Med samfunnet som klasserom – Musikkterapi på en produksjonsskole

Abstract

The school is one of the most important institutions in the Norwegian society and plays a crucial role in the life of adolescents. However, statistics show that an increasing number of adolescents which choose to quit ordinary schools of their own volition. Political strategies such as “Ny GIV” are set into effect in order to meet an increasingly “ELET” population in Norway. As a result, several alternative schools have been set up. The qualitative action study presented in this thesis aims to investigate how pupils on a “production school” experience their participation in a school project, based on a theoretical framework from music therapy. The focus of this thesis is a project were pupils and teachers work together on a music project involving elderly people at a local nursing home. Interviews with the pupils are analyzed using the theoretical framework from music therapy, and indicate that the experience felt meaningful and rewarding to them. My conclusion suggests that a meaningful music therapy project with an aim to cooperate with a third party in society promotes the pupils’ access to better relationships and new learning situations, the mastering of new situations, as well as participation in society. In the future, music therapy projects in schools can be a valuable resource in preventing pupils to fall out of the ordinary school system.