The impact of music-making outdoors on primary school aged pupils (aged 7-10 years) in the soundscape of nature from the perspective of their primary school teachers

The benefits of taking pupils’ learning outdoors have been widely reported around the world. However, it is argued the simple act of stepping outside the classroom does not inevitably bring rewards. This study examines teachers’ perceptions of the impact of primary school pupils’ music-making in various outdoor rural locations. It analyses qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with seven teachers from six different primary school classes, who observed their classes as they took part in the music-making. The validity of the teachers’ perceptions is triangulated with evidence from semi-structured interviews with six groups of children from the six different classes. The analyses show the teachers perceived that the space, the new soundscape and the close contact with nature afforded by the different locations engendered enhanced experimentation and expressiveness. The teachers suggested that, as a result, the children became immersed in, and focussed on, their music-making. The study suggests teachers identify potential benefits for children aged 7–10 years in making music in outdoor locations. We conclude greater phenomenological, body-focussed understandings in education and an increased awareness of somaesthetic perspectives may be beneficial for teachers to explore in pupils’ music-making and in other creative areas of the curriculum.