Exploring student experiences of belonging within an urban high school choral ensemble: an action research study

The purpose of this action research study was to describe adolescent singers' experiences of belonging within one urban high school choral ensemble. Understanding student perspectives on belonging within music ensembles can assist choral educators, parents and administrators in order to more fully support adolescent emotional and social development in school. Tenth through twelfth grade students were selected from one northeastern high school choral programme in a large city within the USA. Twenty-six participants, in small groups of three to four students each, were asked to describe their experiences of belonging within the ensemble. Interview data were open, descriptively and analytically coded. Codes were gathered into categories. Five themes were developed, including choral experience as uncompetitive, sectional bonding as social bonding, singing as shared experience, chorus as safe space and trips as pivotal bonding experiences. Suggestions for future research include examining student belonging as part of choral teacher practices, studying school choral participation as stress reduction and investigating social belonging as embedded within group singing environments.