Individuals with mental disabilities and other adaptive needs may benefit from music education throughout their lives. These individuals are commonly perceived as having decreased autonomy, relatedness, and competence: the three factors contributing to psychological well-being according to self-determination theory (SDT). In this study, we initiated a choral experience with a school for young adults with disabilities. We share findings from conducting autonomy-focused activities embedded in the choral rehearsal. Students and staff in this study share unique outcomes, including the power of decision-making and the importance of leadership and representation.
AbramoJ. (2012). Disability in the classroom: Current trends and impacts on music education. Music Educators Journal, 99(1), 39–45. https://doi.org/10.1177/0027432112448824
2.
AdderleyC.KennedyM.BerzW. (2003). “A home away from home”: The world of the high school music classroom. Journal of Research in Music Education, 51(3), 190–205. https://doi.org/10.2307/3345373
3.
BedoinD.ScellesR. (2015). Qualitative research interviews of children with communication disorders: Methodological implications. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 30(4), 474–489. https://doi-org.byu.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/08856257.2015.1035884
4.
BellA. P. (2008). The heart of the matter: Composing music with an adolescent with special needs. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 9(9), 1–36. http://www.ijea.org/v9n9/
5.
BlairD. V. (2009). Nurturing music learners in Mrs Miller’s `family room’: A secondary classroom for students with special needs. Research Studies in Music Education, 31(1), 20–36. https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103X09103628
6.
BrownL. S.DraperE. A.JudithJ. A. (2022). Inside inclusive elementary music classrooms: Teachers and their students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 41(3), 48–56. https://doi.org/10.1177/87551233221096858
7.
CaldwellK. (2014). Dyadic interviewing: A technique valuing interdependence in interviews with individuals with intellectual disabilities. Qualitative Research, 14(4), 488–507. https://doi-org.byu.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/1468794113490718
8.
CameronJ.BankoK. M.PierceW. D. (2001). Pervasive negative effects of rewards on intrinsic motivation: The myth continues. Perspectives on Behavior Science, 24, 1–44. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03392017
CoonsK. D.WatsonS. L. (2013). Conducting research with individuals who have intellectual disabilities: Ethical and practical implications for qualitative research. Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 19(2), 14–24.
12.
CreswellJ. W. (2013). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Sage.
13.
DarrowA. (1999). Music educators’ perceptions regarding the inclusion of students with severe disabilities in music classrooms. Journal of Music Therapy, 36(4), 254–273. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmt/36.4.254
14.
DarrowA. (2015). Ableism and social justice: Rethinking disability in music education. In BenedictC.SchmidtP.SpruceG.WoodfordP. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of social justice in music education (pp. 204–220). Oxford University Press.
15.
DeciE. L.RyanR. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. Springer Science & Business Media.
16.
DesprésJ.-P.Julien-GauthierF.Bédard-BruyèreF.MathieuM.-C. (2023). Music and young people with intellectual disability: A scoping review. Psychology of Music, 52(3), 362–379. https://doi.org/10.1177/03057356231203697
DobbsT. L. (2012). A critical analysis of disabilities discourse in the Journal of Research in Music Education, 1990-2011. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 194, 7–30. https://doi.org/10.5406/bulcouresmusedu.194.0007
20.
DraperA. R.BartolomeS. J. (2021). Academy of Music and Arts for Special Education (AMASE): An ethnography of an individual music instruction program for students with disabilities. Journal of Research in Music Education, 69(3), 258–283. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429421990337
21.
DraperE. A. (2019). Creating a meaningful music curriculum for students with disabilities. General Music Today, 33(1), 47–49. https://doi.org/10.1177/1048371319863792
22.
DraperE. A. (2024). Using technology to support students with disabilities in inclusive music classrooms. Journal of General Music Education, 37(3), 39–41. https://doi.org/10.1177/27527646241234886
23.
EllerbrockC. R.CruzB. C. (2014). A vision of diversity in teacher education. In CruzB. C.EllerbrockC. R.VasquezA.HowesE. V. (Eds.), Talking diversity with teachers and teacher educators. Exercises and critical conversations across the curriculum (pp. 13–27). Teachers College Press.
24.
FieldS. (1996). Self-determination instructional strategies for youth with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 29(1), 40–52. https://doi.org/10.1177/002221949602900107
25.
FieldS.HoffmanA. (1994). Development of a model for self-determination. Career Development for Exceptional Individuals, 17(2), 159–169. https://doi.org/10.1177/088572889401700205
26.
FrielinkN.SchuengelC.EmbregtsP. J. C. M. (2018). Autonomy support in people with mild-to-borderline intellectual disability: Testing the Health Care Climate Questionnaire-Intellectual Disability. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 31(1), 159–163. https://doi.org/10.1111/jar.12371
27.
GrigalM.NeubertD. A.MoonM. S.GrahamS. (2003). Self-determination for students with disabilities: Views of parents and teachers. Exceptional Children, 70(1), 97–112. https://doi.org/10.1177/001440290307000106
28.
GuayF. (2022). Applying self-determination theory to education: Regulation types, psychological needs, and autonomy supporting behaviors. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 37(1), 75–92. https://doi.org/10.1177/08295735211055355
29.
HammelA. M. (2017). Teaching music to students with special needs: A practical resource. Oxford University Press.
30.
HammelA. M.HouriganR. M. (2013). Teaching music to students with autism. Oxford University Press.
31.
HassanN. (2017). Re-voicing: Community choir participation as a medium for identity formation amongst people with learning disabilities. International Journal of Community Music, 10(2), 207–225. https://doi.org/10.1386/ijcm.10.2.207_1
JellisonJ.BrownL.DraperE. (2015). Peer-assisted learning and interactions in inclusive music classrooms: Benefits, research, and applications. General Music Today, 28(3), 18–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/1048371314565456
34.
JellisonJ. A. (2015). Including everyone: Creating music classrooms where all children learn. Oxford University Press.
35.
JellisonJ. A.DraperE. A. (2015). Music research in inclusive school settings: 1975-2013. Journal of Research in Music Education, 62(4), 325–331. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429414554808
36.
JohnstonM. M.FinneyS. J. (2010). Measuring basic needs satisfaction: Evaluating previous research and conducting new psychometric evaluations of the basic needs satisfaction in general scale. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 35(4), 280–296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2010.04.003
37.
JonesS. K. (2014). Teaching students with disabilities: A review of music education research as it relates to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 34(1), 13–23. https://doi.org/10.1177/8755123314548039
38.
KaschubM.SmithJ. (2009). Minds on music: Composition for creative and critical thinking. Rowman & Littlefield Education.
39.
KnoxM.MokM.ParmenterT. (2000). Working with the experts: Collaborative research with people with an intellectual disability. Disability & Society, 15(1), 49–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09687590025766
40.
KuldP. B.FrielinkN.ZijlmansM.SchuengelC.EmbregtsP. J. C. M. (2023). Promoting self-determination of persons with severe or profound intellectual disabilities: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 67(7), 589–629. https://doi.org/10.1111/jir.13036
41.
LernerN.StraussJ. (2006). Sounding off: Theorizing disability in music. Routledge.
42.
LopezS. J.LouisM. C. (2009). The principles of strengths-based education. Journal of College and Character, 10(4), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.2202/1940-1639.1041
43.
MacDonaldR. A.KreutzG.MitchellL. (2012). Music, health, and wellbeing. Oxford University Press.
44.
MagowanF. (2025). Social and emotional wellbeing in an Australian choir of people with disabilities. Ethnomusicology Forum, 34(1), 72–90. https://doi.org/10.1080/17411912.2025.2504861
45.
MatthewsW. K. (2017). “Stand by me”: A mixed methods study of a collegiate marching band members’ intragroup beliefs throughout a performance season. Journal of Research in Music Education, 65(2), 179–202. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429417694875
46.
MerktI. (2012). Voices: An inclusive choir in Dortmund, Germany. Approaches: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Music Therapy, 4(2), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.56883/aijmt.2012.478
47.
MerriamS. B.TisdellE. J. (2016). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation (4th ed.). Jossey Bass.
NiemiecC. P.RyanR. M. (2009). Autonomy, competence, and relatedness in the classroom applying self-determination theory to educational practice. Theory and Research in Education, 7, 133–144. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477878509104318
51.
OckelfordA. (2000). Music in the education of children with severe or profound learning difficulties: Issues in current U.K. provision, a new conceptual framework, and proposal for research. Psychology of Music, 28, 197–217. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735600282009
52.
PattonM. Q. (2015). Qualitative research and evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice (4th ed.). Sage.
53.
PelletierJ. E.JoussementM. (2016). The benefits of supporting the autonomy of individuals with mild intellectual disabilities: An experimental study. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 30(5), 830–846. https://doi.org/10.1111/jar.12274
54.
QuigleyH.MacDonaldR. (2022). A qualitative study of an online Makaton choir for individuals with learning difficulties. International Journal of Community Music, Volume, 15(1), 65–94. https://doi.org/10.1386/ijcm_00052_1
55.
ReeveJ.HalusicM. (2009). How K-12 teachers can put self-determination theory principles into practice. Theory and Research in Education, 7(2), 145–154. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477878509104319
56.
RickardN. S.AppelmanP.JamesR.MurphyF.GillA.BambrickC. (2013). Orchestrating life skills: The effect of increased school-based music classes on children’s social competence and self-esteem. International Journal of Music Education, 31(3), 292–309. https://doi.org/10.1177/0255761411434824
57.
RyanR. M.DeciE. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. The Guilford Press. https://doi.org/10.1521/978.14625/28806
58.
RyanR. M.DeciE. L. (2020). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation from a self-determination theory perspective: Definitions, theory, practices, and future directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 61, 101860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101860
59.
SaldanaJ. (2016). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Sage.
60.
SalvadorK. (2013). Inclusion of people with special needs in choral settings: A review of applicable research and professional literature. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 31(2), 37–44. https://doi.org/10.1177/8755123312473760
61.
SharpR. A.MudfordO. C.ElliffeD. (2015). A data-based method for selecting parameters of momentary time sampling to provide representative data. European Journal of Behavior Analysis, 16(2), 279–294. https://doi.org/10.1080/15021149.2015.1083294
62.
SigstadH. M. H.GarrelsV. (2017). Facilitating qualitative research interviews for respondents with intellectual disability. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 33(5), 692–706. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2017.1413802
StephensonJ. (2006). Music therapy and the education of students with severe disabilities. Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities, 41(3), 290–299. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23880202
65.
StewartN. A. J.LonsdaleA. J. (2016). It’s better together: The psychological benefits of singing in a choir. Psychology of Music, 44(6), 1240–1254. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735615624976
66.
SutelaK.JuntunenM.-L.OjalaJ. (2020). Applying music-and-movement to promote agency development in music education: A case study in a special school. British Journal of Music Education, 37(1), 71–85. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0265051719000184
67.
SutelaK.OjalaJ.KielinenM. (2021). Developing agency through music and movement. Research Studies in Music Education, 43(2), 195–211. https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103X20934084
ViteA.PatallE. A.ChenM. (2024). Relationships between experiences of autonomy and well(ill)-being for K-12 youth: A meta-analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 36(127), 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-024-09967-x
70.
WehmeyerM. L. (2020). The importance of self-determination to the quality of life of people with intellectual disability: A perspective. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(19), 7121. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17197121
71.
WehmeyerM. L.PalmerS. B. (2000). Promoting the acquisition and development of self-determination in young children with disabilities. Early Education and Development, 11(4), 465–481. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15566935eed1104_6
72.
WehmeyerM.SchwartzM. (1998). The relationship between self-determination and quality of life for adults with mental retardation. Education and Training in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, 33(1), 3–12. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23879037
73.
YinR. K. (2018). Case study research and applications: Design and methods (6th ed.). Sage.
74.
ZapataG. P.HargreavesD. J. (2018). The effects of musical activities on the self-esteem of displaced children in Colombia. Psychology of Music, 46(4), 540–550. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735617716756
