INCLUSION AND SOCIAL PARTICIPATION THROUGH MUSIC: A LONGITUDINAL QUALITATIVE STUDY IN RESIDENTIAL CHILDCARE

Authors

  • Alois Daněk Department of Education, AMBIS University, Lindnerova 575/1, 180 00 Praha 8-Libeň

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61357/sehs.v22i2.92

Keywords:

inclusive education, residential childcare, music education, social participation, El Sistema, qualitative research, participatory action research, child development, social inclusion

Abstract

The role of structured musical participation in fostering inclusion and social engagement among children living in residential childcare is examined. The research was conducted in cooperation with a Czech children’s home and the Harmony Foundation, which operates an orchestra inspired by El Sistema model. A participatory qualitative design was employed, combining sustained observation, semi-structured interviews with children and educators and reflective team discussions. Data were analyzed through interpretative phenomenological analysis and systematic coding. The findings indicate that regular collective music-making enhanced emotional regulation, self-confidence and perseverance. Children showed a greater willingness to collaborate and form positive peer relationships, while educators observed more cohesive group dynamics and increased motivation. Public performances strengthened the sense of belonging and personal accomplishment, particularly among children with prior experiences of instability and social exclusion. The results provide empirical evidence that music-based programmes can effectively promote inclusion and social participation in residential childcare and should be regarded as an integral component of holistic educational support within this context.

References

ADAMEK, M. S., & A. A. DARROW (2005). Music in Special Education. American Music Therapy Association. ISBN: 978-1-884914-15-7.

ALASE, A. (2017). The interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA): A Guide to a Good Qualitative Research Approach. In: International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, 5(2), 9. doi: 10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.5n.2p.9.

AMBIS UNIVERSITY (2025). Statement from the Ethical Commission EC 22025 [online]. [cit. 2025-10-12]. Available at: https://www.ambis.cz/files/eticka-komise-danek-the-impact-of-music-education-cislo.pdf

BAUM, F. (2006). Participatory Action Research. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 60(10), pp. 854–857. doi: 10.1136/jech.2004.028662.

BLASCO-MAGRANER, J. S., G. BERNABE-VALERO, P. MARÍN-LIÉBANA & C. MORET-TATAY (2021). Effects of the Educational Use of Music on 3- to 12-year-old Children’s Emotional Development: A Systematic Review. In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(7), p. 3668. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18073668.

BOOTH, E., & T. TUNSTALL (2014). Five Encounters with “El Sistema” International: A Venezuelan Marvel Becomes a Global Movement. In: Teaching Artist Journal, 12(2), pp. 69–81. doi: 10.1080/15411796.2014.878134.

BOVSUNIVSKA, N. (2022). Inclusive Music Education: Perspectives and Problems. In: Zhytomyr Ivan Franko State University Journal. Рedagogical Sciences, 2(109), pp. 239–255. doi: 10.35433/pedagogy.2(109).2022.239-255.

BOYKO, E. J. (2013). Observational Research: Opportunities and Limitations. In: Journal of Diabetes and Its Complications, 27(6), pp. 642–648. doi: 10.1016/j.jdiacomp.2013.07.007.

CHARMAZ, K., & R. THORNBERG (2021). The Pursuit of Quality in Grounded Theory. In: Qualitative Research in Psychology, 18(3), pp. 305–327. doi: 10.1080/14780887.2020.1780357.

CORNISH, F., N. BRETON, U. MORENO-TABAREZ, J. DELGADO, M. RUA, A. DE-GRAFT AIKINS & D. HODGETTS (2023). Participatory Action Research. In: Nature Reviews Methods Primers, 3(1), p. 34. doi: 10.1038/s43586-023-00214-1.

DANĚK, A. (2024). Inclusive Music Education: Opportunities for Children with Special Educational Needs. In: AD ALTA: Journal of Interdisciplinary Research, 14(1), pp. 41–45. doi: 10.33543/j.1401.4145.

DANĚK, A. (2025). Hudební výchova a program El Sistema: desetiletí výzkumů, výsledky, možnosti, budoucnost. In: Hudební výchova, 33(2), pp. 5–9. ISSN 1210-3683.

DUNWOODIE, K., L. MACAULAY & A. NEWMAN (2023). Qualitative Interviewing in the Field of Work and Organisational Psychology: Benefits, Challenges and Guidelines for Researchers and Reviewers. In: Applied Psychology, 72(2), pp. 863–889. doi: 10.1111/apps.12414.

ESPEDAL, G. (2022). Research Interviews to Investigate and Co-create Values. In: G. Espedal, B. Jelstad Løvaas, S. Sirris, & A. Wæraas (Eds.), Researching Values, pp. 117–132. Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-90769-3_7.

GOVIAS, J. A. (2011). The Five Fundamentals of El Sistema. Canadian Music Educator.

HEDAYATI, N., K. SCHIBLI & A. D’ANGIULLI (2016). El Sistema-inspired Ensemble Music Training Is Associated with Changes in Children’s Neurocognitive Functional Integration: Preliminary ERP Evidence. In: Neurocase, 22(6), pp. 538–547. doi: 10.1080/13554794.2016.1241885.

HIBEL, J., G. FARKAS & P. L. MORGAN (2010). Who Is Placed into Special Education? In: Sociology of Education, 83(4), pp. 312–332. doi: 10.1177/0038040710383518.

HERNANDEZ-ESTRADA, J. L. (2012). Aesthetics of Generosity: El Sistema, Music Education, and Social Change. CreateSpace. ISBN 978-1-4802-2718-7.

HOLOCHWOST, S. J., C. B. PROPPER, D. P. WOLF, M. T. WILLOUGHBY, K. R. FISHER, J. KOLACZ, V. V. VOLPE & S. R. JAFFEE (2017). Music Education, Academic Achievement, and Executive Functions. In: Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 11(2), pp. 147–166. doi: 10.1037/aca0000112.

JACOBS, N., & A. HULDTGREN (2021). Why Value Sensitive Design Needs Ethical Commitments. In: Ethics and Information Technology, 23(1), pp. 23–26. doi: 10.1007/s10676-018-9467-3.

JUNTUNEN, M-L. & K. SUTELA (2023). The Effectiveness of Music–Movement Integration for Vulnerable Groups: A Systematic Literature Review. In: Front. Psychol. 14:1127654. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1127654.

KIERNAN, L., & M. MCMAHON (2024). Guide to Ethical Research and Design Practice when Working with Vulnerable Participants and on Sensitive Topics. In: Journal of Engineering Design, pp. 1–19. doi: 10.1080/09544828.2024.2324401.

MAKRI, C., & A. NEELY (2021). Grounded Theory: A Guide for Exploratory Studies in Management Research. In: International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 20, 16094069211013654. doi: 10.1177/16094069211013654.

MCINTYRE, A. (2008). Participatory Action Research. SAGE. doi: 10.4135/9781483385679.

SHAMROVA, D. P., & C. E. CUMMINGS (2017). Participatory Action Research (PAR) with Children and Youth: An Integrative Review of Methodology and PAR Outcomes for Participants, Organizations, and Communities. In: Children and Youth Services Review, 81, 400–412. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.08.022.

SMITH, J. A., P. FLOWERS & M. LARKIN (2009). Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: Theory, Method and Research. SAGE. ISBN 978-1-4129-0834-4.

TUNSTALL, T. (2013). Changing Lives: Gustavo Dudamel, El Sistema, and the Transformative Power of Music. W. W. Norton & Company, Incorporated. ISBN 978-0-393-34426-4.

TUNSTALL, T. (2020). Sharing Global Musics: El Sistema Sweden Summer Camp. In: Music Educators Journal, 106(4), pp. 12–14. doi: 10.1177/0027432120918544.

TUNSTALL, T., & E. BOOTH (2016). Playing for Their Lives: The Global El Sistema Movement for Social Change through Music (First edition). W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-24564-6.

Downloads

Published

2025-12-31

How to Cite

Daněk, A. (2025). INCLUSION AND SOCIAL PARTICIPATION THROUGH MUSIC: A LONGITUDINAL QUALITATIVE STUDY IN RESIDENTIAL CHILDCARE. Socio-Economic and Humanities Studies, 22(2), ¨25–41. https://doi.org/10.61357/sehs.v22i2.92

Issue

Vol. 22 No. 2 (2025): Socio-Economic and Humanities Studies

Section

Submissions

License

For all articles published in SEHS, copyright is retained by the authors. Articles are licensed under an open access Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, meaning that anyone may download and read the paper for free.