A STUDY OF MUSIC AND ITS ABILITY TO GIVE VOICE: A PHOTO- ELICITATION PROJECT INVOLVING YOUTH IN-CARE AND THE INTERPRETATION OF VISUALS A STUDY OF MUSIC AND ITS ABILITY TO GIVE VOICE: A PHOTO- ELICITATION PROJECT INVOLVING YOUTH IN-CARE AND THE INTERPRETATION OF VISUALS By BLAKE ANDERSON, B.A., B.S.W. A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Social Work McMaster University © Copyright by Blake Anderson, July 2017 MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK McMaster University (2017) Hamilton, Ontario TITLE: A Study of Music and Its Ability to Give Voice: A Photo-Elicitation Project Involving Youth In-Care and the Interpretation of Visuals AUTHOR: Blake Anderson, B.A., B.S.W. (McMaster University) SUPERVISOR: Christina Sinding, Ph.D NUMBER OF PAGES: vii, 101 ii ABSTRACT: In 2017 the Ontario government moved forward with new child welfare legislation, Bill 89, spelling out that the 47 Children’s Aid Societies in Ontario will be much more ‘child- centric’. I explore the historical context of the ‘child- centric’ language and commitments in the new Act, including tracing its origin by the Act’s incorporation of the Katelynn Principle and Article 12 of the 1989 United Nations Convention On The Rights Of The Child. How best to consult youth in-care is an essential, but a mostly unanswered question. Children Aid Societies across the province have a unique opportunity to implement alternative methods in engaging young people in consultation, should they pan out as viable and reliable strategies when consulting youth in-care. Tradition interview approaches are not always the best strategies when engaging youth. Visual research methods, such as photo-elicitation, have the potential of offering useful insights into children’s perspectives and experiences. The focus of my thesis is youth voice. I explore this topic through a study with young people in-care involved in a music group. I used focus groups and photo-elicitation as methods for data collection. An important question addressed by my thesis is whether a visual research method, such as photo-elicitation, helps in the consultation process with young people and whether some of the claims made about the approach are accurate when working with youth. Specifically, I explored claims made about photo-elicitation helping with increasing 'emotional type talk' and inquired into how the method may enhance the consultation process with young people. I consider these questions in the context of important epistemological and theoretical debates about arts-informed and visual research methodologies. Five youth who had involvement of being in-care and were a part of a music group at a local Children’s Aid Society participated in my study. My study found that the youth overall felt consulted and did feel a degree of influence in shared decision making with being in-care. My study also showed that although photo-elicitation did not generate more iii ‘emotional-type talk’, it does appear to enhance self- confidence, which seemed to support meaningful participation in the interview process. Although much more needs to be explored with the application of visual research methods, and social science researchers should be cautious in making exaggerated claims in support of the approaches, youth in- care can surely benefit from visual research methods such as photo-elicitation. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: I would like to thank: Tyler Firth, for your editing and the long runs which helped me cope with the stress of writing a thesis! Michelle Williamson, for the deep conversations and encouragement. To my colleagues, including my managers, at Native Child and Family Services of Toronto and former colleagues at Brant Family and Children’s Services who covered me while I was in class and accommodated my absence. Thank you. Giselle Damiani-Taraba and Iona Sky, for inspiring me to focus on a creative visual methodology and providing me with the much needed resources for my literature review. Your leadership with the youth-led video project 'Listen to Me' helped shape my study and writing. Chris Sinding, for your support, editing my thesis and encouraging me towards conducting research with youth using a visual research method. Your wisdom, feedback and discussions helped me become a better writer and thinker. Thank you. My parents, for your encouragement and love along my research journey. To my family and friends, thank you for your consistent encouragement and well wishes. Ian Galloway, thank you for making the study a possibility and for taking the time to help set up the study for me. And finally, to all the youth who participated in the study - for sharing your ideas and experiences so freely and having the courage to be vulnerable. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION 1 SECTION 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 9 SECTION 3: METHODOLOGY, METHOD & ETHICS 18 a. Methodology 18 1) Art Informed Methodology In The Social Sciences 2) Visual Research Methods And Use Of Visuals Within Social Science Research b. Methodology and Methods for My Study 37 3) Approaches to Data Analysis in My Study c. Study Design 54 1) Recruitment and Ethics 2) Description of Participants 3) Procedures of Study 4) Approach to Data Analysis in My Study Thematic Analysis Visual Analysis SECTION 4 FINDINGS 60 SECTION 5 DISCUSSION 75 vi SECTION 6 CONCLUSION 80 APPENDIX I 82 REFERENCES 94 vii Master of Social Work – B. Anderson McMaster – School of Social Work 1. Introduction Much has been written about how the child welfare system is broken (Swift, 1995, Swift, 1998, Trocmé et al, 2003, Margolin, 1997, Blackstock 2006/7). Many theorists have offered their solutions to how to fix the broken system. Some have proposed an ‘evidence-based practice’ solution, while others value ambiguity and uncertainty (Plath, 2006, Leonard, 2001, Parton, 1998). Others theorists advocate an anti- oppressive practice framework, in the form of political and structural change (Esposto, 2010). Applying the Sign of Safety model (Turnell & Edwards, 1999) has also been advocated, but authors have rightfully pointed out that this model is more a guide for practice, rather than something that which will change the “bones” of child welfare (Esposto, 2010, Blackstock, 2006/2007). Then politicians and lawmakers also weigh in on how to fix the child welfare system. For instance, the Premier of Ontario, Kathleen Wynne, raising concerns about the system becoming increasing bureaucratic and lacking the necessary oversight, proclaims she would consider “blowing up” the system and “starting from scratch” (Toronto Star, 2015). Regardless of the solutions proposed for fixing child welfare, most advocates, politicians, lawmakers, and researchers seem to agree that the views of the people most affected – the youth themselves - should be taken into account. The impetus (coming from many directions) to make child welfare more ‘child-centred’ is a central focus of my thesis. My thesis also explores the potential for visual research methods as a means to enhance consultation with youth. Specifically I am interested in claims made about photo-elicitation helping with increasing emotional type talk and how the method may enhance the consultation process with youth. How the Art-Informed Visual Methodology Fits With My Vision, Skills and Expertise and Background to Why I Became Interested in Youth Participation and Visual Research Methods. "Art attracts us only by what it reveals of our most secret self." - Alfred North Whitehead (brainyquote.com, 2016) 1 Master of Social Work – B. Anderson McMaster – School of Social Work Prior to delving into my thesis, I wanted to preface how my research has been a deeply personal journey for me. I have always had a 'creative eye' for photography and been more artistic/ visually inclined. This journey started in my early teens, taking photos, expressing myself through writing, poetry and the arts. As I transitioned into university, I became interested in philosophy - attempting to answer the important questions of life. After completing my Bachelor of Philosophy Degree from the University of Saskatchewan, and starting work at a group home for at-risk youth, I developed an interest in various creative applications, specifically photography, to engage youth. I have worked for over eleven years with young people and families, including four years in a variety of group homes working directly with young people as a Youth Worker. About eight years ago, I conducted a Photovoice project over a series of two months with a family serviced by the group home. I produced a video/ photo slideshow which was presented at the group home. After completing my Bachelor of Social Work, and then later starting my Masters of Social Work (MSW) and becoming a Child Protection Worker, I began to merge my three core passions - photography, philosophy, and working with youth/ social work. As I developed the idea of what I wanted to address in my thesis, I began to consider the potential of merging these three core passions into a master’s thesis. The following, therefore, is my attempt to fuse my three core passions and interests. It is my intent to present a coherent and rigorous exploration into the topic of youth self- expression involving music and it relationship to consultation, using these three passions as the drivers behind my inquiry. My interest in these areas emerges as well from my experience as a child protection worker and involvement with a youth-led video project. I have worked in child protection as a Family Service/ Intake worker for the last seven years. Roughly two and a half years ago, I produced a youth-led video project involving youth who were involved in-care at Brant Family and Children Services (FACS). The project was called ‘Listen to Me.’ The video asked youth their views relating to LGBTQ issues, anti-bullying and being in-care. Subsequently, this video was used to train educational staff at the Grand 2