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103
JMTE 6 (1) pp. 103–130 Intellect Limited 2013
Journal of Music, Technology & Education
Volume 6 Number 1
© 2013 Intellect Ltd Article. English language. doi: 10.1386/jmte.6.1.103_1
Manchester Metropolitan University
Community music offers organic opportunities for both Authentic and Situation
Learning, as well as Process-directed education. It is evident that in many commu-
nity music projects participants are empowered to discover their own learning paths
through the creative process of music-making. However, the participatory nature
of community music making also seems to encourage participants to share in each
other’s experiences that can often lead to an understanding of each other and them-
selves. The type of music workshops we were particularly interested in examining
mainly consisted of group composition through the process of learning to play in a
rock band (bass, keys, guitar, vocals and drums) and electronic composition using
music technology
criminal youth justice
sector
group composition
Crime-Pics II
Music
Map of Me
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the software Logic. We were interested in trying to measure the transformative effect
of participating in community music sessions on young people’s attitudes towards
offending behaviour. Our preliminary results suggest that there seems to be a small
but measurable improvement in the attitudes towards offending of the young people
who had participated in the music workshops, especially in the perception of their life
problems and how these problems could contribute to potential offending behaviour.
Our pilot study commissioned by Make Some Noise (Youth Music Action
Zone, YMAZ) set out to measure the potential for the type of social and
community transformation mentioned above. Using Crime-Pics II and the
‘Map of Me’ graffiti chart, our study focused on measuring the change in young
people’s attitudes towards offending after having taken part in participatory
music making that used technological and non-technological performative
tools. We were particularly interested in looking at the areas of anticipation
of offending and the perception of life problems. Our quasi-experimental
design used a non-random sample of young people who were either at risk
of offending or had received Penalty Notices for Disorder (PND) between the
ages of 9 and 18 years. They attended three youth clubs in deprived South
Staffordshire estates. They were divided into a test (n=16) group who partici-
pated in the workshops and a control (n=5) group who did not. Both groups
were interviewed using Crime-Pics II and ‘Map of Me’ questionnaires before
and after the intervention over roughly the same time period.
Through the provision of participatory activities that included creative writing,
instrumental and music technology workshops, participants were encouraged
to make pieces of work that explored their home and street life and the impact
these environments had on their anti-social behaviour. Participants were also
informally interviewed during the creative sessions in order to background the
work they had created.
Two test groups and a control group came from the Silkmore Youth Club,
which serves the Rickerscote estate in South Stafford. The youth club provided
activities such as indoor football, a variety of board and video games and craft
activities. The intervention for the test groups took the form of learning to
play in a rock band. Both test groups had one 90-minute session a week and
they both worked for six weeks, contiguously. The control group was inter-
viewed twice over one six-week period. I will outline the main pedagogi-
cal processes from the workshops as observed from the workshop leader’s
session notes.
The development of group negotiation skills
It seemed to be very important for the groups to have been given the opportu-
nity to set its own boundaries when negotiating the structure of the session:
Establish the group•
Establish aims, expectations and outcomes of the project•
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Guide the group to create simple rules•
There was a break for 15 minutes (as negotiated with the young people •
by asking the question ‘how long does it take to eat a pot noodle?’).
(Workshop Leader Diary)
The development of respect
Negotiating boundaries with the groups seemed to have had a beneficial effect
on the behaviour of the participants:
There seems to be increased respect for the artists, the equipment and
the project amongst even the most disruptive young people. This is
evidenced by how the young people enter and leave the music area,
how they interact with each other and the workshop leader and how
they treat equipment.
(Workshop Leader Diary)
The development of teamwork skills
Here, the workshop leader explains one of his strategies that encouraged
team building:
Getting the young people to help set up the equipment works well on
several levels: firstly by helping them to feel ownership and increased
appreciation of the equipment, secondly they learn new things, thirdly
they interact with the workshop leader and each other in a different
way, fourthly it lets people not directly involved in music making to be
involved, and finally it means they come into the workshop space in a
much less chaotic fashion.
(Workshop Leader Diary)
Struggling with boundaries and boredom
However, despite the beneficial processes used by the workshop leader to
encourage the smooth running of sessions and the building of social skills, he
still encountered challenges especially from group 2:
During the break, K said she was going to stop doing the music group,
and so was M. When asked why, she said it was because C wanted to
stop and she didn’t want to do the project without C there. When C and
M were asked about this they replied they were bored because the pace
was too slow. Through gentle questioning they eventually realised that
this was due to their behaviour, and then agreed to continue the project
and make more effort to follow instructions.
(Workshop Leader Diary)
The behaviour of the participants sometimes meant that the development of
social skills in a group context was more of a challenge. The space that was
used for sessions also seemed to have had a contributory effect on the chal-
lenging behaviour:
There was a new space for the project this week. This was a marked
improvement on the old space in the corridor as it [the new space]
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106
creates fewer disturbances in the main hall and there are fewer disrup-
tions in the workshop space.
(Workshop Leader Diary)
Learning new skills
The creative processes and outputs of the music intervention were significant,
as the self-esteem of some of the participants seemed to have been given a
boost:
The improvisation involved keyboards, guitars, bass [played by the
workshop leader], drums and vocals and was reasonably musical. The
drummer kept a steady beat [helped by the bass] while the guitars
played open muted strings in a minim [half note] pattern over the
top. The keyboard players were shown how to find E and use differ-
ent combinations of E. After a short break, W, C and J worked on the
recording.
Excellent. The young people are rowdy and energetic but behaviour,
although still occasionally very challenging, is boisterousness rather
than anything serious/deliberate disruptiveness. There is a massive
difference between now and the first session in terms of concentration,
group ownership and self-directed learning/participation.
(Workshop Leader Diary)
Sharing skills with others
As a result of learning new skills, some participants showed how confident
they were in how they interacted with their peers:
W and N were guided through teaching B and M the composition so
far [as derived from the sessions]. B learned the guitar part and M,
who could already play a bit of piano (he can play the first few bars of
the right hand part of ‘The Entertainer’) was shown how to construct
chords.
(Workshop Leader Diary)
Developing reflective practice
We then listened to the recordings of drums from last week and then
talked about the lyrics we had written already. The theme of ‘my house’
was re-affirmed and expanded on by the group coming up with sounds
on the instruments that represented what happened in their house.
These sounds were then recorded by the group using a portable hard-
disk recorder and the files renamed. In addition to this, we expanded
on the lyrics by noting other things in our houses that make us cry, feel
angry or scared.
(Workshop Leader Diary)
The point of interest from the excerpt above is that by giving the participants
the opportunity to critically reflect on their work, it opened the doors to work-
ing with personal issues in a creative context.
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The third test group was specially put together by the Staffordshire Young
People’s Service (from the one-to-one youth service provision) to work on
the intervention over a three-week period, two sessions a week. The partici-
pants were drawn from the neighbouring Mile Oak and Fazeley estates in
Tamworth, South Staffordshire. The control group was drawn from the
already established Mazeley Youth Club, which served both the Mile Oak
and Fazeley estates in Telford, South Staffordshire, and was interviewed twice
over a three-week period. Over six 90-minute sessions the participants were
asked to reflect on their offences and to write a group song about them using
the software, Logic. The song was recorded and made into a CD. Here are the
main pedagogical processes from the workshops as observed from the work-
shop leader’s session notes.
Social nature of music making
The group coming together is a big part of the process and this must
be given space through breaks and group activity. Working as a whole
group is much more productive as the young people are enjoying each
other’s company and making new friends.
J [participant] expanded on importance of group coming together.
(Workshop Leader Diary)
The diary extract seemed significant for this group because they were a new
group and as a result were not used to working with each other. Another
significant point to arise from the quote is that not only were the young
people not used to each other, but they were not used to group working, as
their main contact with the Staffordshire Young People’s Service was through
one-to-one sessions with appointed youth workers.
Creative writing leading to personal reflection of offending
behaviour
This activity proved to be useful in encouraging the young people to reflect not
only on their behaviour but on the seriousness of their behaviour. The grading
of behaviour from less serious to more serious offered a useful insight into the
young people’s perception of offending behaviour and its consequences.
The group all wrote 8 bars of lyrics to create 4 verses. (see Appendix)
Verse 1: smoking and drinking (written by J)
Verse 2: vandalism (written by C)
Verse 3: drugs (written by Ca)
Verse 4: shoplifting (written by Cha)
The verses were ordered according to the group’s perception of the seri-
ousness of each issue. (Shoplifting was considered the most serious as
the lyric ends with the possibility of going to prison).
(Workshop Leader Diary)
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Using Logic software in-session
The workshop leader had tidied up the track and done some mixing
prior to the session as Logic is proving quite a complex piece of soft-
ware for the participants. The track was broken down into elements
and Logic’s mixer explained (mute, solo, faders, pan wheels, FX slots).
A delay effect was demonstrated. The group made key decisions on the
track (see plan). J recorded a crash cymbal part and a hi hat part by
playing [them] in from the keyboard. Cha did some editing on a guitar
recording.
(Workshop Leader Diary)
The diary entry above raises the issue around choosing music software for its
capabilities versus its accessibility. The workshop leader found that despite
using Logic software that enabled a higher standard of production, it meant
that he had to do more preparation of the material than he would have liked.
The question about group ownership over the production process (as opposed
to the creation process) of the song became an interesting background ques-
tion. This question of ownership of the production process did not seem to be
an issue for the group, as they were unfamiliar with the software to begin with
and were engrossed in the creative and reflective elements of the sessions,
compensating for any ownership issues they might have arisen. I will discuss
the implications of this later.
Group decision-making
This entry demonstrates the process of group ownership of the creative proc-
ess of building the song. It is interesting that the workshop leader approached
the technical process of recording in a fun and participatory manner, which
further engendered the feeling of group ownership of the whole creative
process.
The group are all understandably nervous about recording lyrics. The
workshop leader played the track and asked the group to think of the
first line of the chorus being said in time with the music. Once a rhythm
was discovered, the group was asked to whisper the words in rhythm
over and over gradually getting louder until they could be recorded. The
group was really pleased with the outcome and wanted to do the whole
song this way.
(Workshop Leader Diary)
The practical implications of using this multidisciplinary approach will be
discussed later. However, I would like to give our intervention a context by
briefly outlining current thinking about the models of practice and the theoretical
frameworks behind the use of the arts in the criminal youth justice field.
In her extensive study of arts practice in this sector, J. Hughes (2005) identi-
fies six broadly defined models of (arts) practice. One of the models of prac-
tice is ‘Arts for participation and citizenship’ where the arts are used to help
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1. Our intervention
broadly fits into
this category, as we
included ‘process-
directed education’
(Bolhuis and Kluvers
2000) techniques
designed to encourage
the empathic,
communication and
negotiation skills of
the participants. I will
discuss the practical
and social implications
of the use of this model
of practice later in the
article.
2. Our use of the learning
theories; Authentic
Learning (Roelofs
and Houteveen 1999),
building on tacit
knowledge, Situation
Learning (Lave and
Wenger 1991), a social
form of learning;
and the Process-
directed education
of self- and group
negotiation puts our
intervention into three
broader theoretical
frameworks, namely,
the Learning, Social
Capital Theories and
Intelligence Theories. I
will discuss how these
theoretical frameworks
manifested themselves
in practice later in the
article.
participants to adopt a positive role in their communities and uses peer educa-
tion as a primary tool to achieve this.1
‘Arts to enrich the prison curriculum’ uses arts-based activities that
are designed to enhance the in situ education curriculum by encourag-
ing the acquisition of transferable skills. An example of this type of practice
is the ‘Family Man’ and ‘Fathers inside’ programmes delivered by Safe Ground
that looked at parenting skills within complex family dynamics (Halsey et al.
2002). In ‘Arts education’, participants learn specific skills related to a partic-
ular art form such as Bernie Masterton’s portrait classes and accompanying
exhibitions in adult male prisons (Donoghue 2003). In ‘Arts as therapeutic
interventions’, the arts can be used as specific diagnostic tools to compliment
the range of clinical services that are delivered in the setting. J. R. Lopez (2001)
describes the development of the ‘House-Tree-Person Drawings’ diagnostic
tool where art therapy was used as a detection aid to help develop a clinical
focus for therapists. The ‘Arts for adjunctive therapy’ model uses the arts to
explore personal and social development where the outcomes can be used to
prepare the participants for specific therapeutic interventions. Mary L. Cohen
(2011) outlines Christopher Small’s important theoretical framework (with
contributions from Gregory Bateson’s writings) that describes music making as
a universally accessible activity that explores the sonic and social relationship
between the participants in equal measure. Theatre in Prison and Probation’s
(TiPP’s) drama-based offending behaviour programme, ‘Blagg’ raised issues
that were later pursued in one-to-one counselling/support sessions with the
participants (Hughes 2003). In the model, ‘Arts as a cultural right’, the central
belief is that every social group is entitled to experience arts of the highest
quality, for example, attending arts exhibitions, theatre performances or the
production of writing anthologies. The personal and social outcomes of these
activities play less of a role in this outcome.
I will now outline the main conceptual frameworks behind the models of
practice employed in arts interventions in the youth justice. In Hughes’ (2005)
extensive review of the conceptual frameworks, underpinning many of the
arts practices she examined, seven main categories of (sometimes overlap-
ping) theories emerged: Learning Theory, Social Capital, Intelligence Theories,
Resilience Theory, Cognitive Behavioural Approach, Role Theory and Art
Therapies.2
Learning Theory argues that the various arts disciplines share crea-
tive mechanisms that can encourage critical thinking through the channel-
ling of personal expression. It is thought that the very act of engagement
involved in the creative learning process makes the learning outcomes much
more memorable. E. Winner and M. Cooper (2000) identify three structures
that underpin the developmental links between the arts and education. The
‘cognitive structure argument’ states that the cognitive structures inherent in
creative activities such as critical thinking, close observation and problem-
solving are transferable to other areas of educational attainment. The ‘motiva-
tional argument’ states that the arts can often stimulate motivational changes
in attitude and can encourage young people to engage in educational activities.
The ‘epiphenominal link’ states that the arts can transform teaching methods
in such a way as to make the learner more receptive to the learning process
itself. J. Piaget and B. Inhelder’s (1969) theory of children’s development is
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110
3. The creative writing
element in our
intervention very much
played this role.
4. Winner and Cooper’s
(2000) ‘motivational
argument’ holds yet
another key for the
arts’ transformational
learning processes.
I would argue that
the ‘stimulation’
that is implied in
the ‘motivational
argument’ is actually
the principle of ‘fun’.
In theoretical terms
‘fun’ is more accurately
described in Play
Theory.
5. In terms of arts
educational use, Social
Capital is an important
conceptual framework.
In our intervention
the two learning
processes; Situated
Learning and Process-
directed education
borrow heavily from
this idea. As will be
discussed later, the
Situated Learning in
our intervention gave
the participants the
opportunity to learn
in a social manner,
adopting roles, such as
directing and coaching,
within the music-
making activity that
enabled group learning.
The social interaction
that was needed for
this learning was
only made possible
by the construction,
through process-
directed education,
of a ‘network’ whose
members shared
common goals
and expectations
(closure) that they
had negotiated. The
practical implications
of this process will also
be discussed later.
6. I would suggest that
the ‘fun’ identified
in Winner and
Cooper’s ‘motivational
argument’ from
‘Learning Theory’
owes much to the fact
that if a participant
is learning by using a
greater number of their
innate intelligences,
important to note here because he classifies the stages of child development
into sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational and formal opera-
tional. It is his concrete and formal classifications of the operational (thinking)
that are the most relevant here.
S. Duguid (1981) builds on Piaget’s theory to explain that criminal think-
ing displays adolescent thinking in terms of its ‘concrete operational’ think-
ing, as opposed to mature ‘formal operational’ thinking or abstract thinking.
Learning Theory posits that the arts can offer opportunities that enable the
participant to transit from concrete to formal operational thinking. In practi-
cal terms this means that the arts can enable the participant to reflect on their
experiences and the consequences of their actions, in so doing discovering
alternative solutions to their lifestyle challenges.3
‘Play Theory’4 emphasizes spontaneous, voluntary and active engagement
towards a state of ‘Learning through Play’. S. Pearson-Davis (1989) builds
on Klein’s ideas that ‘children represent symbolically phantasies, wishes and
experiences’ (Segal 1979: 31) and Erik Erikson’s ideas that play seems to help
young children cope with trauma (Raynor 2002), when she argues that formal
play when designed to meet young people’s needs can provide emotional
release, opportunities for social interaction, opportunities to try out new roles
in a safe environment and experiences of success. I will explore the practical
implications of these factors in the discussion sections.
Although there have been many definitions of Social Capital, A. Portes
(1998) gives a comprehensive account of its origins and modern applica-
tion. Portes tracks the development of the modern concept of social capi-
tal from P. Bordieu’s (1985) idea that social capital consists of networks of
common interest whose purpose is to benefit their members through to J. S.
Coleman’s (1988) important concept of ‘closure’ that is found in networks.
Briefly, ‘closure’ is a set of expectations generated by the network that allows
it to benefit its members in a more flexible way than the open market could.
An example of this could take the form of Jewish diamond merchants giving
interest free loans to each other without a time limit in the full knowledge
and trust that the loan would be repaid in full in a reasonable period of time,
according to the expectations of the network of traders. Coleman’s concept
of ‘closure’ requires a dense and closely knit network to work. However,
R. S. Burt asserts that a network needs only to be loosely structured, consisting
of ‘friends, colleagues and more general contacts through whom you receive
opportunities to use your financial and human capital’ (1992: 9). It is beyond
the scope of this article to fully explore the nuanced differences between the
various understandings of the concept. However, all three of the explanations
above and their associated ideas from other writers seem representative of the
complex idea behind Social Capital.5
Multiple Intelligences Theories, pioneered by H. Gardener’s (1993) work
suggests that the arts are extremely important in unlocking alternative forms
of ‘literacy’ to the traditional ones used in education. Based on biological and
anthropological research, Gardener identified seven areas of alternative liter-
acy or ‘intelligences’ namely; linguistic, logico-mathematical, musical intel-
ligence, spatial intelligence, bodily kinaesthetic intelligence, interpersonal
intelligence and intrapersonal intelligence. Gardener posits that there are
many ways to learn about a subject and that the arts can access these different
learning paths more effectively than traditional education, which only typi-
cally accesses two or three types of intelligences at a time, at most. This is
crucial if learning is to be made accessible for participants.6
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How effective are music interventions in the criminal youth …
111
they will experience
more success and that
success in turn, will
‘motivate’ them to
continue engaging in
the learning process.
7. I think this adds an
important dimension
of Gardener’s seven
intelligences because
emotional intelligence
seems to be crucial
in monitoring and
regulating feelings
to guide thought and
action. The fact that
emotional intelligence
relates to the social
competencies of
self-awareness, self-
regulation, motivation
and empathy, would
seem to put it at
the bedrock of the
Multiple Intelligences
Theories, as emotional
intelligence appears
to give a social context
within which the
other intelligences can
operate effectively.
With that said, I would
tentatively suggest
that the Multiple and
Emotional Intelligence
Theories should be
seen in terms of neuro
and anthropological
explanations of why
the arts in this sector
(in general) seem to be
so successfully built on
the theories outlined
in this article, rather
than as standalone
theoretical frameworks.
Applying this to our
intervention, I suggest
that Multiple and
Emotional Intelligence
Theories enhance
the understanding
of the efficacy of
our intervention
in the following
ways: emotional
intelligence, linguistic
and intrapersonal
intelligences via
the creative writing
element (participants
reflecting on their
experiences in
order to write raps/
lyrics), musical and
logico-mathematical
intelligences via the
music technology
element (writing drum
loops and layering
More recently, the concept of ‘emotional intelligence’ has emerged as
being significant. The neurological sciences have shown that there are areas
of the brain that manage emotions that significantly impact on social skills/
competence. D. Goleman writes that emotional intelligence refers to ‘the
capacity for recognising our own feelings and those of others, for motivating
ourselves, and for managing emotions well in ourselves and in our relation-
ships’ (1998: 317).7
Resilience Theory relates to the transition between adolescence and adult-
hood and how certain ‘protective factors’ can ensure that young people in
‘high risk’ environments can transit smoothly and successfully to full adult-
hood (Newman 2003). ‘Protective factors’ could relate to the provision of
diversionary activities, such as youth clubs or structured outdoor pursuits. The
outcomes that are researched tend to be based around issues of self-esteem,
self-confidence and social skills.8
Another conceptual framework that is used to underpin much arts-based
work in the youth justice sector is the Cognitive Behavioural Approach that
seeks to change the way people think in order to change their behaviour. ‘Risk’
areas in terms of potential criminal behaviour that can be targeted include
low problem-solving skills and anti-social attitudes and values (Gendreau and
Andrews 1990). An example of this approach is Acting Out Theatre Company’s
project that worked with persistent sex and violent offenders through role
play. The role play exercises encouraged self-awareness, problem-solving and
self-valuing exercises. These exercises were effective at ‘initiating affect’ where
participants could explore themselves and others by ‘freezing’ (c.f. Image
Theatre (Boal 1985)) their actions and roles (Hewish 2001).
Role Theory shares much of its ambitus with the Cognitive Behavioural
Approach. Much of the theory is based on E. Goffman’s (1959) work around
the theatrical metaphor of performance. Goffman asserts that we learn to
be human by doing what everyone else does and by performing a variety of
roles at different times and in different situations. This theory seems to have
borrowed its central concept from G. H. Mead (1934) who believed that the
formation of self- and social roles is achieved through interaction with others.
As participation in the arts for the most part is social, L. Moller (2003) exploits
this social aspect in her work and research in a New York prison, where
inmates took part in a theatre production called SLAM. Moller used test groups
of beginners, intermediate and advanced in terms of having experienced her
‘Rehabilitation Through the Arts’ (RTA) programme. Moller also worked with
a control group with no contact or experience of the RTA programme. Using
questionnaires that measured personality measures on anger and coping,
Moller found that the combined results of the intermediate and advanced
RTA groups in comparison with the control group showed a significant reduc-
tion in both the number of disciplinary infractions and amount of time locked
in their cells. Moller also found that in the advanced RTA group the individu-
als recorded higher anger levels but had committed the fewest infractions,
leading her to conclude that the RTA programme had given the participants a
healthy outlet for their anger.
Art Therapies, another conceptual framework, has a very close relation-
ship to the Cognitive Behavioural Approach and to Role Theory, but the key
difference is that the ‘therapy’ element is an explicit outcome of the inter-
vention in terms of the defined relationship between ‘client’ and ‘therapist’.
M. Liebmann succinctly defines the process as ‘Most arts activities have as
their main expressed aim an external product, such as a mural, concert, play
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Ornette D. Clennon
112
with other textures)
and interpersonal
intelligence via the
group music-making
element (working as
a team/community/
network to form a rock
band).
8. Although our
intervention took place
in youth clubs, the
settings did not really
play an integral part in
our theoretical thinking
about the intervention.
or mask … Arts Therapies tend to look more explicitly at the personal proc-
esses involved, having this as their aim’ (1994: 8).
The design was quasi-experimental using a combination of qualitative and
quantitative methods.
We administered Crime-Pics II (Frude et al. 1994) to all the young people
participating in the study before and after the intervention. The question-
naire was administered verbally on an individual basis and questions were
rephrased in an age-appropriate manner when necessary. Crime-Pics II
generates five scales. Four are generated by attitudinal questions and the fifth
explores a problem inventory. The scales are scored in such a way as to denote
a greater ‘deviant’ or ‘criminal’ attitude with higher scores than lower scores.
The scales are shown in Table 1.
We also used the ‘Map of Me’ graffiti chart. The graffiti chart was devel-
oped in 2005 in my work at HMPYOI Werrington (see Appendix). Interviewees
were encouraged to give each quadrant of a four-box grid a name of an issue
that was of most importance to them in the interview. The interviewees were
then encouraged to write or draw sub-issues under the title of their quadrants
Scales
General attitude (G) Measures the offender’s general attitude towards
offending. A low score indicates that the indi-
vidual believes that an offending lifestyle is not
desirable
Anticipation of future
offending (A)
Measures the offender’s anticipation of reoffend-
ing. A low score suggests that the individual does
not anticipate reoffending
Victim empathy (V) Measures the offender’s attitude towards his or
her victims – whether they believe they have
caused any harm. A low score indicates that the
individual recognizes their actions have an impact
on victims, directly or indirectly i.e. higher victim
empathy
Evaluation of crime as
worthwhile (E)
Measures the offender’s evaluation of crime being
worthwhile. A low score indicates that the indi-
vidual perceives the cost of crime as being greater
than its rewards
Problem inventory (P) This problem inventory measures the offender’s
perceptions of their current problems (e.g.
money, relationships, housing, etc.). The higher
the score, the greater the number and gravity of
identified problems. However, caution should
be taken when interpreting these results as
an increase may also indicate better problem
identification skills
Table 1: Crime-Pics II scales.
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How effective are music interventions in the criminal youth …
113
that gave further explanation of their chosen issues. Finally, interviewees were
asked if they could make links between the issues and sub issues by draw-
ing connecting arrows that described the relationship. The end result was a
map of the interviewees’ current issues of importance in the session. The chart
generates ranks according to the number of times an issue is mentioned pre-
and post-intervention. The more times an issue has been mentioned post-
intervention, the more important it is deemed to the participant, the higher it
is ranked. The converse is also true.
The ‘Map of Me’ graffiti chart was drawn by interviewees at the beginning
and at the end of the intervention. The chart was also drawn after the comple-
tion of the Crime-Pics II questionnaire, which meant that if there were any
significant issues arising from the questionnaire, especially from the problem
inventory section, there was an opportunity to explore them further in the
graffiti chart. The chart was administered on an individual basis.
Participants
The study population was a non-random sample of young people between
the ages of 9 and 18 years (n=21) from three youth clubs in the deprived
Rickerscote, Mile Oak and Fazeley estates in South Staffordshire.
The samples were gathered using snowball sampling. We identified key
informants, who in these studies were youth workers and a community police
officer. These key informants were able to help us locate critical cases we
could use in the samples. As this study took place in youth clubs it was not
possible to use random sampling techniques, as the population on any given
youth club night was extremely transient. We had to rely on the in-depth
and in situ knowledge of our key informants who could identify critical cases
and ‘make a difference’ with respect to the intervention we were measuring
in terms of their being at risk of offending or having received a PND. In the
United Kingdom, PNDs include warnings, formal cautions and charges issued
by the police and also local authority-issued Anti Social Behaviour Orders
(ASBOs). A control group of five young people (n=5) from all three estates
were also selected by our key informants. The test group consisted of sixteen
participants (n=16), who were taken from all three estates.
All participants were given consent forms for their carers/parents to sign
before they participated in the study. This ensured that the parents/carers
were informed of the exact nature of the research and that they were happy
for their children to participate. We achieved a 100 per cent return rate of
consent forms indicating the important relationship building with communi-
ties that occurred through closely working with the youth workers and the
community police officer.
Data analysis
The pilot study used a mixed mode of data analysis. The quantitative data was
entered into the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) and validated
by an independent observer who screened checked each entry. Analysis was
carried out by using descriptive statistics and the Pearson’s r-correlation (r)
and Spearman’s rank correlation ( ). My main measurement of pre- and post-
intervention correlation and significance was Pearson’s r-correlation with a
measurement for p. However, I did also find it useful to test the distribution
and statistical significance of the data with Spearman’s rank, especially when
working with my ranked results from ‘Map of Me’.
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The response rate was 91.3 per cent, as 21 out of the 23 questionnaires were
filled out before and after the intervention. The analysis is based on the 21
pre- and post-intervention questionnaires.
The demographic of the overall sample population is shown in Table 2.
Whole population
Control group
n=5
5 males
Mean average age (SD) 13.8 (2.64)
PNDs n=0
At risk of offending n=2
Whole population
Test group
n=16
9 males
7 females
Mean average age (SD) 12.06 (1.95)
PNDs n=6
At risk of offending n=2
Table 2: Overall sample population.
G
A
V
E
P
34.4 11.6 8.2 8.8 19.6
36 11.8 8 10.4 19
Table 3: Average mean of pre- and post-Crime-Pics II scores. Pre scores are given
in italics and the same thereafter.
Issue
Pre-intervention
score (%)
Post-intervention
score (%)
Impact (%)
Leisure activities 0 5 5
Employment
(prospects)
10 15 5
Friends 10 15 5
Family 25 25 0
House 5 5 0
Health 5 5 0
Education 5 0 −5
Note: Spearman’s =+0.83, p<0.05.
Table 4: ‘Map of Me’ effect pre- and post-scores.
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Table 4 shows the data set of issues for the control group. As shown in
Table 7, this data set is not as comprehensive as that of the whole study group
that makes for an uneven distribution of pre-intervention issues ( =−0.22,
p=0.42).
Test group
G
A
V
E
P
39.56 12.5 8.88 9.56 22.25
40.25 13.13 8.88 9.88 22.31
Notes: Pre-intervention (correlation with average means of the control group):
Spearman’s =+1, p<0.05. Post-intervention (correlation with average means of
the control group): Spearman’s =+1, p<0.05.
Table 5: Average mean of pre- and post-Crime-Pics II scores.
Evaluating change
Tables 3 and 5 show that the mean average scores for both the control and
the test groups actually increased after the intervention. This is interesting
because after a positive intervention we would expect to see lower Crime-Pics
II scores in the test group. This could be a result of the challenging attitudes
of the participants (large number of PND and ‘at risk’ participants) prior to
the intervention. However, as the average means for both groups seems to
be significantly evenly distributed ( =+1, p<0.05), the r-correlations in Table 6
seem to shed light on the nature of the intervention’s impact.
The G score (general attitude towards offending) for the test group seems
to have achieved less of a post-intervention negative linear correlation. As the
difference in pre- and post-intervention r values would suggest (+0.05), this
is a very modest positive increase in the linear correlation suggesting a small
positive post-intervention correlation. However, a note of caution needs to be
sounded with these results in this section, as the post-G score is r(19)=−0.27,
p>0.05. This means that there is either no statistical significance or that the
sample is too small to be sure. However, for the purpose of hypothesis making,
I will assume significance in these results unless otherwise stated.
The largest change in linear correlation can be seen in the E score for eval-
uating whether crime is worthwhile. The negative correlation between the
control and test group is at its highest pre-intervention at r=−0.12. However,
post-intervention, the test group’s r-scores show an increased positive linear
G
A
V
E
P
Difference
between r values
+0.05
−0.08
−0.04
+0.20
−0.05
Pre −0.31 −0.148 −0.15 −0.12 −0.24
Post −0.27 −0.22 −0.19 0.08 −0.29
Table 6: Crime-Pics II effect size r-correlation values (whole population).
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correlation to r=0.08, implying a positive impact of the intervention in this
area.
Table 7 shows that issues around ‘Offending’ and ‘Money’ (disposable
income) seemed to gain in post-intervention importance. These issues would
seem to be strongly related to an overall change in their ‘Evaluation of crime
as being worthwhile’.
Although important to the population as a whole, the items in italics are
ignored as their impact rankings are shared with the control group. ‘Leisure
activities’, ‘employment’ and ‘friends’ are shared with the control group. ‘Pets’
and ‘education’ show zero impact, post-intervention. This would imply that
the intervention had no overall discernable effect on these italicized issues. The
data set here seems to suggest a positive, if not statistically significant, post-
intervention correlation between the control and test group ( =0.27, p=0.33).
In the next section, I will discuss how the intervention was individually
received by the three test groups. As the groups had different average mean
ages, their Crime-Pics II scores revealed varying priorities particular to that
age group. Due to the extremely small sample sizes, it will not be always
possible to attach statistical significance to the observations.
Issue
Pre-intervention
score (%)
Post-intervention
score (%)
Impact (%)
Leisure activities 1.56 6.25 4.69
Employment
(prospects) 0 3.13 3.13
Friends 15.63 18.75 3.13
Money
(disposable
income)
0 1.56 1.56
Offending 0 1.56 1.56
Pets 7.81 7.81 0
Education 10.94 10.94 0
Health 3.13 1.56 −1.56
Mental health 1.56 0 −1.56
Domestic
leisure
1.56 0 −1.56
Phone
(personal
safety)
1.56 0 −1.56
Transport/
independence
1.56 0 −1.56
House 6.25 3.13 −3.13
Music 12.5 4.69 −7.81
Family 35.94 23.44 −12.5
Notes: Pre-intervention (correlation with data from the control group): Spearman’s
=−0.22, p=0.42. Post-intervention (correlation with data from the control group):
Spearman’s =0.27, p=0.33.
Table 7: ‘Map of Me’ effect pre- and post-scores – test group (whole population).
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Control group
Breakdown of the groups
Silkmore Youth Group (Rickerscote Estate)
Control group
n=3
3 males
Mean average age (SD) 12 (1.41)
PNDs n=0
At risk of offending n=2
Test group 1
n=5
4 males
1 female
Mean average age (SD) 11.6 (1.02)
PNDs n=1
At risk of offending n=1
Test group 2
n=5
2 males
3 females
Mean average age (SD) 10.2 (1.47)
PNDs n=0
At Risk of offending n=1
Table 8: Silkmore population sample.
Issue
Pre-intervention
score (%)
Post-intervention
score (%)
Impact (%)
Family 25 25 0
Friends 16.7 16.7 0
Health 8.3 8.3 0
House 16.7 8.3 −8.3
Pets 8.3 0 −8.3
Money 8.3 0 −8.3
Leisure activities 8.3 0 −8.3
G
A
V
E
P
35.33 13.33 7.33 7.33 20
37 13 7.33 10.33 19.33
Table 9: Average mean of pre- and post-Crime-Pics II scores.
Note: Spearman’s =0.82, p<0.05.
Table 10: ‘Map of Me’ effect pre- and post-scores.
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Evaluating change
Table 12 shows a positive post-intervention correlation in four of the
five scales. However, the high V post-intervention correlation does appear
to be statistically significant to this group at r(6)=0.76, p<0.05. Although not
Test group 1
G
A
V
E
P
33.2 10.4 11.2 8.8 17.2
40.6 13.8 10.2 9 20.4
Notes: Pre-intervention (correlation with average means of the control group):
Spearman’s =+0.82, p=0.089. Post-intervention (correlation with average means
of the control group): Spearman’s =+0.9, p=0.083.
Table 11: Average mean of pre- and post-Crime-Pics II scores.
G
A
V
E
P
Difference
between r values
+0.39
+0.56
+0.02
−0.39
+0.61
Pre −0.11 −0.41 0.74 0.22 −0.41
Post 0.28 0.14 0.76 −0.19 0.20
Table 12: Crime-Pics II effect size r-correlation values.
Issue
Pre-intervention
score (%)
Post-intervention
score (%)
Impact (%)
Family 40 20 20
Education 15 25 10
Friends 0 10 10
Leisure activities
(sport)
5 10 5
Offending 0 5 5
Employment 0 5 5
Music 15 15 0
Pets 10 5 −5
Domestic leisure 5 0 −5
Transport/
independence
5 0 −5
Phone (personal
safety)
5 0 −5
Notes: Pre-intervention (correlation with data from the control group): Spearman’s
=0.29, p=0.38. Post-intervention (correlation with data from the control group):
Spearman’s =0.77, p<0.05.
Table 13: ‘Map of Me’ effect pre- and post-intervention scores.
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Evaluating change
Table 15 shows that victim empathy (V) gained the highest post-intervention
correlation, which is statistically significant at r(6)=0.91, p<0.05. ‘Education’
seemed to gain in post-intervention importance (Table 16). However, the
connection between the two is unclear.
Although important to the population as a whole, the items in italics are
ignored as they show zero impact post-intervention.
statistically significant, the P score that measures the participants’ percep-
tion of their life problems had the most improved post-intervention corre-
lation (meaning greater awareness of life problems), closely followed by an
improved positive A correlation (meaning less likelihood of reoffending).
The Crime-Pics II problem inventory (P) asks participants to rank problems
such as boredom, relationship issues and ‘employment prospects’ on a scale
between small problem and big problem. Table 13 shows that the issues of
‘family’, ‘education’, ‘friends’, ‘leisure activities’, ‘offending’ and ‘employ-
ment’ gained post-intervention prominence, echoing the movement of the
P correlation.
Although important to the population as a whole, the items in ital-
ics are ignored as their impact rankings are shared with the control group.
‘Pets’ is shared with the control group and ‘music’ shows a zero impact
post-intervention. This would imply that the intervention had no discernable
effect on these italicized issues.
Test group 2
G
A
V
E
P
38.4 13.6 8.8 7.6 20.6
32 11 10.6 7.4 19.2
Notes: Pre-intervention (correlation with average means of the control group):
Spearman’s =+0.97, p<0.05. Post-intervention (correlation with average means of
the control group): Spearman’s =+0.9, p=0.083.
Table 14: Average mean of pre- and post-Crime-Pics II scores.
G
A
V
E
P
Difference
between r values
−0.58
−0.51
+0.50
−0.45
−0.10
Pre 0.21 0.05 0.41 0.06 0.08
Post −0.36 −0.46 0.91 −0.39 −0.02
Table 15: Crime-Pics II effect size r-correlation values.
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Control group
Mazeley Youth Club (Mile Oak and Fazeley Estates)
Issue
Pre-intervention
score (%)
Post-intervention
score (%)
Impact (%)
Education 0 5 5
Friends 30 30 0
Pets 10 10 0
Family 25 20 −5
Health 10 5 −5
Music 5 0 −5
House 20 10 −10
Notes: Pre-intervention (correlation with data from the control group): Spearman’s
=0.61, p<0.05. Post-intervention (correlation with data from the control group):
Spearman’s =0.69, p<0.05.
Table 16: ‘Map of Me’ effect pre- and post-intervention scores.
Control group
n=2
2 males
Mean average age (SD) 16.5 (1.5)
PNDs n=0
At risk of offending n=0
Test group 1
n=6
3 males
3 females
Mean average age (SD) 14 (0.82)
PNDs n=5
At risk of offending n=0
Table 17: Mazeley population sample.
G
A
V
E
P
33 9 9.5 11 19
34.5 10 9 10.5 18.5
Table 18: Average mean of pre- and post-Crime-Pics II scores.
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Evaluating change
Table 21 shows that this group recorded positive movement in post-intervention
correlations in both the P and A scores. Interestingly, the highest movement
in correlation is the A score that measures the likelihood of reoffending.
The pre-intervention score is statistically significant with r(6)=−0.89, p<0.05
but the post-intervention scores does not seem to be statistically significant
despite the magnitude of its positively improved post-intervention correlation.
However, I would hypothesize that this correlation would seem to suggest
that the participants had a lowered post-intervention anticipation of reof-
fending. The fact that this group contained the highest number of participants
who had received PNDs seems relevant to the pre- and post-intervention
correlations. Table 22 shows that ‘leisure activities’, ‘pets’ and ‘money’ were
of post-intervention importance. The issue ‘pets’ seemed to be important to
this particular group, as they tended to regard their pets as part of their social
Test group
Issue
Pre-intervention
score (%)
Post-intervention
score (%)
Impact (%)
Employment 25 37.5 12.5
Friends 0 12.5 12.5
Family 25 25 0
Leisure activities 12.5 12.5 0
Note: Spearman’s =+0.88, p<0.05.
Table 19: ‘Map of Me’ effect pre- and post-scores.
G
A
V
E
P
45.83 13.33 7 11.83 27.83
46.83 14.33 6.33 12.66 26.5
Notes: Pre-intervention (correlation with average means of the control group):
Spearman’s =+0.7, p=0.23. Post-intervention (correlation with average means of
the control group): Spearman’s =+0.9, p=0.08.
Table 20: Average mean of pre- and post-Crime-Pics II scores.
G
A
V
E
P
Difference
between r values
−0.51
+0.26
−0.15
−0.10
+0.16
Pre −0.19 −0.89 0.65 −0.32 −0.65
Post −0.70 −0.63 0.50 −0.42 −0.49
Table 21: Crime-Pics II effect size r-correlation values.
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support mechanisms (in a confessional sense) in the absence of supportive
family ties (low post-intervention ranking of family). However, the G correla-
tion seems to be statistically significant with r(6)=−0.7, p<0.05.
Although important to the population as a whole, the items in ital-
ics are ignored as their impact rankings are shared with the control group.
‘Friends’ is shared with the control and ‘employment’ has a zero impact
post-intervention. This would imply that the intervention had no discernable
effect on these issues.
As mentioned in the Findings section when looking at the overall scores for
the whole test population, despite our initial pre-study focus on the A and
P scores, the E score for ‘evaluating crime as worthwhile’ seemed to emerge
as the most important factor. Although the average mean age for our study
population was 12 years, our study population had a wide distribution of ages
(SD=1.95) ranging from 9 to 18 years. The age of our study group seems signif-
icant because in their study, S. Feasey and P. Williams found that ‘prisoners in
YOI institutions were more likely to evaluate offending as “worthwhile” when
compared to the other groups’ (2009: 6). This seems to be mirrored by the
Crime-Pics study of the Geese Theatre Programme (HMP Maidstone 2001)
that worked with young offenders in HMP Maidstone, which found that there
was a post-intervention reduction in prisoners’ views of crime being worth-
while and improvement in attitudes towards offending and victim empathy.
The study also found that post-intervention staff assessment indicated that
young offenders had greater victim awareness, increased confidence and
improved ability to work as a team.
This would seem to tentatively confirm the hypothesis that interventions
working with this overall age group might be better focused on lowering their
E scores. As far back as 1995 in the United States, the Youth Arts develop-
ment programme’s three pilot studies reported ‘considerable evidence to
Issue
Pre-intervention
score (%)
Post-intervention
score (%)
Impact (%)
Leisure activities 0 8.3 +8.3
Friends 16.7 25 +8.3
Pets 4.2 8.3 +8.3
Money (disposable
income)
0 4.2 +4.2
Employment
(prospects)
4.2 4.2 0
Mental health 4.2 0 −4.2
Family 37.5 29.2 −8.3
Education 16.7 4.2 −12.5
Notes: Pre-intervention (correlation with data from the control group): Spearman’s
=−0.70, p<0.05. Post-intervention (correlation with data from the control group):
Spearman’s =0.34, p=0.41.
Table 22: ‘Map of Me’ effect pre- and post-intervention scores.
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support the hypothesis that such programs can contribute to the avoidance or
reduction of delinquent behaviour’ (Clawson and Coolbaugh 2001: 13). The
Mississippi Core Arts Program (Center for the Study of Art and Community
2001) incorporated a range of arts projects with young offenders in custody
and community settings and recorded improvements in behaviour in five
areas: cooperation, self-control, academic performance, incidence of disrup-
tive behaviour and interest in other programmes (across all projects).
I would like to examine more closely the impact of the age group on the
Crime-Pics II post-intervention correlations with a view towards tailoring future
interventions to match the priorities of particular age groups. Although there was
very little statistical significance for the findings of the individual groups, I would
like to comment on the learning processes inherent in our community music
intervention that might have made the difference to the participants’ scores.
Test group 1 – Mean average 11.6 years
This group seemed to have had a heightened post-intervention awareness of
their life problems, as some participants spoke about their anger issues, bullying
and exclusion from their schools in interview. Some participants in this group
also seemed to be acutely aware of certain family issues regarding step parents
or absentee parents that they found particularly challenging. This group seemed
to have had the greatest number of positive correlations across the Crime-Pics
II scoring system, including a statistically significant victim empathy correlation,
perhaps indicating their receptiveness to appropriately reflective interventions.
One of the processes underpinning this intervention was Authentic
Learning (within the broader Learning Theory framework) where partici-
pants were able to build on their intrinsic skills and experience (Roelofs and
Houteveen 1999). The creative writing element of the intervention encour-
aged participants to write about themselves, drawing out their own insights,
as they produced material for lyrics and rap. This was described earlier in the
‘Developing reflective practice’ section. The resultant effects of this learning
process seem to be similar in nature to an evaluation of a range of arts work-
shops in a New Zealand prison by C. Currie (1989), that included a comparison
of outcomes of participants (n=42) with a control group (n=42) via pre- and
post-intervention semi-structured interviews with participants and custodial
and prison management staff. Effects on individuals included increased self-
esteem and confidence; increased self-understanding and cultural identity;
new personal and emotional insights; artistic skills development and enjoy-
ment/relaxation.
However, the intervention with this group was also underpinned by
another learning process: Process-directed education (Bolhuis and Kluvers
2000). When the participants were encouraged to negotiate the ground rules
for the group, this seemed to echo aspects of what is sometimes described
as ‘learning how to learn’, where participants are guided through the proc-
ess of setting up their own appraisal and delivery system of planning, moni-
toring, evaluation, assessment criteria and task delivery (Clennon 2009). I
have outlined this process in ‘The development of group negotiation skills’
section. This process of negotiation equates to a conscious form of Coleman’s
‘closure’ concept in Social Capital Theory. According to Currie’s (1989) study
the results of this type of learning process included increased communication
skills, easing gang tensions by facilitating communication between gang
members, improving cooperation and building rapport.
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Ornette D. Clennon
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Test group 2 – Mean average 10.2 years
As the youngest group, the participants seemed to have had a statistically
significant increase in awareness of victim empathy that allowed them to
recognize that their crimes might have caused people harm. The ‘education’
issue that gained post-intervention importance might point to a need for
more outwardly structured learning activities involving communication and
team building skills often characterized as Situation Learning. The inter-
vention for this group involved learning to play the drums, keyboards, bass
and guitar as a group. The level of group cooperation required for this type
of intervention to be effective is very high. I briefly described this process in
the ‘Learning new skills’ section. Although some of our sessions seemed to
be very challenging in this area, participants did eventually seem to develop
a greater empathy towards each other as they all learned new skills, as
illustrated in the earlier ‘Sharing skills with others’ section. J. Lave and
E. Wenger (1991) make a compelling argument for the case that this type
of learning is an intrinsic function of social intercourse and development
because it is a collective process where the learning is distributed amongst
the participants (Hanks 1991), who assume different roles and acquire
different skills as a result.
In terms of statistical significance, both test groups 1 and 2 registered
an increased awareness of victim empathy, albeit through slightly differ-
ent routes. The younger group registered a higher and a larger improved
post-intervention correlation in this area. However, I am not sure whether the
difference in mean ages between the groups is significant when it comes to
planning an intervention in this area.
Test group 3 – Mean average 14 years
As the oldest group with the highest number of participants who had received
PNDs, a slightly lowered expectation of reoffending (A) seemed to be key to
this group, although they did register a statistically significant negative corre-
lation for the G score, the reason for this is unclear at present and warrants
further study. The intervention with this group seemed to rely heavily on the
process of Authentic Learning where the participants were encouraged to
reflect on their crimes and write creatively about them in song form, using
music technology to write loops and to record their vocals. This was outlined
earlier in the ‘Creative writing leading to personal reflection of offending
behaviour’ section in the description of the intervention.
This often deeply reflective activity seemed to be especially appropriate
for this age group, as they were able to identify the importance of strong and
positive social support mechanisms to help guard them against reoffending.
During the intervention, as a result of sharing their experiences with each
other, many of the participants cited the group itself as a significant social
network of supportive like-minded peers, very much reinforcing the idea of
building Social Capital within the group. This point was reflected earlier in the
pedagogic description of the ‘Social nature of music making’ section.
The importance of the social aspect of creative activities such as those in
our pilot can be found in an evaluation of seven artists’ residencies in probation
services across Northumbria (Walker and Clark 2000) where offenders were
asked to explore the link between their participation in the residencies and
future offending behaviour via qualitative interviews. Offenders were ‘largely
positive’ about the experience and identified positive impacts on personal and
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social development including increased confidence, the development of prac-
tical, artistic and team work/interpersonal skills, and of widened horizons.
‘Golden Nuggets’ for delivering offending-themed music
workshops
Our pilot study would seem to suggest that music workshops that empha-
size the social aspect of learning (situated learning) in the form of structured
ensemble playing (young people learning to play together in tune, in time, in
sequence, etc.) seemed to work effectively in developing the empathic skills
of the participants for younger age groups. This seemed to have had a direct
impact on their attitudes towards ‘victim empathy’. M. H. Thaut’s (1989)
American study of 50 music therapy psychiatric prisoner patients reported
the beneficial impact of participation in music therapy on relaxation, mood/
emotion, thought/insight in patients after music therapy. Thaut refers to
research suggesting that changes in mood/emotion ‘may be important in view
of theories that postulate affect modification as an essential step in behav-
ioural change’ (1989: 165), highlighting the potential longer-term impact of
participation on challenging behaviour and reducing offending.
However, we also found that we did actually need to explicitly ‘theme’
or contextualize our intervention around offending to give the participants
the opportunity to directly reflect on their situations, as previously described
in the ‘Creative writing leading to personal reflection of offending behav-
iour’ section. As our workshops were song based we were able to theme the
content through the application of creative writing. We found creative writing
useful because it enabled participants to express their feelings, their sense of
self and to release tension (Cleveland 1992). This sentiment very much echoes
J. Thompson when he writes about the community use of the theatre work-
shop, ‘the extended deliberate fiction engages people in a much fuller version
of the practice of human interactions … an intense experience that creates a
network of meaningful activities in the present … [some of which] may linger
or reform in a new situation on the outside’ (2003: 96–97).
We found that using electronic composition tools such as Logic for the older
age group worked very well because encouraging participants to write musi-
cal loops to accompany their reflective lyrics appeared to be an effective way
of encouraging their Authentic Learning process. In our study this approach
seemed to have had a direct impact on their attitudes towards ‘Anticipation
of future offending’. We would recommend the use of programmes such as
Fruity Loops or Reason when working with newcomers to music technology
due to the greater immediacy of these loop-based programmes. With these
programmes, especially Fruity Loops, it is easier to incorporate the idea of ‘fun’
in teaching the participants the importance of strong kick, hi-hat and snare
patterns in dance and hip hop music due to the dedicated programmable
grids for each component. I have already outlined in the ‘Using Logic software
in-session’ section some of the challenges we faced when we used Logic in
our sessions. However, the main point we found was that it was important to
embrace other creative disciplines (such as creative writing for songs/rap) to
accentuate the inherent emotional ‘reconstruction’ (Skaggs 1997: 74) that can
be derived from the musical process of composition in a community context.
Finally, we found that it was important to emphasize the ‘participatory’ in
participatory music making. Encouraging the participants to take ownership
of their entire learning processes through the negotiating of their own rules
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for the group (Process-directed education) seemed to have a significant over-
all impact for all the groups in terms of their ‘Evaluation of crime as worth-
while’ (see ‘The development of group negotiation skills’ section). In fact,
this ‘participatory’ aspect has far-reaching implications in terms of building
Social Capital, first in the group, then, via the group, later in the community,
as W. Walter writes, ‘successful and healthy democracies and economies are
those possessing dense webs of community participation’ (2002: 377).
A larger study should continue to work with PND dominated samples•
A larger study should limit the distribution of ages in any one group •
A larger study should test the V score hypothesis for younger age groups •
(<13 years)
A larger study should test the A score hypothesis for older ages groups •
(>13 years) with high numbers of PND recipients
A larger study should closely examine the G score progression of older •
groups (>13 years) with high numbers of PND recipients
We found that attempting to measure the efficacy of our intervention in a
quasi-experimental manner was really important to our development as practi-
tioners. We feel that it is vital that we know, as well as believe that our practice
can be effective. We were able to use this research as a diagnostic tool to look
at areas of our delivery that needed to be tweaked for work in this sector. We
believe that all community engagement work could benefit from such a ‘tune
up’ from time to time, to ensure that anecdotal efficacy matches the empirical.
I would like to thank Carola Boehm for her sage advice in helping me to
prepare this article for publication.
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Chorus (Everybody)
We’ve all been against the law
We’ve all done something wrong
No matter where you’re from
It’s always going on
Verse 1 (J)
I stole some cider from my Dad
I went in the fridge that was all he had
I was drinking in my room
My mum came in with a face like doom
(I had a big fright I chucked it into the light)
Smoking makes you choke
Giving up is no joke
Mum and I had a deal
We stopped together for real
Verse 2 (C)
I was in town with my friend
When an officer came round the bend
I saw a girl spit and laugh and run
And I said to my mate ‘that warn’t fun’
I was with my mates in an old house
When my mate saw a mouse
I climbed up a fence and couldn’t get out so
I jumped and smashed a window
Verse 3 (Ca)
I don’t smoke and I don’t deal coke
Doing this don’t make you a big bloke
‘Map of Me’
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Ornette D. Clennon
130
I’ve got goals like Kylie Minogue
I want to do good for my folks
Dealing drugs on the street corner
Selling coke to an underage learner
Stuff like this will control you
Just like in the PRU
Verse 4 (Cha)
My mum ran out of money
You can’t buy nothing that’s not funny
I go to the shop to rob some sweets
I got caught by the CCTV
The next thing I know there’s a knock at the door
In came the law, it was hardcore
If I do it again I’ll be put on bail
If found guilty I’ll go to jail
Clennon, O. D. (2013), ‘How effective are music interventions in the crimi-
nal youth justice sector? Community music making and its potential for
community and social transformation: A pilot study’, Journal of Music,
Technology & Education 6: 1, pp. 103–130, doi: 10.1386/jmte.6.1.103_1
Ornette D. Clennon works as a community arts practitioner at Manchester
Metropolitan University.
Contact: Manchester Metropolitan University, Contemporary Arts, Crewe
Green Road, Crewe CW1 5DU, UK.
E-mail: o.clennon@mmu.ac.uk
Ornette D. Clennon has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work in the format that
was submitted to Intellect Ltd.
JMTE_6.1_Clennon_103-130.indd 130 4/23/13 3:49:56 PM
