Operation Singing Nation : a case study towards fulfilling the professional development needs of teachers in Ireland to facilitate group singing

Abstract

Operation Singing Nation: a case study towards fulfilling the professional development needs of teachers in Ireland to facilitate group singing.

Instantly cost-effective, accessible and inclusive, the voice as a musical instrument can guarantee access to and participation in music education to children in Ireland. Every child has an in-built musical instrument: providing children in Ireland with the opportunity to ‘play’ the voice gives them music education choices they would not otherwise be presented with. Using the voice to sing is a passport to solo and ensemble music-making in any discipline, as well as a lifetime of singing.

The author has facilitated group singing with non-auditioned children and more recently adults since 1997. First hand experience of holistically developing the skills to ‘play’ the voice provides equal opportunities for children and adults to spontaneously engage in active, creative and quality-led vocal music-making. A lasting outcome of these experiences, as many recent researches have revealed, is the transformative power of group singing to enhance and transform singers personally and educationally on a weekly basis. Engagement in continuous professional development (CPD) opportunities and more recently providing CPD to teachers and choir leaders has been key to the author’s successful group singing facilitations and its vision-inspired revelations.

This dissertation reviews ten reports and initiatives over sixty-six years advocating the importance of music education for children and young people in Ireland. Nowhere in these reports or initiatives has the voice on its own been proposed or advocated for its guaranteed potential to provide access to and participation in music education for every child and young person in Ireland.

Key to empowering a group of teachers to facilitate group singing in their classroom as part of the dissertation research was determining their professional development needs in advance a summer course in July 2017. Key to empowering a nation of teachers is building a resource of inspirational tutors and mentors with an unfailing passion and belief in the transformative power of group singing. Creating awareness and understanding among policy makers, teachers, leaders, musicians and parents of the voice as a musical instrument, is key to achieving Creative Ireland’s goal of access to and participation in music education for every child in Ireland by 2022.