Abstract
This review aims to show that it is possible for deaf children to learn and play music to a high academic standard specifically at the Mary Hare School for the Deaf in Newbury, England. The authors describe the foundation of the music programme that led to academic successes years later, and emphasise the need for neuroimaging research to undercover the cognitive neuroscience factors behind these successes. Based on summaries of previously inaccessible publications, the review focuses on the period from 1975 to 1988 describing the early musical activities, public performances and lessons as music became integrated into the curriculum. The origins of the programme are attributed to increased auditory attention and experimentation in the Piagetian model of child development facilitated by powerful behind-the-ear hearing aids. Since 1981 almost 310 certificates from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music have been awarded to deaf pupils for obtaining at least a pass in Grade examinations, and since 1991 more than 75 pupils have obtained passes in national examinations in music. The review concludes with a discussion on the paucity of knowledge of how sensory deprivation at different stages of the auditory pathway from the cochlea to the brain affects music education.
Recommended Citation
Fawkes, William G. and Ratananather, J. Tilak
(2009)
"Music at the Mary Hare Grammar School for the Deaf from 1975 to 19881,"
Visions of Research in Music Education: Vol. 14, Article 4.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.lib.uconn.edu/vrme/vol14/iss1/4