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Chances and Choices: Exploring the Impact of Music Education

'Chances and Choices' presents an extensive analysis of qualitative life history accounts gathered from over 100 participants in the UK and Italy over a period of several years. The book seeks to explore the foundations of lifelong musical activity, using a life history approach to reflect on the influences of home life, formal and informal education, in the shaping and fulfilling of adult musical ambitions. Through this approach the study critiques contemporary discourse on the purpose of music education, and raises challenging questions about the connection between school music provision and longer term engagement.

Formal reviews of the book have not yet been published, but it has resulted in conference invitations from music education researchers and teacher trainers, and in a request to serve on the research board of Music Generation, Ireland. A summary of the research was one of five articles chosen to launch the open-access website of Music Mark, the new UK Association for Music Education, so demonstrating the relevance of the research to music education practitioners.

This book presents an extensive analysis of qualitative life history accounts gathered from over 100 participants in the UK and Italy over a period of several years. Smaller scale reports have also been published during the REF period, but the book contributes a full-scale discussion of research findings and implications, drawing on interdisciplinary literature and multiple frameworks for analysis.