Analía Capponi-Savolainen: Children’s singing ecologies in culturally diverse societies
Public examination of Analía Capponi-Savolainens doctoral dissertation
Full title of the dissertation: Children’s singing ecologies in culturally diversifying Finnish schools and society
- Opponent: Professor Margaret Barrett (Monash University, Australia)
- Pre-examiners of the dissertation: Professor emerita Inkeri Ruokonen (University of Turku), Professor Margaret Barrett (Monash University, Australia)
- Custos: Professor Heidi Westerlund (University of the Arts Helsinki)
Programme
Opening of the public examination
Lectio praecursoria
Statement of the Opponent
Examination of the dissertation
Closing statement of the Opponent
Audience questions
Closing of the public examination
Abstract
Children’s singing has been extensively studied in music education over recent decades by emphasising effective vocal skill-development and vocal pedagogy, as well as by approaching children’s cultures through song repertoires. However, little is known about the meanings young children ascribe to singing and their experiences of singing in increasingly diversifying educational contexts, in times when global (e.g. UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child) and national policies (The Child Strategy in Finland) are urging societies to better take into account children’s perspectives on decision-making that concerns their own lives. The objective of this study is to develop a new, interdisciplinary understanding of young children’s singing, conceptualised as singing ecologies, and to highlight that singing in schools may have a much wider role than mere musical learning and vocal expression. The knowledge gap is addressed by asking: What meanings do children ascribe to singing within their ecologies?
The ecological framework for exploring children’s singing was constructed through four interconnected dimensions: 1) the ecology of children’s development and its constituent processes as an existential matter; 2) the child’s voice and the production of space and the power relationships as embedded in diverse spaces in children’s everyday lives; and 3) ecological agency and singing as affordances; and 4) social-ecological systems thinking, which allows considering the school as ‘a bridging organisation’ in a culturally diversifying society. The concept of children’s spaces, drawn from childhood studies, is used to conceptualize children’s singing spaces as the core for understanding singing ecologies and the potential of singing to become an affordance in school. The case study’s empirical material was generated in an ethnographic framework through semi-structured interviews with 6–7-year-old first-grade children (N=22) and their teachers (N=4) in one culturally diverse school in the capital area of Finland. In addition, the empirical material included researcher observations and a diary. Narrative analysis methods were combined with thematic analysis within an ecological framework.
The findings show that first-graders are already aware of how their singing relates to their social-ecological relationships and are able to reflect verbally on their experiences. They furthermore show how children navigate between public and private singing and produce spaces of trust and freedom through singing. They produce singing spaces for their own uses: to handle everyday life struggles, to create new ways of acting and participating, and to exercise their political voice by addressing their stance. The findings illustrate the importance of the qualities of the relationships that children experience in places of singing. Children also recognise the difference between singing in school and singing outside school, as well as the meanings of singing in school, in which singing appears as an adult-led activity that is sometimes resisted. For the children, feeling connected with and accepted by others in school is fundamental. Children varied in terms of how eager they were to share their cultural differences and home cultures through singing and music education in their school. Furthermore, the findings show that young children seek for opportunities to produce in-between spaces of singing in school, for example in the school yard or even in secret in the classroom.
The dissertation contributes to a more complex, spatial, and relational ecological understanding of children’s singing in school, as narrated by the children themselves. It challenges learning-centred teaching practices in music education in schools, teacher education, in-service teacher training, and research suggesting a new awareness of children’s singing ecologies in educational institutions. It advocates for an awareness of the existential qualities of singing, which cannot be reduced to learning the use of the singing voice.
It concludes that more attention should be given to singing as a powerful activity and affordance that can bridge home and school experiences, and to the school’s ability to function as a bridging organization through a curriculum of caring that can help young children navigate their singing ecologies and lives in a meaningful way.
Biography
Analía Capponi-Savolainen (M.Mus., Lic.Mus.) is an Argentinian-Finnish classical singer, vocal pedagogue, and doctoral researcher affiliated with the University of the Arts Helsinki, Sibelius Academy.
Her work on children’s singing in the Finnish culturally diverse schools was part of the ArtsEqual research initiative (2015 – 2021), coordinated by the University of the Arts Helsinki and funded by the Strategic Council of the Research Council of Finland. She has presented preliminary findings of her doctoral research in national and international conferences of music education, education policy, and early childhood, for academic and professional audiences.
Analía has taught at all levels of education. In Argentina, she taught Classical Singing, Didactics of Music, Teaching in Practice and Music Perception in higher education institutions, as well as music education in schools and in preschool. As voice teacher, founder, and director of her own private music school in Argentina, she taught singing to young children, youth and adults and produced numerous student concerts and opera productions. In Finland, alongside her studies at Sibelius Academy, Analía founded a vibrant and culturally diverse singing studio in the capital region, where she currently teaches students of all ages.
Analía is a specialist in children’s singing pedagogy and the Suzuki approach, and delivers Suzuki teacher education courses in Finland and abroad. She has conducted teacher development courses for voice teachers in Argentina, Mexico, Italy, Australia, and Finland. As a classical singer, she focuses on art song, particularly in vocal music from Latin America and Spain, and currently performs with the voice-piano duo Capponi-Merikanto. She has conducted masterclasses on Latin American and Spanish art songs both in Finnish music institutes and private settings.
More information
Analía Capponi-Savolainen
analia.capponi-savolainen@uniarts.fi
Full title of the dissertation: Children’s singing ecologies in culturally diversifying Finnish schools and society
- Opponent: Professor Margaret Barrett (Monash University, Australia)
- Pre-examiners of the dissertation: Professor emerita Inkeri Ruokonen (University of Turku), Professor Margaret Barrett (Monash University, Australia)
- Custos: Professor Heidi Westerlund (University of the Arts Helsinki)
Programme
Opening of the public examination
Lectio praecursoria
Statement of the Opponent
Examination of the dissertation
Closing statement of the Opponent
Audience questions
Closing of the public examination
Abstract
Children’s singing has been extensively studied in music education over recent decades by emphasising effective vocal skill-development and vocal pedagogy, as well as by approaching children’s cultures through song repertoires. However, little is known about the meanings young children ascribe to singing and their experiences of singing in increasingly diversifying educational contexts, in times when global (e.g. UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child) and national policies (The Child Strategy in Finland) are urging societies to better take into account children’s perspectives on decision-making that concerns their own lives. The objective of this study is to develop a new, interdisciplinary understanding of young children’s singing, conceptualised as singing ecologies, and to highlight that singing in schools may have a much wider role than mere musical learning and vocal expression. The knowledge gap is addressed by asking: What meanings do children ascribe to singing within their ecologies?
The ecological framework for exploring children’s singing was constructed through four interconnected dimensions: 1) the ecology of children’s development and its constituent processes as an existential matter; 2) the child’s voice and the production of space and the power relationships as embedded in diverse spaces in children’s everyday lives; and 3) ecological agency and singing as affordances; and 4) social-ecological systems thinking, which allows considering the school as ‘a bridging organisation’ in a culturally diversifying society. The concept of children’s spaces, drawn from childhood studies, is used to conceptualize children’s singing spaces as the core for understanding singing ecologies and the potential of singing to become an affordance in school. The case study’s empirical material was generated in an ethnographic framework through semi-structured interviews with 6–7-year-old first-grade children (N=22) and their teachers (N=4) in one culturally diverse school in the capital area of Finland. In addition, the empirical material included researcher observations and a diary. Narrative analysis methods were combined with thematic analysis within an ecological framework.
The findings show that first-graders are already aware of how their singing relates to their social-ecological relationships and are able to reflect verbally on their experiences. They furthermore show how children navigate between public and private singing and produce spaces of trust and freedom through singing. They produce singing spaces for their own uses: to handle everyday life struggles, to create new ways of acting and participating, and to exercise their political voice by addressing their stance. The findings illustrate the importance of the qualities of the relationships that children experience in places of singing. Children also recognise the difference between singing in school and singing outside school, as well as the meanings of singing in school, in which singing appears as an adult-led activity that is sometimes resisted. For the children, feeling connected with and accepted by others in school is fundamental. Children varied in terms of how eager they were to share their cultural differences and home cultures through singing and music education in their school. Furthermore, the findings show that young children seek for opportunities to produce in-between spaces of singing in school, for example in the school yard or even in secret in the classroom.
The dissertation contributes to a more complex, spatial, and relational ecological understanding of children’s singing in school, as narrated by the children themselves. It challenges learning-centred teaching practices in music education in schools, teacher education, in-service teacher training, and research suggesting a new awareness of children’s singing ecologies in educational institutions. It advocates for an awareness of the existential qualities of singing, which cannot be reduced to learning the use of the singing voice.
It concludes that more attention should be given to singing as a powerful activity and affordance that can bridge home and school experiences, and to the school’s ability to function as a bridging organization through a curriculum of caring that can help young children navigate their singing ecologies and lives in a meaningful way.
Biography
Analía Capponi-Savolainen (M.Mus., Lic.Mus.) is an Argentinian-Finnish classical singer, vocal pedagogue, and doctoral researcher affiliated with the University of the Arts Helsinki, Sibelius Academy.
Her work on children’s singing in the Finnish culturally diverse schools was part of the ArtsEqual research initiative (2015 – 2021), coordinated by the University of the Arts Helsinki and funded by the Strategic Council of the Research Council of Finland. She has presented preliminary findings of her doctoral research in national and international conferences of music education, education policy, and early childhood, for academic and professional audiences.
Analía has taught at all levels of education. In Argentina, she taught Classical Singing, Didactics of Music, Teaching in Practice and Music Perception in higher education institutions, as well as music education in schools and in preschool. As voice teacher, founder, and director of her own private music school in Argentina, she taught singing to young children, youth and adults and produced numerous student concerts and opera productions. In Finland, alongside her studies at Sibelius Academy, Analía founded a vibrant and culturally diverse singing studio in the capital region, where she currently teaches students of all ages.
Analía is a specialist in children’s singing pedagogy and the Suzuki approach, and delivers Suzuki teacher education courses in Finland and abroad. She has conducted teacher development courses for voice teachers in Argentina, Mexico, Italy, Australia, and Finland. As a classical singer, she focuses on art song, particularly in vocal music from Latin America and Spain, and currently performs with the voice-piano duo Capponi-Merikanto. She has conducted masterclasses on Latin American and Spanish art songs both in Finnish music institutes and private settings.
More information
Analía Capponi-Savolainen
analia.capponi-savolainen@uniarts.fi