Music in the Lives of Immigrant Children: A Review of Literature

Abstract

As a growing number of immigrant children enter formal music education, research is crucial to understand their experiences and to promote culturally relevant and socially just music education pedagogies. Whereas, researchers have traditionally focused on immigrant adolescents and music, I chose to synthesize studies on musical childhood in immigration contexts. In addition, this review draws on the acculturation literature to interpret music research findings. Researchers have documented meanings and forms of immigrant children’s musical engagement in formal and informal learning contexts. Research findings have indicated that immigrant children mix different musical traditions while using music to navigate their bicultural identities. Several studies have also addressed the perspectives of immigrant parents and the challenges of music teachers in diverse classrooms. Although this body of literature has provided descriptive accounts of musical childhood in immigration contexts, studies have offered valuable suggestions for more effective musical activities in multicultural learning environments.

Keywords

immigrant children and music middle childhood diversity in music education musical identities immigrant parents

An increasing number of people have moved to countries with higher gross domestic product (GDP) as a consequence of conflicts, extreme violence, and severe economic and political instability, as well as environmental issues and climate change (McAuliffe & Khadria, 2020). In 2019, immigrant children accounted for 12% of the total migrant population. Because this proportion has steadily increased since the beginning of the 2000s (UNICEF, 2021), music teachers can reasonably expect that a growing number of immigrant children will enter formal music education and engage with music in new cultural environments.

Immigrant children are a particularly vulnerable group, as they tend to experience issues, such as uneven access to protection measures and resettlement opportunities, family separation, detention, reduced access to education, social exclusion, and household poverty (UNICEF, 2019). Moreover, immigrant children often struggle in developing bilingual and bicultural identities while navigating different cultural frameworks (Ilari, 2017). Although music helps immigrant children dissipate fears and express emotions (Marsh, 2017; Marsh & Dieckmann, 2017), formal and informal music learning environments can be a source of stress and anxiety as immigrant children are vulnerable to feelings of isolation, discrimination, and inadequacy for their different cultural and linguistic backgrounds (Howell, 2011).

Immigrant children face several challenges; therefore, research is crucial to understand their experiences and to promote culturally relevant and socially just music education pedagogies. Nevertheless, researchers have traditionally focused on immigrant adolescents and music. One of the reasons for this trend could be related to the historical trajectory of developmental psychology. On the belief that “middle childhood [appears] like a slow-motion interlude between the spectacular transformations of . . . early childhood and those of adolescence” (DelGiudice, 2018, p. 95), both psychologists and music education researchers have long overlooked the importance of the developments that occur in this phase of life (i.e., 6–11 years of age). However, results from cross-disciplinary studies have more recently suggested that middle childhood brings several changes in children’s lives. In this age range, children formulate and communicate more complex and logical thoughts. They learn to identify and articulate their emotions while developing a sense of self-competence. Moreover, in this age range, children’s social experiences change considerably. Although family interactions remain a significant influence, teachers and peers increasingly affect children’s personality, dreams, and aspirations (Charlesworth et al., 2007; Good & Nichols, 2001).

Following this interest in middle childhood, the purpose of this literature review was to synthesize and interpret studies on immigrant children’s musical experiences. I begin by providing an overview of theories on immigrant childhood and bicultural identity development. This section provides a framework to better understand the research in the second section, which includes studies on musical childhood in immigration contexts from the perspective of both children and adults. I provide recommendations for future research and implications for music education at the end of the literature review.

Overview of Immigrant Childhood and Theoretical Framework

During middle childhood, children learn to overcome simplistic classifications and start to recognize the complexities of group memberships (Davies, 2004). Immigrant and minority children thus become aware of their ethnic identities as well as the characteristics of the majority group. By 7 years of age, immigrant children learn to view themselves as belonging to different social groups (Morrison & Bordere, 2001). Although researchers have long considered the development of an integrated sense of self as one of the major challenges across adolescence, several psychologists currently recognize that immigrant children face similar difficulties (Davies, 2004; Vedder & Phinney, 2014).

Bicultural Identities: Acculturation Research

The development of bicultural identities has been examined within different psychological traditions. Among these traditions, acculturation research offers useful insights to better understand how immigrant individuals negotiate different cultural frameworks. Berry (1997) identified four main acculturation strategies: integration, assimilation, separation, and marginalization. Integration stems from the desire to adopt the mainstream culture while maintaining the ethnic culture. Assimilation occurs when individuals adopt the mainstream culture but lose the ethnic culture. Separation refers to the desire to maintain the ethnic culture while avoiding interactions with the mainstream culture. Marginalization occurs when immigrant individuals do not want to relate to either culture. Researchers have documented that immigrant individuals tend to maintain their ethnic culture in private while integrating both ethnic and mainstream cultures in public (Arends-Tóth & Van de Vijver, 2003; Schildkraut, 2011). Although acculturation psychologists have suggested that integration is the most adaptive acculturation strategy, immigrant individuals more likely use a mix of strategies in different contexts.

The acculturation process determines two main outcomes, namely, psychological outcomes (internal adjustment) and behavioral adaptation (external or sociocultural adjustment). The former (internal adjustment) is usually identified as psychological well-being, satisfaction, or stress. The latter (external or sociocultural adjustment) refers to the skills that immigrants develop in a new cultural environment (Celenk & Van de Vijver, 2014). Both internal and external adjustments are facilitated by positive interactions. For instance, in school, positive interactions would enhance immigrant students’ well-being and self-esteem, and help them develop an integrated identity (Spiel & Strohmeier, 2012; Suárez-Orozco et al., 2009). Positive interactions would not only protect immigrant students from stereotypes and discrimination but also sustain their learning effort and motivation (Brown & Chu, 2012).

Music Education Research on Immigrant Childhood

Qualitative Studies on Immigrant Children and Music: Immigrant Children’s Perspectives

Much of the research on immigrant children and music has occurred in the last 20 years. Authors have mainly relied on ethnographic methods, such as interviews and observations to describe musical childhood in a variety of research settings, such as homes, primary schools, music centers, and learning centers for refugee and newly immigrant students (Adorno, 2017; Berríos-Miranda, 2013; Kelly-McHale, 2013; Lamont et al., 2003; Lum & Campbell, 2009; Marsh, 2012, 2013, 2017). These researchers did not test theories of immigrant children’s musical development, nor did they provide models to explain how music affects their acculturation processes. Nevertheless, authors of qualitative studies do provide information about musical childhood from the perspective of immigrant children and offer valuable suggestions for more effective musical activities in multicultural learning environments.

Despite different research settings, findings across studies on immigrant children and music can be summarized in three thematic areas. The first thematic area is related to the content of immigrant children’s musical experiences. As researchers have documented, immigrant children are immersed in rich musical worlds that are defined by a mix of musical traditions. These traditions include the Western classical repertoire, school songs, religious music, singing games from home and host cultures, and homeland traditional music, as well as rap, pop, and hip-hop music styles (Adorno, 2017; Berríos-Miranda, 2013; Bosacki et al., 2006; Karlsen, 2013; Kelly-McHale, 2013; Lamont et al., 2003; Lum & Campbell, 2009; Marsh, 2012, 2013, 2017). For instance, in a narrative study, Lum and Campbell (2009) portrayed the musical environment of Mirella Valdez, an 8-year-old Mexican American girl who moved to the United States with her parents soon after she was born. Mirella’s musical experiences were filled with contrasting genres. In the evenings, Mirella and her siblings played miniature instruments along with their father’s Mexican band. In church, Mirella and her siblings learned “the songs of Jesus” (p. 119). Spanish songs, mostly religious in nature, also framed Mirella’s weekend visits to her grandparents. Finally, rap and hip-hop songs characterized her musical interactions with friends and schoolmates.

Although immigrant children idiosyncratically explore and mix different musical cultures, English songs have formed “a kind of musical lingua franca” that transcends cultural differences (Marsh, 2012, p. 104). In an ethnographic study with children and young adolescents, Marsh (2012) described the graduation ceremony in an Intensive Language Center in Sydney. After several speeches, refugee and immigrant students sang the song “Heal the World” by Michael Jackson, a song that they had agreed upon regardless of their country of origin. According to Folkestad (2002), music may be “less of a force for national identification than perhaps it used to be” (p. 160). Thus, in a globalized musical world, some musical genres and musicians have created a global youth identity across ethnic boundaries (Campbell & Wiggins, 2013; Folkestad, 2002; Ripani, 2022).

The richness of immigrant children’s musical worlds as well as the popularity of English songs are inextricably linked to the widespread availability of media, such as CDs, DVDs, television channels, radio stations, karaoke players, and the internet. Media provide children with opportunities for independent musical experiences (Boal-Palheiros & Hargreaves, 2001; Campbell & Wiggins, 2013; Hargreaves & Marshall, 2003; Lum, 2008; Marsh, 2013). Moreover, media present pervasive models that influence children’s representations of themselves and the world (Bosacki et al., 2006; Davis, 2016; Russell, 2000). Therefore, media are a source of musical and performative materials that immigrant children use to explore and mix both home and host cultures (Berríos-Miranda, 2013; Lum, 2008; Marsh, 2013, 2017)

The next thematic area concerns forms and reasons of musical engagement. Researchers have documented that immigrant children engage with music in multimodal ways and for different reasons. Forms of musical engagement include listening, singing, performing, moving, and dancing to music. However, when multiethnic groups of immigrant children interact in the space of playgrounds and waiting rooms, they often use singing games that emphasize movement and dance (Marsh & Dieckmann, 2017; Marsh & Young, 2016). With a limited semantic content, such games can be performed regardless of children’s cultural and linguistic backgrounds. As children adapt to a new cultural environment, their musical engagement both at school and outside of the school environment seems to evolve in three stages (Howell, 2011). First, newly arrived immigrant children move to music and copy their peers and teachers by using visual information. Second, after a certain amount of time in a new country, immigrant children begin to understand contexts and meanings of musical activities and singing games. Therefore, they increasingly make individual contributions in dancing, singing, and performing activities. Third, over time, immigrant children assume the role of experts and can model different musical activities for newcomers.

Researchers have further documented that immigrant children intentionally use music for a variety of reasons. For instance, immigrant children use music as an inward activity to regulate mood and express emotions (Marsh, 2017; Marsh & Dieckmann, 2017); to dissipate fears and trauma during the resettlement period (Howell, 2011; Marsh & Dieckmann, 2017); to experience enjoyment in fun activities (Marsh, 2013, 2017); and to build confidence (Howell, 2011; Marsh, 2013) and a sense of agency while demonstrating musical expertise (Karlsen & Westerlund, 2010; Marsh, 2013). Moreover, immigrant children use music as an outward practice to structure social encounters and develop a sense of belonging in a new cultural environment (Marsh, 2013, 2017; Marsh & Dieckman, 2017). Consistent with research on musical childhood (Campbell, 2010; De Vries, 2010; Ripani, 2022), researchers have therefore shown that immigrant children think of music as both an individual experience and a social activity.

The last thematic area focuses on children’s dispositions; that is, immigrant children change their dispositions toward host and home musical cultures in relation to the context of their activities. For instance, in her ethnographic study, Marsh (2013) interviewed and observed newly arrived immigrant children in an Australian primary school. In group discussions, children from different ethnicities and friendship groups expressed their preferences for English songs and singing games. At home, they instead mixed and reinterpreted different musical traditions, thus bridging the borders between host and home musical cultures. Ethnographic studies on musical playgrounds have further documented that children from minority groups tend to avoid homeland games because they are afraid of being mocked by other children (Marsh, 2017; Marsh & Dieckmann, 2017). However, with the support of a large ethnic group, children more likely feel free to play games from their home country (Marsh, 2013, 2017).

Drawing on acculturation research, these findings could be interpreted as follows. Immigrant children engage with both host and ethnic musical cultures to navigate their bicultural identities. However, their musical engagement varies across public and private contexts. For instance, in public, immigrant children more likely show assimilative dispositions; in private, they mix a variety of acculturation strategies. Moreover, immigrant children more likely use assimilative dispositions when the identification with a minority group threatens their self-esteem. In private settings or supportive contexts, immigrant children therefore feel free to explore their bicultural identities.

Survey Research on Immigrant Children and Music

Beyond qualitative studies that relied upon interviews and observations, researchers have addressed immigrant children’s musical preferences by using experimental and survey designs. If qualitative researchers seek to explore children’s experiences by giving voice to their perspectives, studies on musical preferences are based on decontextualized analysis of musical childhood. Nonetheless, as a starting point to plan music curricula, investigations about musical preferences offer valuable suggestions for enhancing musical appreciation and supporting musical engagement among ethnically diverse students (Temmerman, 2000).

Research findings have shown that children prefer music styles that are close to their cultural background (Demorest & Schultz, 2004), as well as songs that are performed in a familiar language (Abril, 2005; Abril & Flowers, 2007). Despite those trends, Abril (2002) documented that fifth-grade bilingual children (N = 69) preferred songs that were performed in English rather than Spanish, though coming from an American city with a large Latino population. Drawing on the acculturation literature, such findings could be interpreted as follows: Those children (primarily of Cuban background) seemed to distance themselves from their ethnic culture. Adopting an assimilative disposition, they identified with the English American group, which held a higher social position.

Musical Identity

For over two decades, the concept of musical identity has gained attention as an important factor in students’ well-being (Bosacki et al., 2006; North & Hargreaves, 1999; North et al., 2000) and musical engagement (Lamont, 2017). Although researchers have focused mainly on musical identity and adolescence (North & Hargreaves, 1999; North et al., 2000; Tarrant et al., 2002), an increasing body of research has included the concept of musical identity across childhood in general and across immigrant childhood in particular.

Basic Concepts

Musical identity includes musical tastes, values, practices, skills, and knowledge that are acquired through musical experiences (Green, 2011). Hargreaves et al. (2002) distinguished between identities in music (IIM) and music in identities (MII). IIM refers to how people define their musical selves in terms of musical roles (i.e., composer, performer, music teacher, and musician) or specific characteristics (i.e., instruments and genres). MII indicates how people use music to frame non-musical aspects of their selves, such as gender, age, ethnicity, and youth and national identity.

Identities in Music

Much of the research on musical identity and childhood has focused on IIM (Lamont, 2002, 2017; Lamont et al., 2003). Researchers have documented that at around 7 years of age children form their musical identities in relation to activities, such as playing and taking instrumental lessons. Throughout adolescence, activity-related characteristics become less important. Thus, adolescents mainly define their musical selves in comparison with their peers (Lamont, 2002). However, in her seminal work, Lamont (2002) found that a certain level of social comparison would also affect the development of musical identity at earlier ages.

Research findings involving immigrant children and music indicated a similar pattern. Immigrant children develop their musical identities by positioning themselves between groups of lower- and higher-skilled individuals, such as peers, teachers, and professional musicians (Adorno, 2017; Kelly-McHale, 2013). Downward social comparisons fuel immigrant children’s musical confidence and self-esteem while strengthening their singer or performer identity. Upward comparisons help them form a more defined idea of who they wanted to become in and through music (Adorno, 2017).

Music in Identities

Authors that explicitly addressed the concept of MII across immigrant childhood have shown that children engage with homeland music and music of the dominant culture as a way of exploring their ethnic, bicultural, and global youth identities (Adorno, 2017; Kelly-McHale, 2013; Marsh, 2013; Marsh & Dieckmann, 2017). Among different forms of musical engagement, listening to preferred songs and musicians may be the primary outlet that children use to express who they are (Bosacki et al., 2006; Davis, 2016; Ripani, 2022).

As immigrant children use music to express their identities, they mix home and host musical cultures in idiosyncratic ways (Adorno, 2017; Kelly-McHale, 2013; Marsh, 2013; Minks, 1999). Drawing on acculturation research (Berry, 1997), such differences could be summarized in four main types of MII: (a) integrated MII (immigrant children engage with both host and home musical cultures); (b) assimilated MII (immigrant children avoid listening to homeland music and fully assimilate to a new cultural environment; (c) separated MII (immigrant children express appreciation for their cultural heritage without necessarily engaging with homeland music); and (d) marginalized MII (immigrant children only engage with their homeland music).

Adults and Immigrant Children’s Musical Experiences

In addition to exploring the point of view of immigrant children, researchers have focused on adult perspectives on musical childhood in immigration contexts (Abril, 2009; Hofvander Trulsson, 2010; Karlsen, 2012, 2014; Kelly-McHale, 2013; Lu, 2013; Marsh, 2012; Sæther, 2008; Shaw, 2015). Such studies offer an additional layer to better understand immigrant children’s transition into a new country.

Immigrant Parents and Children’s Music Learning

Extensive research has documented that parental involvement is crucial for student academic success (Davidson et al., 2000; McPherson & Davidson, 2002; Zdzinski, 1996). However, several factors can limit parental involvement among immigrant and minority groups. Arias and Morillo-Campbell (2008) recognized five barriers: (a) school-based barriers (i.e., immigrant parents often perceive the school as a foreign environment that they prefer to avoid); (b) limited English language proficiency; (c) limited formal education, which is a source of embarrassment that discourages immigrant parents from interacting with teachers and school staff; (d) different expectations regarding the roles they should play in the education of children; and (e) logistics (i.e., labor-intensive work schedules and transportation needs).

Although researchers have documented the role of parental involvement and the challenges of immigrant parents in school contexts, few studies addressed the experiences, expectations, and difficulties of immigrant parents in supporting their children’ music learning. Two ethnographic studies have documented the importance that Chinese immigrant parents in North America (Lu, 2013) and immigrant parents in Sweden (Hofvander Trulsson, 2010) ascribed to out-of-school music classes. Findings suggested that parents organized children’s extracurricular activities to promote their social and cultural integration and to display a high level of education within the entire family. Drawing on acculturation research, such behavior can be considered as an example of the assimilation strategy that immigrant individuals use in public contexts to adapt to a new cultural environment and to achieve a higher social position.

Music Teachers’ Perspectives

Teachers play an important role in immigrant children’s acculturation processes (Brown & Chu, 2012; Horenczyk & Tatar, 2012). Nevertheless, little research has explored the effect of music teachers’ attitudes, expectations, and behavior on immigrant children’s academic achievement, motivation, and perceived discrimination in music classes. Music research has, however, included descriptive accounts of music teachers’ experiences with immigrant children. Within these accounts, common themes emerged.

Across different school contexts, music teachers recognize the importance of selecting a repertoire that responds to students’ diverse interests and cultural backgrounds. Homeland music helps immigrant children explore and present aspects of their ethnic identity (Abril, 2009; Kelly-McHale, 2013; Marsh, 2012). As music teachers acknowledged, repertoire that draws on students’ cultural backgrounds helps them transfer previous musical knowledge and skills into formal learning contexts (Marsh, 2012). In addition, a repertoire selection that includes common interests in English pop, rap, and hip-hop music acts as a vehicle of cohesion among students from different cultures (Marsh, 2012; Sæther, 2008). Therefore, music teachers pointed out that students should be exposed to different kinds of music to know about the world, widen their musical tastes, and learn to respect the experiences and preferences of others (Karlsen, 2012, 2014).

Despite Inclusive Beliefs, Teachers Adopt Different Acculturative Dispositions

Music teachers who exhibit an assimilationist orientation aim at improving students’ musical skills within a Western cultural framework. They rely on Western-centered repertoire selections and emphasize the importance of teaching musical notation. In addition, they demonstrate a superficial understanding of their students’ cultural backgrounds and ethnic identities (Karlsen, 2013; Kelly-McHale, 2013). In contrast, music teachers who exhibit an integrative disposition value different ways of knowing and experiencing music. They foster classroom discussions to help students question stereotypes and issues of cultural diversity (Abril, 2009) while also considering the cultural context of their schools (Shaw, 2015).

Regardless of their disposition and cultural competence, music teachers experience several challenges that could be classified as internal and external: internal challenges include music teachers’ emotions and worries, and external challenges refer to tensions, changes, and threats in their working environments. As for internal challenges, music teachers shared feelings of discomfort and inadequacy in using music materials from different linguistic and cultural contexts (Abril, 2009; Kelly-McHale, 2013). They also expressed concern for their Western-centered professional training that did not help them accommodate the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students (Abril, 2009; Kelly-McHale, 2013). Moreover, music teachers described external challenges, such as the arrival of immigrant students in the middle of the school year (Ocádiz Velázquez, 2020); nonsupportive school contexts (Abril, 2009); the need to accommodate students with a variety of prior learning experiences; and tensions arising from differences between their instructional approach and immigrant students’ learning expectations, and ideas of proper behavior (Howell, 2011; Ocádiz Velázquez, 2020).

Discussion and Conclusion

Many of the authors of research on immigrant children and music described formal and informal musical engagement, surveyed immigrant children’s musical preferences, and explored the concept of musical identity. Several investigators have also addressed the perspective of immigrant parents and the practice of music teachers in diverse classrooms. Although this body of literature has mainly provided descriptive accounts, authors have also highlighted factors, influences, and dynamics that affect middle childhood in immigration contexts. These aspects could be summarized into a cohesive model to better understand the social environment that frames immigrant children’s musical experiences.

Zdzinski (2011) created a model as an overview of the social factors (i.e., parental, peers, media, and school-community) that may influence instructional outcomes. Echoing this model, Figure 1 illustrates the social environment that frames immigrant children’s musical experiences. Drawing on both acculturation research and research on immigrant children and music, musical experiences include the following aspects: (a) musical preferences; (b) acculturation strategies in and through music (i.e., negotiation of different musical cultures); (c) acculturation outcomes in musical activities (i.e., well-being, satisfaction, and stress, as well as motivation and music learning outcomes); and (d) musical identity development (i.e., IIM and MII).

Figure 1.

A Model of the Social Environment of Immigrant Children’s Musical Experiences.

Social influences are divided into five categories: media, peer interaction, home and family, music teachers, and school and community. Beyond the influence of social factors, Zdzinski’s (2011) model included variables, such as age, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status that may help clarify individual differences in learning outcomes. Other factors that could account for learning and acculturative differences among immigrant children are immigrant generation status (Han, 2006) and length of stay in a new country (Oppedal & Idsoe, 2015).

Implications for Music Education

Research on immigrant children and music has several implications for music education. First, to promote culturally diverse and inclusive educational spaces, music educators should select repertoire that acknowledges both students’ diverse backgrounds and shared interest in English songs. Homeland music can help immigrant children preserve their ethnic identity, whereas English pop, rap, and hip-hop songs can foster a sense of cohesion among students from different cultures. However, immigrant children use different acculturative strategies to navigate their bicultural identities. In heterogeneous music classes, music teachers may run the risk of relying on a superficial understanding of immigrant students’ identities as well as musical interests and needs. To ground more informed educational choices, music teachers should open a space for discussion in which all students can share their experiences, question stereotypes, and explore issues of cultural diversity.

Second, music teachers should include creative activities to involve students regardless of their linguistic proficiency and previous musical training. For instance, music teachers could rely on multimodal music making that emphasizes natural responses, such as movement and dancing. Although a repertoire with a limited semantic content could transcend linguistic barriers, there is research evidence that music teachers seldom include movements and dancing in their practice (Howell, 2011). Moreover, immigrant children use media for independent music listening and making. Music teachers should foster their musical engagement by assigning individual or collaborative research projects on the internet and projects that include the use of technological tools, such as computers, record devices, and cellphones. Since children think of music as both an individual and social activity, these projects can help immigrant students explore their bicultural musical identities and develop a sense of belonging to a group of peers.

Third, music teachers should involve cultural insiders and immigrant parents to better understand interests, traditions, expectations, relational patterns, and cultural models across diverse communities. However, parents may face several barriers in dealing with a new educational environment. Music teachers thus need to be mindful of immigrant parents’ feelings, logistic difficulties, limited linguistic proficiency, and different expectations. Finally, researchers have documented internal and external challenges that music teachers experience with immigrant students. It is therefore crucial that music teachers share their experience with peers to feel supported and to release the stress of intercultural exchanges. In formal and informal professional interactions, music teachers can also share their practical knowledge and gain ideas for their classroom activities.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Giulia Ripani

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