Musiikkiharrastuksella osallisuuteen

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on the effects of musical hobbies, such as playing in an orchestra or singing in a choir, on social inclusion. The perspectives cover both the perspective of children and youth who take part in the activities and the pedagogical thinking of a youth choir conductor. The concept of social inclusion is here mainly drawn from the writings of Raivio and Karjalainen (2013, 17) as they conceptualize the factors of social inclusion as well as the theory of well-being by Allardt (1976). Another main theme in this study is intercultural music education, which is primarily based on the reflections by Schippers (2010). Research works concerning the effects of musical hobbies on well-being are outlined and a bridge built towards a multi-disciplinary discussion on social inclusion and music education. The methods of this research consist of ethnographic and autoethnographic orientations. The first two of the four sub-studies are based on data collected in South Africa from music school students during years 2000-2010 and from university students and teachers in 2012. The autoethnographic research (sub-study 4) comprises reflections on how a youth choir conductor applies the research findings about social inclusion in her pedagogical thinking in the sociocultural context of the Vox Aurea youth choir. The data consists of interviews, participant observation, research diaries, videos, photos, music recordings, newspaper articles, messages and memos. The findings of the study support the idea of musical hobbies enhancing the experiences of social inclusion for children and youth, and intercultural music education enriching musical understanding and expression. Conductors and music teachers are encouraged to reflect on their pedagogical choices in the framework of social inclusion, as high artistic level and social inclusion may be targeted as twin goals that support each other.