Dickens & Lonie - Rehearsal spaces as children’s spaces? 1 Rehearsal spaces as ‘children’s spaces’? Considering the place of non-formal music education Dr. Luke Dickens [corresponding author], Department of Geography, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA luke.dickens@open.ac.uk Dr. Douglas Lonie, Research and Evaluation Manager, The National Foundation for Youth Music, London, SE1 3LE douglas.lonie@youthmusic.org.uk Abstract: This chapter addresses a need to consider the role played by non-formal educational provision in the geographies of childhood, learning and education. The music rehearsal studio is examined, using two illustrative case studies. It contributes to the collection by positioning non-formal music education conceptually, especially in relation to the importance of working with children experiencing ‘challenging circumstances’ using supported creative learning in community settings. We consider these dynamics as they are understood by the children and young people participating in such contexts; who valued opportunities to learn music in a collective and informal mode that they felt was otherwise unavailable to them. Our analysis thus suggests ways such rehearsal spaces might exemplify the kinds of ‘children’s spaces’ advocated for by recent scholars of education. Biographies: Luke Dickens is a Research Associate in the Department of Geography at The Open University; his current research is broadly concerned with the cultural politics of youth and the representational practices of young people. Douglas Lonie is Research and Evaluation Manager at the National Foundation for Youth Music; his research interests include non-formal music education, musical identities and links between music, health and wellbeing. Chapter 12 from the edited collection: Mills, S. and Kraftl, P. (exp. 2014) (Eds.) Informal Education, Childhood and Youth: Geographies, Histories, Practices, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan THIS IS AN AUTHOR’S POST-PRINT COPY - PLEASE CITE THE DEFINITIVE, PUBLISHER-AUTHENTICATED VERSION