El Sistema as an Opportunity for Collaboration between School and Home – Parents’ Perspectives on an El Sistema-Inspired Activity

Anna Ehrlin, Hans-Olof Gustavsson

Abstract


The aim of the study is to gain an insight into how the parents perceived their own and their children’s participation in an El Sistema-inspired programme, and how the parents’ participation and commitment should be understood in relation to their importance for their children’s schooling. The study is a case study and is based on semi-structured, qualitative research interviews with three parents. The results show the parents do not promote the idea that El Sistema is a programme that creates opportunities for their children to develop their musicality or paves the way for a career as a musician. Instead, the parents are happy that their children have discovered an interest that engages the children and support their personal development.  The programme also provide an opportunity for both children and parents to build a social network. In the light of our theoretical point of departure in communities of practice, the result shows that it is possible to understand the El Sistema-inspired programme as helping to reinforce the parents’ involvement in school practice. The findings of the study suggest that El Sistema-inspired programmes do not simply promote the interest and commitment of parents in relation to their children’s schooling but go further, in that they also promote the children’s development and the well-being of the parents themselves. The results show that the El Sistema-inspired programme helps to bring children, parents and school together.

https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.17.8.3


Keywords


music, parents, El Sistema, home-learning environment

Full Text:

PDF

References


Alfakir, N. (2012). Skapa dialog med föräldrarna — integration i praktiken. [Create dialouge with parents — integration in practice]. Liber AB.

Alfakir, N., & Lahdenperä, P., & Strandberg, M. (2010). Interkulturella föräldramöten. In P. Lahdenperä & H. Lorentz (Eds.) Möten i mångfaldens skola. [Meatings in the multicultural school] (pp.61-80) Lund: Studentlitteratur.

Allan, J., Morgan, N., Duffy, C., & Loening, G. (2010). Knowledge exchange with Sistema Scotland. Journal of Education policy, 25 (3), 335-347. doi.org/10.1080/02680931003646196

Alvesson, M., & Sköldberg, K. (2008). Tolkning och reflektion vetenskapsfilosofi och kvalitativ metod. [Interpretation and reflection: Philosophy of science a qualitative method]. Lund: Studentlitteratur.

Baker, G. (2016). Editorial introduction: El Sistema in critical perspective. Action, Criticism & Theory for Music Education, 15(1), 10–32.

Bodovski, K. (2010). Parental practices and educational achievement:

social class, race, and habitus. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 31 (2), 139-156. doi.org/10.1080/01425690903539024

Booth, E. (2009). Thoughts on seeing El Sistema. Teaching Artist Journal,7(2), 75-84.

Booth, E., & Tunstall, T. (2014). Five encounters with “El Sistema†International: A Venezuelan Marvel becomes a global movement. Teaching Artist Journal, 12(2), 69-81. doi.org/10.1080/15411796.2014.878134

Bouakaz, L., & Persson, S. (2007). What hinders and what motivates parents’ engagement in school? International Journal about Parents in Education, 1(0), 97-107.

Bouakaz, L. (2009). Föräldrasamverkan i mångkulturella skolor. [Cooperation with parents in multicultural schools]. Lund: Studentlitteratur.

Bouakaz, L. (2012). Att behålla mitt och lära mig något nytt Föräldraengagemang i mångkulturella miljöer. [To keep my own and learn something new — Engagement of parents in multicultural environments] Malmö: Kommission för ett socialt hållbart Malmö.

Broady, D. (1998). Kapitalbegreppet som utbildningssociologiskt verktyg. [The concept of capital as an education sociological tool].Uppsala: Forskningsgruppen för utbildnings- och kultursociologi, ILU. Uppsala Universitet. Retrived from: http://www.skeptron.uu.se/broady/sec/ske-15.pdf

Bunar, N. (2010). Nyanlända och lärande – en forskningsöversikt om nyanlända elever i den svenska skolan. [Newly arrived and learning – a research overview on newly arrived students in the Swedish school]. Stockholm: Vetenskapsrådet.

Bunar, N. (2012). Skolan och staden – forskningsperspektiv på integration och skolrelaterade klyftor i den moderna staden. [The school and the city – research perspectives on integration and school related gaps in the modern city]. Malmö: Kommission för ett socialt hållbart Malmö.

Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2011). Research methods in education. London: Routledge. doi.org/10.4324/9780203720967

Dobson, N. (2016). Hatching plans: Pedagogy and discourse within an El Sistema inspired music program. Action, Criticism & Theory for Music Education, 15(1), 88–119.

Dufur, M-J., Parcel, T. L., & Troutman, K. P. (2013). Does capital at home matter more than capital at school? Social capital effects on academic achievement. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 31, 1-21. doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2012.08.002

Ehrlin, A. (2012). Att lära av och med varandra. En etnografisk studie av musik i förskolan i en flerspråkig miljö. Dis. [To learn from and with one another, an ethnografhic study of music in preschools in a multilingual environment] Örebro Studies in Music Education 7. (Dissertation). Örebro: Örebro University.

Ehrlin, A., & Gustavsson, H-O. (2017). El Sistema i två svenska förskolor – Musikpedagogik. In A. Garpelin & A. Sandberg (Eds.). Barn och Unga i Skola och samhälle. [Children and young people in school and society] Mälardalen Studies in Educational Sciences 31, (pp.158-177). ISBN 978-91-7485-326-1

El Sistema (2018). Retrived from: http://www.elsistema.se/

Erikson, L. (2004). Föräldrar och skola. [Parents and school]. (Dissertation). Örebro Studies in Education 10. Örebro: Örebro University.

Erikson, L. (2008). Föräldrar och Skola – olika innebörder. In A. Nilsson (Ed.). Vi lämnar till skolan det käraste vi har. [We leave to school the dearest we have]. Myndigheten för skolutveckling. Stockholm: Liber.

Granstedt, L. (2010). Synsätt, teman och strategier – några perspektiv på mångkulturella frågor i skolan i ett praktiknära projekt. (Dissertation). [Approach, themes and strategies – some perspectives on multicultural issues in school in an research project near to the practice]. Department of Creative Studies Teacher Education Umeå University. Umeå: Umeå University.

Gustavsson, H-O. (2007). Utan bok är det ingen riktig undervisning: en studie av skolkulturella referensramar i SFI. [Without a book there is no real teaching: A study of school cultural frames of reference in SFI]. (Dissertation). Studies in Educational Sciences, No, 102. Stockholm: HLS Förlag

Gustavsson, H-O., & Ehrlin, A. (2016). Music pedagogy as an aid to integration. El Sistema inspired music activity in two Swedish preschools. Early Child development and care. doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2016.1209197

Hofvander Trulsson, Y. (2010). Musikaliskt lärande som social rekonstruktion: musikens och ursprungets betydelse för föräldrar med utländsk bakgrund. [Musical learning as social reconstruction. Music and origin in the eyes of immigrant parents].(Dissertation). Lund: Lund University.

Hofvander Trulsson, Y. (2015). Musikens betydelse för integration. In Y. Hofvander Trulsson & A. Houmann (Eds.). Musik och lärande i barnets värld. [Music and learning in childrens´world]. Lund: Studentlitteratur.

Jeynes, W. H. (2003). A Meta-Analysis. The Effects of Parental Involvement on Minority Children’s Academic Achievement. Education and Urban Society, 35 (2),202-218. doi.org/10.1177/0013124502239392

Kristensson Uggla, B. (1999). Kommunikation på bristningsgränsen: en studie i Paul Ricoeurs projekt. [Communication at the limit of burst: A study on the project of Paul Ricoeur]. Eslöv: Brutus Östlings bokförlag Symposium.

Kvale, S. (1997). Den kvalitativa forskningsintervjun. [The qualitative research interview]. Lund: Studentlitteratur.

Lahdenperä, P. (1997). Invandrarbakgrund eller skolsvårigheter?: en textanalytisk studie av åtgärdsprogram för elever med invandrarbakgrund. [Immigrant background or school difficulties? A text analytical study of intervention programs written for students with immigrant backgrounds]. (Dissertation). Stockholm: Stockholm Univerity.

Lahdenperä, P. (2017). Se föräldrarnas kompetens. [See the competences of the parents]. Pedagogiska magasinet, Tema föräldrar – besvär och resurs. (3), 42-48.

Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning. Legitimate peripheral participation. New York: Cambridge University press.

Lincoln, Y.S., & Guba, E. G. (2009). The only generalization is: there is no generalization. In R. Gomm., M. Hammersley., & P. Foster. (Eds.). Case study method (pp. 27-44). London: Sage. doi.org/10.4135/9780857024367.d6

Majno, M. (2012). From the model of El Sistema in Venezuela to current applications: Learning and integration through collective music education. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1252 (1), 56–64. doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2012.06498.x

Merriam, S. (1994). Qualitative research and case-study applications in education. S. Francisco: Josey-Bass.

OECD (2010). PISA 2009 Results: Overcoming Social Background – Equity in Learning Opportunities and Outcomes. Volume II. doi.org/10.1787/9789264091504-en

Osman, A., & Månsson, N. (2015). I go to teacher conferences, but I do not understand what the teacher is saying — Reflections on Somali parent’s perception of the Swedish school. International Journal of Multicultural Education, 17(2). doi.org/10.18251/ijme.v17i2.1022

Parszyk, I-M. (1999). En skola för andra. Minoritetselevers upplevelser av arbets- och livsvillkor i grundskolan. [A school for others.] (Dissertation). Stockholm Institute of Education, Department of Educational Research. Stockholm: Stockholm University.

Runfors, A. (2003). Mångfald, motsägelser och marginaliseringar: en studie av hur invandrarskap formas i skolan. [Diversity, Contradictions and marginalisation: A study of how immigrant status is formed in school]. (Dissertation). Stockholm: Stockholm University.

Strandberg, M. (2013). Läxor om och för kulturell mångfald med föräldrars livserfarenheter som resurs: några kritiska aspekter. [Homework about and for multiculturality with the life experiences of parents as a resource: some critical aspects]. (Dissertation). Stockholm: Department of Education, Stockholm University 25.

Statistics Sweden (2016). Barn till lågutbildade hamnar efter i skolan. [Children of lowskilled end up after in school]. Retrived from: http://www.scb.se/sv_/Hitta-statistik/Artiklar/Barn-till-lagutbildade-hamnar-efter-i-skolan/

Swedish National Agency of Education (2012). Likvärdig utbildning i svensk grundskola? [Equivalent education in Swedish elementary school]. Report 374.

Swedish National Agency of Education (2016). PISA 2015. 15-åringars kunskaper i naturvetenskap, läsförståelse och matematik. [PISA 2015. 15 year olds´knowledge in natural science, reading and mathematics]. Report 450.

Swedish National Agency of Education. (2018). Läroplan för grundskolan samt för förskoleklassen och fritidshemmet. [Curriculum for the compulsory school, preschool class and recreation centre (revised 2018)]. Stockholm: Skolverket.

Swedish Schools Inspectorate (2009). Varannan i mål: om gymnasieskolors (o)förmåga att få alla elever att fullfölja sin utbildning. [Each other in goal: The inability of secondary school in helping al students to complete their education].Stockholm: Skolinspektionen. Retrieved from: http://www.skolinspektionen.se/Documents/Kvalitetsgranskning/avbrott/gymnasieavbrott-rapport_2009_1.pdf?epslanguage=sv

Swedish Schools Inspectorate (2010). Språk- och kunskapsutveckling för barn och elever med annat modersmål än svenska. [Language - and knowledge development for children and students with another mother tough than Swedish].Report 2010:16. Stockholm: Skolinspektionen.

Swedish Schools Inspectorate (2012). En skola med tilltro lyfter alla elever. [A school in trust lifts al students]. Stockholm: Skolinspektionen. Retrived from: http://www.skolinspektionen.se/sv/Beslut-och-rapporter/Publikationer/Rapport-till-regeringen/Arsrapport/En-skola-med-tilltro-lyfter-alla-elever/

Swedish Research Council (2017). God forskningssed. Forskningsetiska principer inom humanistisk- samhällsvetenskaplig forskning. [Good research practice]. Retrieved from https://www.vr.se/analys-och-uppdrag/vi-analyserar-och-utvarderar/alla-publikationer/publikationer/2017-08-29-god-forskningssed.html

Tesfahuney, M. (1998). Imag(in)ing the other(s): migration, racism, and the discursive constructions of migrants. (Dissertation). Uppsala: Uppsala University.

The European Commission (2017). Utbildningsöversikt 2017 Sverige. [ Education overview 2017 Sweden]. Europeiska Kommissionen, Generaldirektoratet för utbildning, ungdom, idrott och kultur. Retrived from: https://ec.europa.eu/education/sites/education/files/monitor2017-se_sv.pdf

Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


e-ISSN: 1694-2116

p-ISSN: 1694-2493