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.

Results of this study support the limited related literature, indicating that personal and/or professional experience with music therapy significantly influences administrators' perceptions of the profession and its place in special education. Implications of the study and recommendations for future research are presented.

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.

The aims of this study were to explore parents' and teachers' perceptions of what music therapy entails and what value it has for children with autism. In so doing, limitations in providing information about music therapy were identified. The context for this study involved Unica School for Autism in Menlo Park, Pretoria. Unica is a Public Benefit Organisation (PBO) that provides specialised education for learners with autism between the ages of 3 and 18 years. Music therapy has been offered at Unica by both qualified music therapists and supervised music therapy students since 1995. This study was conducted within the qualitative research paradigm and, as such, sought to understand perceptions of, rather than prove, the value music therapy has for children with autism. Data collection took the form of 6 semi-structured interviews. The interviews were transcribed and data were coded, categorised and organised into themes. These themes then formed the basis for addressing the research questions. The findings of this study show, firstly, that direct contact with the music therapist, music therapy public presentations, and witnessing musical end products such as performances are the primary influences on parents' and teachers' perceptions of music therapy. Parents and teachers have some understanding of the objectives of music therapy. The findings show, secondly, that the parents and teachers have limited understanding of how music therapy works. This includes a lack of knowledge about clinical musical intention, intervention and the music therapy process. Finally, the findings show that parents and teachers at Unica hold music therapy in exceptionally high esteem. They are able to identify its value for children with autism in a number of areas, particularly in terms of social development and development of self, which relate directly and peripherally to the diagnosis of autism. The participants also recognise the lack of awareness about music therapy outside of the Unica environment, and express a wish for all children with autism to receive music therapy. Copyright.

This volume offers a comprehensive overview of the many facets of musical experience, behaviour and development in relation to the diverse variety of educational contexts in which they occur.