Main Research Aims
To better understand not only the effects music-making has on young people and their wellbeing, but how these changes take place and what particular aspects of music-making environments drive them.
Working with young people, parents, and creative practitioners involved with inclusive music projects targeting young people recognised as marginalised, at risk, or otherwise in need of support, Marusa interviewed music tutors and analysed their session notes together with distance-travelled surveys about young people’s personal and social progress. Marusa also conducted focus groups and interviews with staff members, parents/carers and young people. The results enabled her to model the route of youth empowerment through music, which consists of identified developments, psychological mechanisms driving these changes and the environmental factors that appear to be crucial in supporting these processes.
