“A piano which stays open” music, home schooling and family flourishing

Abstract

The musical practices of home schooled children and their families remain almost entirely unexplored by researchers. This ethnographic study surveyed 38 volunteer home school families from New South Wales, Australia, and the North and South Islands of New Zealand, who incorporate practical music making into their home school initiatives. Interviews and field observations were conducted in family homes from 2010-2012; children’s impromptu musical performances were recorded and these provided glimpses of home school music making. In-depth interviews permitted the investigation of broader issues surrounding reasons why parents home educate, the home school approach in general, and home school’s distinctive modulation of family dynamics and connectedness. With its resonances of an earlier era, the “piano which stays open” symbolises the kinds of music making and ideals common among participating families, as well as the broad home education ethos. The open piano affords spontaneous musical play, self-expression and self-exploration. Significantly, participating siblings taught each other music and played music together, and many families had established their own ensembles. The study found that practical music making is paradigmatic of home school pedagogical ideals and approaches more generally. Through the lens of musical values and practices, it explores the complex relationship between home schooling and family flourishing. At its best, home education provides a uniquely personal and nurturing holistic education based around the natural cycles and routines of daily life. Thus the home schooling process encourages children to be self-learners. The study found that a secure family environment—where across generations family members learn both alongside and from each other—promotes unique relationship dynamics that arise in “social learning spaces” (Wenger, 2009, p. 3) far removed from the more authoritarian and instructional conventions of the classroom. Home school parents seek holistic flourishing for their children. Music, beyond being merely educative, is richly participatory, and ideally functions to maintain the uninterrupted integrity of the family unit. Music also serves as a means to evaluate a child’s well-being. Conclusions recommend change in legislation to endorse home schooling as a legitimate form of holistic education, and for government funding to be provided accordingly. Suggestions are made for further research.