Not all pupils of average intelligence can be said to make satisfactory progress at school. Frequently some of them, for some reason or other, fall behind in certain areas of the curriculum. Unless timely action is taken, serious learning problems may develop with ultimate detrimental effect upon the pupil's progress. This study is aimed at determining to what extent music therapy can be successfully applied in the case of Std. I pupils whose progress at school is not commensurate with their I.Q. First of all a study was undertaken of the available literature on learning problems and subsequently of that dealing with music therapy. Finally a programme was devised for using music therapy with groups. This programme is particularly concerned with the development of the following: motor skills, perceptual abilities, language, acquisition of mathematical concepts and social adaptability. Seven pupils from a primary school were then selected as experimental subjects and a six-month individual music therapy programme was presented to each after establishing their individual problems. This information was derived from class teachers' reports, pupils' scores in the various school subjects and from the results of standardized scholastic and perceptual tests. The progress of each subject was discussed per se and illustrated by means of tables explaining the various data. During the period of presentation due attention was paid to: Fine muscle co-ordination, eye-hand co-ordination, left-right co-ordination, exercises in reading, visual and auditory discrimination and memory, spacial awareness, succession of sounds, foreground-background differentiation, number skills, spelling, sustained attention and perseverance, musical development and improvement of pupils' self-image. When the programme had been fully presented, the battery of tests was repeated and the class teachers were once more consulted to determine the extent of the progress. These data were then also included in the tables previously mentioned. The following conclusions could be drawn from the results of the individual music therapy programme that had been presented to the seven pupils: All the pupils concerned had made progress; subjects in which there had been significant improvement were reading, mathematics, spelling and hand-writing, with notable increase in writing speed; the experimental subjects showed improved ability to concentrate and their self-image had also improved. One can therefore arrive at the conclusion that music therapy can be successfully used with groups or individuals to help them overcome their learning problems. / Thesis (MEd)--PU vir CHO, 1983

Not all pupils of average intelligence can be said to make satisfactory progress at school. Frequently some of them, for some reason or other, fall behind in certain areas of the curriculum. Unless timely action is taken, serious learning problems may develop with ultimate detrimental effect upon the pupil's progress. This study is aimed at determining to what extent music therapy can be successfully applied in the case of Std. I pupils whose progress at school is not commensurate with their I.Q. First of all a study was undertaken of the available literature on learning problems and subsequently of that dealing with music therapy. Finally a programme was devised for using music therapy with groups. This programme is particularly concerned with the development of the following: motor skills, perceptual abilities, language, acquisition of mathematical concepts and social adaptability. Seven pupils from a primary school were then selected as experimental subjects and a six-month individual music therapy programme was presented to each after establishing their individual problems. This information was derived from class teachers' reports, pupils' scores in the various school subjects and from the results of standardized scholastic and perceptual tests. The progress of each subject was discussed per se and illustrated by means of tables explaining the various data. During the period of presentation due attention was paid to: Fine muscle co-ordination, eye-hand co-ordination, left-right co-ordination, exercises in reading, visual and auditory discrimination and memory, spacial awareness, succession of sounds, foreground-background differentiation, number skills, spelling, sustained attention and perseverance, musical development and improvement of pupils' self-image. When the programme had been fully presented, the battery of tests was repeated and the class teachers were once more consulted to determine the extent of the progress. These data were then also included in the tables previously mentioned. The following conclusions could be drawn from the results of the individual music therapy programme that had been presented to the seven pupils: All the pupils concerned had made progress; subjects in which there had been significant improvement were reading, mathematics, spelling and hand-writing, with notable increase in writing speed; the experimental subjects showed improved ability to concentrate and their self-image had also improved. One can therefore arrive at the conclusion that music therapy can be successfully used with groups or individuals to help them overcome their learning problems. / Thesis (MEd)--PU vir CHO, 1983

The aim of this research is to determine the therapeutic possibilities in music and books, in group work with middle aged deprived children. Deprivationwith children is an encompassing problem which social workers daily grapple with. A lack of sufficientknowledgeabout deprivationand sufficientknowledgeon the way inwhich to solve the problemmakesit essentialto do researchon the subject. Literature analysis and an empirical research are the two methods used in this study. The literature analysis focuses on the characteristics of the child client, the value of play for the child and the different ways of playing. This is followed by an explanation of the development of the normally developed middle aged child compared to that of the deprived middle aged child. The therapeutic possibilitiesof music and books is also discussed. Experimental research was used for this empirical research. An experimental group and a controlled group was compiled out of deprived middle aged children. Measurements were taken before and afterwards according to an adapted Hudson scale. Music, books and other therapeutic resources were used in the group work with the experimental group. The hypothesis states that the therapeutic use of music and books in work with groups amongst deprived middle aged children results in improvements of behaviour and relationships. The empiricalresearch proved that the therapeutic use of music and books lead to the improvement of behaviour, such as co-operation and consentration and to the establishmentof a therapeutic relationship between the group members and group leader. / Thesis (MA(MW))--PU vir CHO, 1994

The aim of this research is to determine the therapeutic possibilities in music and books, in group work with middle aged deprived children. Deprivationwith children is an encompassing problem which social workers daily grapple with. A lack of sufficientknowledgeabout deprivationand sufficientknowledgeon the way inwhich to solve the problemmakesit essentialto do researchon the subject. Literature analysis and an empirical research are the two methods used in this study. The literature analysis focuses on the characteristics of the child client, the value of play for the child and the different ways of playing. This is followed by an explanation of the development of the normally developed middle aged child compared to that of the deprived middle aged child. The therapeutic possibilitiesof music and books is also discussed. Experimental research was used for this empirical research. An experimental group and a controlled group was compiled out of deprived middle aged children. Measurements were taken before and afterwards according to an adapted Hudson scale. Music, books and other therapeutic resources were used in the group work with the experimental group. The hypothesis states that the therapeutic use of music and books in work with groups amongst deprived middle aged children results in improvements of behaviour and relationships. The empiricalresearch proved that the therapeutic use of music and books lead to the improvement of behaviour, such as co-operation and consentration and to the establishmentof a therapeutic relationship between the group members and group leader. / Thesis (MA(MW))--PU vir CHO, 1994

The aim of this study was to explore and describe the use of music therapy during intervention with primary school girls who have been sexually abused. An empirical study of limited extent was undertaken, which was qualitative in nature and conducted from the interpretivist paradigm. In depth case study was used as research design, whilst educational psychological assessments, intervention and re-assessments, observation, interviews, analysis of documentation, field notes and a reflective diary were employed as data gathering methods. Two primary school girls in a place of safety were selected as participants in the study. Despite the fact that these girls had to cope with the trauma of sexual abuse, they had to deal with emotions and behaviour closely related to such trauma, including depression, aggression, fear, hate, inappropriate interpersonal relationships, sleeping disorders, low self-concept and behavioural difficulties. The findings of the empirical study are supported by literature, namely that music therapy can provide a safe setting to children for revealing their emotions, fears and needs related to trauma, such as sexual abuse. Music therapy had a positive effect on both cases, who illustrated positive change during the process of intervention and were able to replace negative experiences with positive emotions. Further findings of this nature include an improvement of both girls’ ability to express themselves on an emotional level, self-confidence, assertiveness, self-concepts, social skills and interpersonal relationships, as well as a decline in negative behavioural patterns and symptoms. Subsequently, both girls could perform on a higher level on all various domains of functioning. / Dissertation (MEd (Educational Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted