Improving the well-being of young people is an international priority. The World Health Organization reported that suicide is now the third leading cause of death for young people aged 15 to 29 worldwide and is strongly correlated with mental illness in young people.
New research led by Dr Jason Goopy, Senior Lecturer in Music Education in the School of Education at Edith Cowan University (ECU), investigated the positive impact of Community Music Education Programs (CMEPs) in regional Australia.
CMEP provides cost-effective, community-based, non-medical opportunities to reach young people facing hardship and promote well-being and healthy living.
Community music education programs are increasingly being recognized as environments where participants can learn healthy living strategies in addition to music.
Through the lens of self-determination theory (SDT), we investigated how these programs met the psychological needs and improved the well-being of adolescents and young adults experiencing difficult life circumstances. ”
Dr Jason Goopy, Senior Lecturer in Music Education, School of Education, Edith Cowan University
The CMEP that participated in this study offered a free afternoon program where learning music, specifically songwriting, was used as a transformative resource to engage youth in formal life education. Participation in this program was open to all young people, regardless of previous music education experience.
To understand the impact of music education in this setting, researcher observation, session participation, and individual semi-structured interviews with youth and program facilitators were used.
“We found that learning music in a community setting, guided by belonging, learning and empowerment, promotes young people’s well-being,” Dr. Goopy explained.
- A sense of belonging was achieved through a positive, family-like environment that promoted nonjudgment, connection, and inclusion.
- Facilitator role models provided informal musical activities and formal life-learning activities.
- Young people were empowered to take control and instilled a sense of accomplishment and purpose.
“What we have discovered is that CMEP can meet young people’s psychological needs for relatedness, competence, and autonomy, which are essential to human flourishing.”
Innovative music learning models disrupt the dominant approach to school music education that focuses on musicians’ career paths.
Dr Goopy said: “By removing barriers to entry and combining music with life learning, all young people have the opportunity to use music to feel good and live well.”
The program also emphasized the need to co-construct highly individualized music and life goals with the guidance of teacher-facilitator role models.
“Learning music in a community setting has the potential to be a powerful lifelong and lifelong wellbeing strategy to improve the collective future of young Australians.”
Published in the Journal on Psychological Needs and Well-Being in Community Music Education for Young People Facing Challenging Living Circumstances Research on music education.
A companion study conducted by Dr. Goopy, published in Music Education Research, titled “Healing and Growth of Youth in Trauma-Informed Positive Music Education,” examined how youth use music to heal and grow in CMEP based on Trauma-Informed Positive Education (TIPE), a recent approach that combines trauma-informed practices and strengths-based positive psychology. Stories, including pictures and music, were co-constructed with adolescents to reveal how they use music, particularly songwriting, to increase self-regulation, develop interpersonal skills, and serve as a psychological resource for well-being.
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Reference magazines:
Goopy, J., and MacArthur, S. (2026). Psychological needs and well-being in community music education for young people experiencing difficult life circumstances. Research on music education. DOI: 10.1177/1321103X251410565. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1321103X251410565
