shall make it available for inspection and circulation in accordance with its
regulations governing materials of this type. I agree that permission to quote, to copy
from, or to publish this dissertation may be granted by the professor under whose
direction it was written, by the College of Education’s director of graduate studies and
research, or by me. Such quoting, copying, or publishing must be solely for scholarly
purposes and will not involve potential financial gain. It is understood that any copying
from this publication of this dissertation which involves potential financial gain will not
be allowed without my written permission.

_____________________________________
L. Michelle Mercier-De Shon
NOTICE TO BORROWERS

All dissertations deposited in the Georgia State University library must be used in
accordance with the stipulations prescribed by the author in the preceding statement. The
author of this dissertation is:

L. Michelle Mercier-De Shon
2940 Browns Mill Rd. SE
Atlanta, GA 30354

The director of this dissertation is:

Dr. Joyce Many
Department of Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology
College of Education
Georgia State University
Atlanta, GA 30302-3980
VITA
L. Michelle Mercier-De Shon
ADDRESS: 2940 Browns Mill Rd. SE
Atlanta, GA 30354

EDUCATION:
Ph.D. 2012 Georgia State University
Teaching and Learning: Music Education
M.M. 2006 Georgia State University
Music Education
B.M. 2001 Georgia State University
Music Education

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
2010-2011 Instructor, Art and Music in the Classroom
Georgia State University
2006-2010 Teaching Assistant
Georgia State University
2004-Present Sound Learning Site Coordinator
Georgia State Univeristy
2001-2004 General and Choral Music Specialist
Centennial Place Elementary School, Atlanta, GA

PRESENTATIONS;
2009 “The Lived Experience of Children’s Music Learning”
Georgia Music Educators Association Conference
2009 “Come Together: An Overview of Innovative Music Education
Programs”
Georgia Music Educators Association Conference
2003-Present Sound Learning Professional Development for Musicians and
Teachers
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Atlanta-area Elementary Schools

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES AND ORGANIZATIONS
Music Educators National Conference
ABSTRACT

“MUSIC IS WAITING FOR YOU:” THE LIVED EXPERIENCE
OF CHILDREN’S MUSICAL IDENTITY
by
L. Michelle Mercier-De Shon

This phenomenological study of lived experience (Van Manen, 1990) explored
th
the perspectives of four 4 grade children as they live in and live through music to
formulate their musical identities. Framed within perspectives of symbolic interaction
theory (Blumer, 1969), communities of practice (Wenger, 1998), and figured worlds
(Holland, et al., 1998), data were collected using methods consistent with qualitative
inquiry. These included: observations of quasi-formal music learning settings, in musical
playgroups and during professional musicians’ presentations; close observations of
children’s daily school lives; and planned discussion group interviews (O’Reilly, 2005).
Findings emerged from the data via a bricolage of existentialist (Morrisette, 1999;
Holyroyd, 2001) and interpretative phenomenological analyses (Smith, 2003).
Children in my study explored and expressed their musical identities through self-
directed engagement across multiple modalities of singing, listening, performing on
instruments, and creating music. They engaged with these modalities in individualized
and shared ways. Singing was situated, by context and in concert with social and gender
comparisons. Listening, performing, and creating encompassed a trajectory from
experimentation to intentionality, with continually embedded exploration and musical
play.
Findings indicated that children in middle childhood may actively shape their
musical identities within a dynamic nexus of individualized and social continuums of
music experience and learning. These continuums may be understood along three
dimensions: development; components, i.e., music participation and learning; and
processes. The developmental spectrum of children in middle childhood provides a fluid
context for understanding musical identity, revealed not as a fixed entity, but through
interweaving elements of their past, present, and future musical lives. Self-directed music
participation and learning may shape musical identity and provide a context for its
expression through both musical and social roles, as children enact musical behaviors
through social interaction. Finally, children’s musical identity may be understood as a
process, in which personal dialogue meets external discourses, as children continuously
negotiate self-conceptions of musicality within and among their musical worlds.
Findings indicate that music teachers may offer opportunities for exploration and musical
play as a basis for concurrently nurturing the development of musical identities and
fostering musical understanding.
“MUSIC IS WAITING FOR YOU:” THE LIVED EXPERIENCE
OF CHILDREN’S MUSICAL IDENTITY
by
L. Michelle Mercier-De Shon

A Dissertation

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of Requirements for the
Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
in
Teaching and Learning: Music Education
in
the Department of Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology
in
the College of Education
Georgia State University

Atlanta, GA
2012
Copyright by
L. Michelle Mercier-De Shon
2012
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Throughout my dissertation journey, the words of John Lennon echoed in my head, as he
sang, “life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.” Were it not for
the guidance of my colleagues and the enduring support of my family, this story of four
musical children might not have been told.
I would like to thank those four special children who openly shared their musical
lives with me, and thank the teachers and administration at Drake Charter School for
opening their doors to me.
I would like to thank Dr. David Myers for his mentorship and sustained
encouragement across the miles. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr.
Jodi Kaufmann, Dr. Joyce Many, and Dr. Dana Fox for their continued support. My
friends in the doctoral program, Todd, Elise, David, and Bernadette shared hours of
thoughtful insight and moments of laughter and tears that I will always cherish. I offer
special thanks to Doug Stevens for helping me with music notation and sharing his
thoughts about children’s musical engagement.
I would like to thank my mother and father, Luetta and George, for always
believing in me and supporting my educational and musical goals throughout my life. To
my wonderful husband Freddy, thank you for holding my hand and for your
unconditional love. Thanks to my extended family: Gerti, Markus, Mee Hyang, Felicia,
Eli, and Joe for always reminding me, “you can DO it!”
This dissertation is dedicated in loving memory of my brother Tim and my father-
in-law Dr. Fred De Shon. Tim, you took me to my first rock concert and shared your
albums with me. You will always be a part of my musical identity, and more
importantly, you taught me to face every new day with a smile. Dr. Fred, you taught me
to have compassion for others, especially children, and to never give up on my goals.
You will always be the wise owl watching over me.

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