Medidas preventivas y correctoras del Plan Hidrológico

The present study investigates the nature of musical development of young children in the Chinese diaspora in London, and how their musical environment within a family context might shape their musical development. Ecological Systems Theory is applied as a theoretical lens to examine young children’s musical environment within the family context. Through the lens of Ecological systems Theory, Figure 3.6 illustrates how young children’s musical environment within a family context might be influential in their musical development, based on current literature.

The Microsystem represents the musical activities in the family home and in the car. The home environment features the materials available for music-listening and music-making, various forms of social interactions between the family members that may provide opportunities for musical interactions, and parental beliefs on general parenting and on music learning. With respect to the musical materials in the home environment, the availability of technology and media were reported to be shaping the nature of musical

Figure 3.6: Young children’s musical environment within a family context, being conceptualised through Ecological Systems Theory model (c.f. Bronfenbrenner 1979, 1986)

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experiences of contemporary children (Brooks, 2015a; Gingras, 2012; Ilari, 2011; Lum, 2008; Persellin, 2016; Young, 2008b). In addition, the family car as a transport action is regarded as an extension of the home ‘on wheels’. Young children were reported to experience music through listening to music, singing and music-making with their family during the car journeys (Gingras, 2012; Lamont, 2008; Lum, 2009). Musical activities in the family home and in the car highlight the roles of parents and siblings in young children’s musical engagement through various forms of social interactions (Barrett, 2009; Custodero, 2006; Gingras, 2012; Ilari, 2005). Parental beliefs on general parenting and musical parenting, which included their values on music learning, were also reported to be influential in the musical provision for their young children (Gibson, 2009; Ilari, 2005; Lum, 2016).

The Mesosystem represents the family’s musical engagement in the local community. Children might experience music through the family’s participation in a range of institutions, organisations or facilities in the local area. These include early years provision, various playgroups and music groups, and local facilities such as church and shops. For example, Adachi and Trehub (2012) described private musical sessions, which were normally attended by young children and their mothers. Young children experience local musical cultures through the family’s participation in the community.

The Exosystem represents the musical biographies of parents and siblings. Musical biographies include their previous music-listening and music-learning experiences in childhood and later in life, as well as their musical preferences. For instance, it was reported that parental musical experiences were associated with musical provision for their children (Custodero & Johnson-Green, 2003; Ilari, 2005). Musical biographies of the family members are not directly participated in by the child but might play a role in shaping daily musical experiences of young children.

The Macrosystem represents aspects of the cultural repertoire and belief systems that might have an impact on young children’s musical experiences and development. The word ‘culture’ is broadly referred to here as learned behaviours and/or beliefs shared by a small group of people or larger set of population in a society or a country. As defined by Merriam (1964) , ‘culture as a whole is learned behaviour, and each culture shapes the learning process to accord with its own ideals and values (p.145). Campbell (2011) indicated that the family was the first site where a newborn child learned cultural behaviours, including music. According to Campbell, children’s musical identities stem from within the family and then encompass larger contexts, such as extended families, school and community. To fit the cultural background of the participant families in this study as part of Chinese diaspora in London, the potential cultural influences on young children’s musical development include

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English culture, Chinese culture and the family culture. Furthermore, the cultural influences are divided into two facets: firstly, the cultural influences on music, such as the exposure and learning of musical genres from cultural heritage; secondly, the cultural influences on the parental values on general parenting and musical parenting.

The Chronosystem represents the temporal patterns that occur in the child’s life that might have an impact on their musical experiences and development. One example is the repetition of musical exposure or music-making over time that might contribute to the familiarity of musical pieces. For instance, it was reported that young children tended to repeat short musical phrases vocally before they were able to sing whole musical pieces as songs (Welch, 2015). Furthermore, considering the focus of this study on young children of Chinese diaspora in London, annual visits to their home countries might also be influential in enculturing them into language and music in a Chinese context.

Overall, drawing on the current literature with the theoretical lens of Ecological Systems Theory model, different aspects of young children’s musical environment that might play an influential role in their musical development can be mapped onto the Micro- to Chronosystem model. This adapted framework (Figure 3.6) served as a theoretical foundation for this study in exploring potential social and cultural factors in shaping young children’s musical development.

3.3 A rationale for combining the SoI-EY framework and