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Play together, stay together. : Musical progress and social inclusion in group instrumental teaching.

Knutsson, Ida LU orcid (2025) In Studies in Music and Music Education
Abstract
This thesis explores how teachers in Sweden’s art and music schools navigate the potentially conflicting goals of musical progress and social inclusion in group instrumental teaching. Group teaching has gained popularity due to cost-efficiency and its potential to meet children's social needs. However, many teachers trained in the one-to-one conservatory tradition express concern about maintaining musical quality in group formats.

Since 2020, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC, 1989) has been Swedish law, requiring educational practices, including SAMS, to reflect democratic values. Against this backdrop, the aim of this thesis is to explore how teachers manage the dual goals of social inclusion and... (More)
This thesis explores how teachers in Sweden’s art and music schools navigate the potentially conflicting goals of musical progress and social inclusion in group instrumental teaching. Group teaching has gained popularity due to cost-efficiency and its potential to meet children's social needs. However, many teachers trained in the one-to-one conservatory tradition express concern about maintaining musical quality in group formats.

Since 2020, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC, 1989) has been Swedish law, requiring educational practices, including SAMS, to reflect democratic values. Against this backdrop, the aim of this thesis is to explore how teachers manage the dual goals of social inclusion and musical progress.
Theoretical perspectives of communities of practice and communities of musical practice were used to analyse how teachers develop their professional practice and how pupils learn in social and musical contexts. Data were collected through focus group interviews and stimulated recall, and analysed using qualitative content analysis.

These results, filtered through the theoretical perspectives, show that multiple conflicting dynamics coexist, which contributes to understanding the balancing act between social inclusion and musical progress. The social aspect, for instance, is connected to informal learning, the leisure activity discourse, child-centred teaching, and a standpoint that puts the collective in the forefront. The musical development aspect, on the other hand, relates to formal learning, school discourse, teacher-centred teaching, and an emphasis on the individual pupil. By identifying these tensions and connecting them to diverse aspects of the teaching practice, there is potential to move beyond the dualism and move away from the narrow view that there is a need to choose either-or.

This study contributes to the understanding of how pupil-centred and democratic principles can coexist with goals of musical development in group settings. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
supervisor
opponent
  • Professor Heidi Westerlund, Sibelius Academy, Univeristy of the Arts Helsinki, Finland
organization
alternative title
Spela ihop, håll ihop. : Musikalisk utveckling och social sammanhållning i gruppundervisning.
publishing date
type
Thesis
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Music education, Classical instruments, Group teaching, Kulturskola, Swedish art and music schools, Progress, Inclusion, Communities of practice, Communities of musical practice, Stimulated recall, Focus group interview, Antinomies, Formal learning, Informal learning, School discourse, Leisure time discourse, child-centred, Children
in
Studies in Music and Music Education
issue
26
pages
93 pages
publisher
MediaTryck Lund
defense location
Lilla Salen, Malmö Academy of Music, Ystadvägen 25
defense date
2025-10-10 10:00:00
ISSN
1404-6539
1404-6539
ISBN
9789188409492
9789188409508
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
edd4fc4a-bae2-48ce-bc45-a75c34666e37
date added to LUP
2025-09-10 12:13:44
date last changed
2025-09-12 03:32:45
@phdthesis{edd4fc4a-bae2-48ce-bc45-a75c34666e37,
  abstract     = {{This thesis explores how teachers in Sweden’s art and music schools navigate the potentially conflicting goals of musical progress and social inclusion in group instrumental teaching. Group teaching has gained popularity due to cost-efficiency and its potential to meet children's social needs. However, many teachers trained in the one-to-one conservatory tradition express concern about maintaining musical quality in group formats.<br/><br/>Since 2020, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC, 1989) has been Swedish law, requiring educational practices, including SAMS, to reflect democratic values. Against this backdrop, the aim of this thesis is to explore how teachers manage the dual goals of social inclusion and musical progress.<br/>Theoretical perspectives of communities of practice and communities of musical practice were used to analyse how teachers develop their professional practice and how pupils learn in social and musical contexts. Data were collected through focus group interviews and stimulated recall, and analysed using qualitative content analysis.<br/><br/>These results, filtered through the theoretical perspectives, show that multiple conflicting dynamics coexist, which contributes to understanding the balancing act between social inclusion and musical progress. The social aspect, for instance, is connected to informal learning, the leisure activity discourse, child-centred teaching, and a standpoint that puts the collective in the forefront. The musical development aspect, on the other hand, relates to formal learning, school discourse, teacher-centred teaching, and an emphasis on the individual pupil. By identifying these tensions and connecting them to diverse aspects of the teaching practice, there is potential to move beyond the dualism and move away from the narrow view that there is a need to choose either-or. <br/><br/>This study contributes to the understanding of how pupil-centred and democratic principles can coexist with goals of musical development in group settings.}},
  author       = {{Knutsson, Ida}},
  isbn         = {{9789188409492}},
  issn         = {{1404-6539}},
  keywords     = {{Music education; Classical instruments; Group teaching; Kulturskola; Swedish art and music schools; Progress; Inclusion; Communities of practice; Communities of musical practice; Stimulated recall; Focus group interview; Antinomies; Formal learning; Informal learning; School discourse; Leisure time discourse; child-centred; Children}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{26}},
  publisher    = {{MediaTryck Lund}},
  school       = {{Lund University}},
  series       = {{Studies in Music and Music Education}},
  title        = {{Play together, stay together. : Musical progress and social inclusion in group instrumental teaching.}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/227377303/Avhandling_Ida_Knutsson_LUCRIS.pdf}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}