This book outlines how teachers, music / arts therapists and teacher trainers have engaged in participatory action research to facilitate regular group music listening and improvisational music making with children and young people in their classrooms, highlighting its impact in addressing issues of mental health and providing social and emotional access to learning. The book includes examples of classroom practice, evidencing how safe, inclusive and interactive music making can stimulate experiences that alter children and young people’s moods, enhance their social skills and enable their connectivity with each other and with learning. It describes participatory action research approaches that support inter professional learning between teachers and music / arts therapists. Five narrative accounts of classroom episodes provide a basis for continuing reflection and critical theorising about young people’s relational health and sensory engagement. The book explores outcomes from non-verbal dialogic interaction and attachment focussed practices. It advocates new forms of rights respecting professionalism. Providing new frameworks with which to enhance the wellbeing of vulnerable children and young people in classroom settings, the book will be important reading for researchers and students in the fields of inclusive education, music / arts therapy and teacher training. The contents are significant for practitioners looking to support children and young people’s recovery and reconnections in the classroom.

Table of Contents:
Dedication List of figures List of tables List of textual outcomes List of contributors Foreword: Saville Kushner Preface: a review of the findings of the book in light of the COVID-19 pandemic Acknowledgements 1. Creating agendas for classroom based research to address issues of mental health 2. Designing participatory action research approaches to support the development of inclusive practices 3. Professional learning about group music making and relational health in classrooms 4. From sensory engagement to self regulation through music and arts experiences 5. Inter professional exploration of the dialogic dimensions of music based therapeutic teaching practices: towards establishing educational and therapeutic rationales 6. Creative attachment focussed therapy practices in the classroom 7. Exploring ways in which music / arts based therapeutic teaching practices exemplify the principles and values of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) 8. A review of participatory action research as a basis for inter professional learning within the school setting: developing teachers as music makers in the classroom 9. Exploring how the documentation of participatory action research activities supported professional learning and recognition of young people’s reconnections through music 10. Envisaging further collaborative music / arts based therapeutic teaching practices within educational settings 11. Introduction to the Complementary Materials CM1: Anna Rita Addessi Developing an observation schedule using Flow dimensions CM2: Alexandra Carvalho Entering art spaces with young people where music is playing CM3: Elisabetta Colace Strategies drawn from dance movement therapy for working with young people with vulnerabilities in the school context CM4: Poliksena Hardalova A sensory journey introducing the new school year CM5: Poliksena Hardalova Drama as a journey into yourself: the reflections of a teacher trainer CM6: Eunice Macedo with Poliksena Hardalova The wider arts as experiences that support young people and teachers working together CM7: Eunice Macedo Teachers’ understanding of the contribution of shared arts experiences to their professional development. CM8: Luis Mesquita The application of United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in an alternative educational setting for young adults CM9: Francesca Quadrelli Music therapy approaches in the classroom, a focus on group work CM10: Sofia Santos Understanding teachers’ competences in constructing a school play CM11: Krzysztof Stachyra Group music making approaches to enhance relational health CM12: Krzysztof Stachyra Creating a safe environment for listening to music in the classroom CM13: Krzysztof Stachyra A creative arts approach to address emotional difficulties CM14: Krzysztof Stachyra Exploring the need for arts experiences within teacher education CM15: Jane Tarr Choosing musical instruments CM16: Jane Tarr Musical elements CM17: Jane Tarr Exploring the PACE model – Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity, and Empathy CM18: Jane Tarr The Sanctuary Model and LINK project experiences CM19: Jane Tarr Listening to music: guidance and selections CM20: Cathy Warner Mirroring and matching through music making CM21: Cathy Warner Communicative musicality CM22: Cathy Warner Healing brain functions through sensory and relational music making CM23: Cathy Warner Insecure attachments: music making as a healing approach CM24: Becky White Musical improvisation CM25: Barbara Zanchi Music therapy approaches to listening in the classroom for children and young people CM26: Barbara Zanchi The value of non verbal musical dialogic principles and actions from the perspective of a music therapist Author Index Subject Index