3 Initial Project
The principal objective of our research project was to study the impact
of extra-ordinary youths’ participation in an inclusive day camp
involving an informal musical creation experience with their peers,
supported by student facilitators. Oriented around an informal approach,
the project aimed to create a musical program offering instruments,
adapted if necessary, and minimal guidance by trained student
facilitators, in order to allow these extra-ordinary youths to
live an inclusive and creative musical experience. To do this, our
initial design was intended to add a music program to an existing day
camp, in collaboration with the principal actors involved (participants,
parents, community organizations and day camps). EntitledExtra-Ordinary Music Camp , this “in-person” format would last
from 6 to 8 weeks, allowing children and adolescents aged 8 to 17 years
living with a physical or cognitive disability to participate in
informal and inclusive musical activities through an adapted pedagogical
program, inspired by research into informal music learning (Green, 2002,
2009; Jaffurs, 2004; Westerlund, 2006).
However, when the time came to begin recruitment for participants in our
program—which was meant to begin in June 2020—public health measures
related to COVID-19 came into effect in the province of Quebec (Canada),
where the project was to take place. We were confronted with the fact
that there were strong chances that public health measures would still
be in effect during the summer period when day camps would be starting,
rendering the realization of our project more risky, even impossible, as
it was originally designed. Facing this situation—and driven by our
wish to contribute to the well-being of extra-ordinary youths and
their families in this period of lockdown—we decided to significantly
revise our pedagogical plan to allow the program to take place no matter
the restrictions imposed by public health measures. In April,
considering this uncertainty, we revised the project so that it could be
realized under three different possible conditions: a) entirely
remotely, online; b) entirely in-person, as initially intended; or c)
integrating these two modalities, according to participants’ needs and
the possibilities at our two partner organizations, day camps in the
Quebec City region. In early June, in light of the direction of public
health measures imposed by the provincial government of Quebec the
entirely remote project formula was chosen. This significant
reformulation necessitated a substantial amendment request to the ethics
committee at Université Laval, as well as a review of our research plan,
a reorganization of the research team’s work, and a review of the
pedagogical intervention plan. This adaptation effort pushed us, as a
team, to leave our comfort zone, to take risks, and to use our
creativity to explore alternatives that would not only permit us to
continue working on our research activities, but also to facilitate the
participation of a greater number of extra-ordinary youths in our
project. The next section presents in detail the modifications made to
the project.