Affordances for Accessibility: An Action Research Study on Students’ Musical Instrument-Making in a Chinese Secondary School

The purpose of this action research study was to examine how Chinese secondary students made music instruments accessible to themselves and others using available digital technological resources. Eighteen Grade 7 and 8 students from a private school in Henan, China participated in a workshop co-led by three teacher-facilitators. None of the participants identified as disabled. The study examines how non-disabled students developed accessibility awareness through instrument-making. Guided by affordance theory, this study explores how students perceived, discovered, and engaged with technological affordances during the instrument-making process. Data from video observations, computer screen recordings, artifacts, interviews, and focus groups were analyzed using Thematic Analysis and Interaction Analysis. Findings indicate that students perceived affordances as subjective and dynamic, shifting as their roles changed from designers to users. As their understanding of accessibility expanded beyond their initial conceptions, students adapted technological features to lower barriers related to music literacy and abilities. Their accessible solutions were often co-constructed through social negotiations with technology, peers, and teachers.