scholarly journals Recess as a Site for Language Play

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
June Countryman ◽  
Martha A Gabriel

Researchers in this study adopted an ethnomusicology perspective to explore the playground language and music-making practices of children at nine Canadian school playgrounds over a two-year period.  Using non-participant observation the researchers found that school children (ages 5-12) engaged in multimodal and multi-vocal play as they manipulated language, chanted or sang with rhythmic speech, and combined language play with gestures and kinetic movements.  The authors suggest a link between children’s out-of-school literacies (‘languaging’ and ‘musicking’ on the playground)—where children are active agents of their own learning—and children’s potential in-school literacies.

2021 ◽  
pp. 238133772110246
Author(s):  
Cati V. de los Ríos ◽  
Yared Portillo

For many Mexican-origin bi/multilingual children, Mexican music education begins early in their home. Music is inextricably linked with the sociocultural context in which it is produced, consumed, and taught and the interrelationship between music, society, and culture. Using ethnographic methods, this article examines a small group of bilingual and emergent bilingual Mexican-origin students who regularly congregated in their English teacher’s classroom at lunchtime to recite and perform romance ballads, or what we refer to as baladas románticas, on a weekly basis. We use participant observation, plática-inspired interviews, focus groups, and video recordings to present ethnographic knowledge about how, for these young people, music was a way of being and a deliberate act to build community. Our findings describe the ways the bilingual students found themselves at the margins of their K–12 schooling experiences and, in turn, agentically fostered their own space for translingual expression and solace. This manifested in two primary ways: (a) how they collectively fostered their own form of convivencia (humanizing coexistence) anchored in their ancestral and cultural knowledge through their music-making and (b) how their music-making allowed them to release translingual and transmodal play and creativity that might have otherwise been suppressed at school. We end with a call for literacy researchers and educators to continue to recognize and honor students’ lived translingual experiences, identities, and musical gifts as resources for learning.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-149
Author(s):  
Muhammad Athar Hussain

The present research article deals with the perspective of parents regarding the future of their out of school children and their concept of educational development. Qualitative research techniques which includes in-depth interviews, participant observation and FGDs were used for data collection. Bari Imam, near Quaid i Azam University Islamabad was the research site. Purposive sampling technique was used and only those parents were chosen who had out of school children. To understand the parents’ perspective about out of school children, the concepts have been borrowed from Social Learning Theory, which has three major components e.g. observation, imitating and then modeling. Results of the study indicated that parents had serious reservations about the educational system of Pakistan and the future outcome of education. They preferred short-term to boost their household economy rather than a long term investment on their children’s education which is necessary for the social as well as the personal development. Under the influence of social learning, parents imitating others started sending their children to acquire technical skills, which brought early monetary rewards. Study concluded that, parents were forced to send their children for earning rather than to the schools. Mainstream culture prevailing in the area was to send the children for vocational and technical trainings for rapid monetary benefits. In the current scenario the natives influenced each other which was positive in the context of money and rewards, but negative for the child’s educational development.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. p32
Author(s):  
Saheed Olanrewaju Jabaar, PhD

This study is an exploration of the menace of out-of-school children in Kano metropolis. The study used qualitative method of investigation to investigate the social economic conditions of the children, factors that keep them on the street and possible ways of taking them off the street back to school. Data revealed a harsh and deplorable living conditions of the children. It was also revealed that poverty, negligence by parents, high rate of divorce and ignorance on the part of parents are the major reasons why the children remain on the street. Taking the children out of the street would require effective implementation of social policies on family life, poverty reduction and the universal basic education act of 2004.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-194
Author(s):  
Justice Chukwudi Okoro ◽  
Festus Goziem Okubor

This paper directs attention to Abigbo, an outstanding traditional music of Mbaise people of Igbo south, east of the Niger. It gears to interrupt and challenge willful observations by western-oriented music lovers’ derogatory opinion, contrary to music in traditional setting such as ‘Abigbo’. To realize this objective and prove wrong the ill-informed critics, ‘Abigbo’s uniqueness in song rendition and peculiarity in music making is conspicuously examined here as a case study. The origin and development of Abigbo, its uses, and relationship with other aspects of Mbaise culture are discussed in this work. The musical challenges are highlighted with the dance formation, movements/steps and the ensembles costumed critically analyzed. All these are essentially adumbrated in association with music making trends in contemporary Mbaise. Equally reviewed where applicable are Abigbo’s relevance and inevitable roles in achieving the goal of societal well being. Song communication supported with body language and phonic emission via vocals are equally matters of great interest here. Methods employed in the data collection are library source of information obtained from associated printed materials documented in the library shelves. The researcher consulted relevant ones, read through them during desk work, and use their extracts as backup information to the subject of discourse which he initiated. Few of the procured print media materials are equally paraphrased as and when due. Datum is also secured through participant observation. At this juncture, the researcher’s sense of sight and aural perceptions are actively utilized along with retentive memory with the view to capturing the salient points needed for the paper. A few literature reviews that border round music making in rural culture are altogether, examined to guide and back up the thrust of this discourse. Abigbo has proved its worth beyond all reasonable doubt during its performance presentation in Mbaise social culture. The musicians’ close attention to the masses, particularly the zealous ones who are inclined to get at African tribes’ traditional music to subject them to western notation is a spring board to its fame. At this juncture, we resolve that for music making through song communication to logically reign supreme in Abigbo, its practice by interested artistes should be enhanced and encouraged even beyond the ensemble’s environmental origin. This done helps to secure indigenous interest akin to norms and values within the fabric of Mbaise society.


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