Papers by Marja-Leena Juntunen
Education Sciences
Music and movement activities have been found to be beneficial for learning in childhood. The cur... more Music and movement activities have been found to be beneficial for learning in childhood. The current study was part of the Arts@School project examining the effect of classroom-integrated arts-based interventions (music, movement, music-movement) on various student outcomes. The outcome of interest in the current report is the ability to recognize social interaction, which is one aspect of social cognition, an important but often ignored factor contributing to well-being and learning. The ability to recognize social interaction was studied using a test with two human figures either interacting with each other or moving separately. Children aged 10–11 completed the test pre and post intervention. The intervention groups and an inactive control group were four classes in a school. The interventions were delivered by teachers. The music intervention included listening, singing, and joint music making. The movement intervention was based on a creative dance approach and contained devel...
Frontiers in Education, May 30, 2023
This article presents theoretical viewpoints for considering and understanding expression in popu... more This article presents theoretical viewpoints for considering and understanding expression in popular music singing and pedagogy from the perspective of embodiment as outlined in Merleau-Ponty's phenomenological philosophy. In our study, we apply his interpretations of such notions as intentionality, body schema, gesture, reversibility, and intersubjectivity to bring forth and discuss the holistic, embodied, and interpersonal nature of voice expression in singing. We argue that expression should be viewed as an intentional activity, based on the body's innate mindful functioning as a whole, and in singing guided by the lyrics and emotions to be communicated. We propose that this requires a "free voice", based on healthy vocal production, that also allows for the immediacy of expression as and through gestures that bring the meaning into existence. We further argue that expression is an interpersonal, interactive, and intersubjective process in which the performer and listener influence each other in many ways. The reversibility of perception in expression means that perception and the object perceived are intertwined and action and perception are interconnected. There is also a gap in reversibility, which implies that the perception of (one's own) expression is never complete. In addition to our theoretical arguments, we make pedagogical suggestions, such as that the body itself has a lot of understanding of how and should be trusted in singing, both in terms of voice production and expression. The expression should not be primarily approached as a technical issue but taught in connection with and through expression. The expression should be viewed from the inside out, not the opposite. This means that expression builds on one's personality and (emotional) experiences.
Oxford University Press eBooks, Sep 8, 2022
Frontiers in Psychology
This systematic review synthesized the outcomes of previous intervention studies published from J... more This systematic review synthesized the outcomes of previous intervention studies published from January 2000–October 2022 to evaluate the effectiveness of Dalcroze-based or similar music–movement integration among groups of individuals considered vulnerable (in relation to their abilities and health/wellbeing). The target groups addressed in previous intervention studies included individuals with special educational needs (such as disorders, disabilities, or impairments) or with a (risk of) decline in health and/or physical strength. Twenty articles met the review inclusion criteria. All studies showed beneficial outcomes for music–movement intervention except one that suffered from low adherence rates. In older adults, the benefits were cognitive, physical, social, and/or emotional, including improved postural stability, balance, gait safety, confidence in mobility, metamemory skills, dual-task performance, social and physical pleasure, autotelic/flow experience, enjoyment, health,...
Frontiers Education, 2023
This article presents theoretical viewpoints for considering and understanding expression in popu... more This article presents theoretical viewpoints for considering and understanding expression in popular music singing and pedagogy from the perspective of embodiment as outlined in Merleau-Ponty's phenomenological philosophy. In our study, we apply his interpretations of such notions as intentionality, body schema, gesture, reversibility, and intersubjectivity to bring forth and discuss the holistic, embodied, and interpersonal nature of voice expression in singing. We argue that expression should be viewed as an intentional activity, based on the body's innate mindful functioning as a whole, and in singing guided by the lyrics and emotions to be communicated. We propose that this requires a "free voice", based on healthy vocal production, that also allows for the immediacy of expression as and through gestures that bring the meaning into existence. We further argue that expression is an interpersonal, interactive, and intersubjective process in which the performer and listener influence each other in many ways. The reversibility of perception in expression means that perception and the object perceived are intertwined and action and perception are interconnected. There is also a gap in reversibility, which implies that the perception of (one's own) expression is never complete. In addition to our theoretical arguments, we make pedagogical suggestions, such as that the body itself has a lot of understanding of how and should be trusted in singing, both in terms of voice production and expression. The expression should not be primarily approached as a technical issue but taught in connection with and through expression. The expression should be viewed from the inside out, not the opposite. This means that expression builds on one's personality and (emotional) experiences.
Frontiers Psychology, 2023
This systematic review synthesized the outcomes of previous intervention studies published from J... more This systematic review synthesized the outcomes of previous intervention studies published from January 2000-October 2022 to evaluate the effectiveness of Dalcroze-based or similar music-movement integration among groups of individuals considered vulnerable (in relation to their abilities and health/wellbeing). The target groups addressed in previous intervention studies included individuals with special educational needs (such as disorders, disabilities, or impairments) or with a (risk of) decline in health and/or physical strength. Twenty articles met the review inclusion criteria. All studies showed beneficial outcomes for music-movement intervention except one that suffered from low adherence rates. In older adults, the benefits were cognitive, physical, social, and/or emotional, including improved postural stability, balance, gait safety, confidence in mobility, metamemory skills, dual-task performance, social and physical pleasure, autotelic/flow experience, enjoyment, health, and quality of life. In individuals with special educational needs, improvement was seen in relation to inclusion, reductions in compulsive and other problematic behaviors, self-regulation, perceptual and cognitive abilities and functions, linguistic and learning skills, auditory attention and phonological awareness, social interaction, engagement, and agency.
Sixth issue of the European Journal of Philosophy in Arts Education Ketil Thorgersen Editor in Ch... more Sixth issue of the European Journal of Philosophy in Arts Education Ketil Thorgersen Editor in Chief <br> The second and last EJPAE issue of 2019 is finally due – in 2020. Running a journal is interesting since there are many parameters that are out of the editor's control – such as when reviewers return reviews, when authors return their revisions and so on. And since this journal is run voluntarily, the typesetting and finalising have to fit into my schedule at university. Sometimes this is frustrating, but everyone is gentle and patient, and when I see the great result, such and in this issue, I feel really proud! The issue starts off with an amazing article by <strong>Juvas Marianne Liljas </strong>about a Swedish reform school, the Siljan School in Tällberg, based on the ideals of the Swedish pedagogue Ellen Key. The article is unusually empirical for EJPAE, but uses the empirical data theoretically to discuss aesthetic schooling in an early nineteen centu...
Disorder and conflict are important to prevent the reification of institutional patterns of inter... more Disorder and conflict are important to prevent the reification of institutional patterns of interaction (Apple, 1996).
This is a self-archived version of an original article. This version may differ from the original... more This is a self-archived version of an original article. This version may differ from the original in pagination and typographic details.
As provided by Finnish law, the aim of compulsory schooling is to secure adequate equity in educa... more As provided by Finnish law, the aim of compulsory schooling is to secure adequate equity in education throughout the country. In recent years, however, there have been signs that music education in primary schools may not be living up to the aim of equity (Suomi 2019; Vesioja 2006). The concern about music education provision in grades 1–6 is shared by many countries around the world. In this study, we examined the variation in how teachers (N = 133) experience their ability to support pupils in realising the objectives for music eduction in the national curriculum and how principals (N = 82) describe the organisation of music education in their schools. Data was generated through an online survey in Swedish-speaking primary schools in Finland and analysed with both quantitative and qualitative methods (descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, regression analysis, qualitative content analysis). The findings suggest that there is a wide and significant variation in how the music...
Dalcroze Eurhythmics – a method, an approach, a pedagogy, or a philosophy?, 2019
The views expressed in Le Rythme do not necessarily represent those of FIER. Copyright remains th... more The views expressed in Le Rythme do not necessarily represent those of FIER. Copyright remains the property of the individual author.
In this article, we discuss the potential of Dalcroze-inspired music education for students with ... more In this article, we discuss the potential of Dalcroze-inspired music education for students with special educational needs (SEN), based on preliminary findings of an ongoing PhD study (ethnographic practitioner research) and the experiences of the first author when teaching music in a special education school for ten years. In that practice, the holistic approach based on Jaques-Dalcroze's educational ideas was found to offer valuable and meaningful learning experiences and a tool for a deeper understanding of music, oneself and others. The research design consisted of a music and movement intervention for a group of Finnish grade 8 and 9 SEN students over a period of one school year. This paper draws on the first author's reflections on the intervention (field notes and research diary) as well as on the teacher interview data. The preliminary results of the study indicate that the Dalcroze approach fosters equal opportunities for SEN students to experience music and to deve...
This paper examines musical learning in the context of Dalcroze Eurhythmics. Dalcroze Eurhythmics... more This paper examines musical learning in the context of Dalcroze Eurhythmics. Dalcroze Eurhythmics is an approach of music education that incorporates body movement, ear-training, and improvisation. The paper studies how Dalcroze Eurhythmics offers a possibility for students to explore music through bodily involvement, and to learn through embodied experiences. It also studies how embodiment is reinforced by Dalcroze teachers’ actions and how teaching procedures reinforce the mind-body connection. The philosophical framework of my study is based on Maurice MerleauPonty’s (1908-1961) phenomenological philosophy. For Merleau-Ponty, perceptual experience always precedes knowledge. He suggests that the body and bodily involvement with the world are the primary tools of knowing the world and oneself. My paper suggests that embodied experiences advance knowing at a deep level, while often incapable of expression in words. It also suggests that bodily exploration of the musical world enhanc...
Tässä kirjoituksessa tarkastelemme peruskoulun taidekasvatuksen nykyistä asemaa osana perusopetus... more Tässä kirjoituksessa tarkastelemme peruskoulun taidekasvatuksen nykyistä asemaa osana perusopetusta. Kiinnitämme erityistä huomiota alati syvenevään ristiriitaan taidekasvatusta ohjaavien säädösten ja niiden käytännön toteutuksen välillä (ns. policy-practice gap, ks. esim. Buck &amp; Snook 2016; Snook &amp; Buck 2014).
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Papers by Marja-Leena Juntunen