Engaging middle school students in music advocacy through reflection, inquiry and action

Our study examines how young people can make a vital contribution to understanding the ways that youth value arts and music in a school environment. We know little about the “spaces that youths engage with a kind of deliberate agency, sometimes an urgency [where] voices can be heard, and differences can be articulated” (Weis & Fine, 2000). We seek to engage youth in reflective thinking about why they value participation in music and to understand how we gain “insider” knowledge about youth music engagement through that process. We strive to make a contribution to the way knowledge about music learning is constructed, used, and exchanged while promoting equity in music education practices that build a culture of “knowers” and an awareness of the need for youth advocacy in music education. This exploratory study draws on youth-led participatory action research (YPAR) frameworks and artistically crafted research methods to engage young people, teachers, and researchers in a collaborative project focused on issues that matter to them about music engagement in their school.