Making Music, Eliciting Childhood – Elicitive Facilitation of Music for Personal Unfolding
The power of music, the beauty in childhood and the art of facilitating spaces for learning are the three key ingredients for this thesis. Based on the findings of two parallel 5-week workshops with children aged 6 to 10, this thesis explores how the experience of music, both passive and active, can foster personal unfolding, contribute to get in touch with one’s own emotions and strengthen group dynamics. It presents an idea of learning that considers the individual as a whole, and a conception of facilitation that takes this wholeness into account for allowing all the different aspects and attributes of the child to be discovered, acknowledged and accepted. It aims to delve into questions like: can music be a catalyser for self-acceptance? How can the common experience of music contribute to the feeling of belonging? How can elicitive facilitation, in particular with regard to music, help the learning processes and personal unfolding?
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The idea for this research was born out of my personal experience with music as the tool that helped me get in touch with myself and allowed me to connect with others. This was combined with the magic I had seen in my previous work with children, where I believed I had felt and seen the beauty of being human. In an attempt to explore how both of these aspects and my love for facilitation could work together, I dived into the process of developing, planning and carrying out the workshops that created the basis for this thesis. These have been months of surprises, emotions and learnings. Above all, these has been a time of loving the work I do and strengthening the desire to keep on doing it. This research has been the beautiful realization that I love to explore ways of learning, getting to know oneself and unfolding because I myself love to learn, get to know myself and unfold.