The majority of music therapy work with children takes place in schools. This book documents the wealth and diversity of work that music therapists are doing in educational settings across the UK. It shows how, in recent years, music therapy has changed and grown as a profession, and it provides an insight into the trends that are emerging in this area in the 21st century. Collating the experiences of a range of music therapists from both mainstream and special education backgrounds, Music Therapy in Schools explains the procedures, challenges and benefits of using music therapy in an educational context. These music therapists have worked with children of all ages and abilities from pre-school toddlers in nursery schools to teenagers preparing for further education, and address specific issues and disabilities including working with children with emotional and behavioural problems, and autistic spectrum disorders. This book will be essential reading for music therapists, music therapy students and educational professionals.

Written by a Senior Clinician and Educator in Order to Meet the Needs of Prospective and Current Educators, Clinical Supervisors and Students of Music Therapy, This Book Provides an Overview and Detailed Commentary About All Aspects of Undergraduate and Graduate Education and Training in Music Therapy. Major Topics Include: (1) a Historical Perspective and Review of Academic Standards Defined by Both the National Association of Schools of Music (Nasm) and the American Music Therapy Association (Amta), Faculty Qualifications, Levels of Practice Suggested by Levels of Educational Programming, Post-graduate Training and Distance Learning; (2) Incorporating, Contextualizing and Extending Music and Clinical Foundations into Music Therapy Coursework, Teaching Music Therapy Foundations at Successful Levels of Depth, and Embodying Music Therapy Practice Competencies Through Instructor Demonstration and Role-playing; (3) Detailed Suggestions for Training the Student in Practice Competencies-both Practicum and Internship; (4) Historical Commentary on How Competencies for Advanced Practice Were Composed and How Revised Standards Will Play a Part in the Development of Masters Programs in the United States; (5) Analysis of the Coursework in 32 Graduate Programs Across the United States, and Survey of the Current Use of Coursework to Meet Advanced Competency Areas; (6) Reflection on Relevant Learning Theory, Learning Styles, Student Development Phases, and Its Application to the Scope of Music Therapy Pedagogy and Evaluation; (7) Information Related to Admissions, Advisement, Retention, and Teaching and Evaluation Techniques in Music Therapy Programs; and (8) the Consideration of Training Models in 30 Countries Including a Discussion of Common Themes and Issues in the Development of Education and Training. with a Foreword by Dr. Suzanne Hanser and Appendices Including a Listing and Analysis of Sixty Years of Books Published in Music Therapy, This Book is an Invaluable Addition to the Music Therapy Literature.

The OECD stated in 2018 that language barriers are among the greatest obstacles to the successful inclusion of students with an immigrant background. Providing adequate instruction in the language of instruction at school, and offering learning experiences independent of the level of language skills is, therefore, an essential task of the 21st-century school systems. This book explores how music therapy can contribute to solving this challenge. It investigates the multicultural learning environment of an Italian elementary school that is characterised by students with multiple native languages and different levels of proficiency in the language of instruction. In some cases, students have difficulty following lessons and participating in social life. The children (5-8 years) receive music therapy in the experimental condition and regular school activity in the control condition according to a within-subject control group design, meaning that half the children started in the control condition and the other started in the experimental condition; they switched at the half-time point. Data on the children’s language skills and general behaviour are collected and analysed.

The purpose of this research was to examine teachers,' administrators,' and parents' perceptions of music therapy in schools and its effectiveness with various disabilities and age groups. Perceptions of music therapy were examined in relation to participants': (a) previous knowledge of music therapy and (b) belief that music therapy will be beneficial to students with disabilities and address their Individualized Education Plan (IEP) goals. Parents, teachers, administrators, and paraprofessionals from an elementary and a middle school in the Southeastern United States served as participants. Participants completed a 14-item questionnaire that addressed the three research questions and included items related to participants' demographic information, previous knowledge of music therapy, perceptions of music therapy effectiveness, and disabilities and age groups with which music therapy is perceived to be effective. Results indicated that 65% of participants had heard of music therapy, and 60% had seen a music therapy group with children. The behavioral approach to music therapy was most familiar to participants but some participants had also heard of neurologic music therapy, psychodynamic music therapy, and Orff-Schulwerk. Eighty-seven percent of the participants agreed that music therapy was beneficial for students with disabilities, and participants felt music therapy was most effective in addressing the emotional and social goals of students with disabilities. Participants' rank order for disability groups that would benefit from music therapy was: (1) speech/language impairment, (2) specific learning disability, (3) emotional disturbance, and (4) autism. Participants' rank order for age groups that would benefit from music therapy was: (1) 0-5 years old, (2) 6-10 years old, (3) 11-15 years old, and (4) 16-18 years old. These findings indicate that parents, teachers, and administrators perceive music therapy to be effective with school-age students who have various disabilities, particularly younger children. Additionally, results from this study corroborate previous research regarding the perceived effectiveness of music therapy with other populations. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are also discussed.