Sustaining Cultures and Families in a Community Strings Program: A Single Case Study on Family Engagement

The purpose of this single instrumental case study was to explore family engagement in a community strings program through the perspectives of caregivers. I drew from the dual capacity building framework for family-school partnerships as the theoretical lens for the study. Participants were eight caregivers coparticipating in a community strings program with their children. Sources of data included semistructured interviews, observational field notes, a collection of documents, as well as audiovisual and digital materials. Through data analysis, I identified three themes: relational trust between caregivers and teachers, collaboration and interaction, and cultivating an affirming musical space. The active participation of caregivers created strong links between children’s home cultures and the program. This was facilitated through caregiver-teacher relationships characterized by relational trust, in which caregivers’ knowledge and abilities were honored and respected. Caregivers and teachers collaborated to define shared goals, and their interactions throughout instruction improved caregivers’ musical capacity and teachers’ pedagogical capacity. Caregivers also shaped the larger culture of the program, supporting the cultivation of an affirming and culturally sustaining environment. Implications for practice include prioritizing relational trust as a basis of fostering equitable family engagement and privileging caregiver knowledge in the development of culturally sustaining music pedagogies.