Musikaliskt lärande som social rekonstruktion. Musikens och ursprungets betydelse för föräldrar med utländsk bakgrund

Sammanfattning: In Swedish higher formal aesthetic education, students from ethnic mi-norities are significantly underrepresented. This also seems to be the case in music education for younger children. Accordingly, the relation-ship between music education and the ethnic diversity of the contem-porary Swedish society, not reflected in the selection of students to the Swedish music and culture schools, is of vital importance for research. The overall aim of this thesis is to investigate music education in the eyes of immigrant parents, by examining the narratives of parents with non-Swedish backgrounds on the significance of music in their families. The specific aims of the study is to investigate how these parents de-scribe (i) the presence and role of music in their everyday lives and how it relates to their origin, and (ii) the importance of music learning to their children. The theoretical framework rests on the theories of Pierre Bourdieu and his definitions of various forms of capital: cultural, social, economic and symbolic capital. Furthermore his concept of habi-tus has been useful in order to understand the musical upbringing and the impact of the music in peoples’ lives. Qualitative in-depth inter-views were undertaken with 12 parents, six women and six men, now all living in Sweden, but with their background in eight different count-ries. The results are presented in three parts: (i) portraits of the par-ents and their backgrounds; (ii) the parents’ own narratives on music and music education and (iii) an analysis adopting the concept of social mobility. The discussion consists of perspectives on the practice of music as a potential tool for social success and integration of the chil-dren. It emphasizes the concepts of identity and music as a potential tool for social reconstruction. Class remobility, the reclaiming of social position through the next generation, and its possible impact on the upbringing of the child are also themes in focus. In conclusion, the complex interactions between teacher and parent, parent and child, student and teacher, three parties trialectically creating and nourishing teaching situations, are elucidated.