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.
AngK.PanebiancoC.OdendaalA. (2020). Parent–teacher partnerships in group music lessons: A collective case study. British Journal of Music Education, 37(2), 169–179. https://doi.org/10.1017/S026505171900024X
2.
Baquedano-LópezP.AlexanderR. A.HernandezS. J. (2013). Equity issues in parental and community involvement in schools: What teacher educators need to know. Review of Research in Education, 37(1), 149–182. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X12459718
3.
ChoE. (2015). What do mothers say? Korean mothers’ perceptions of children’s participation in extra-curricular musical activities. Music Education Research, 17(2), 162–178. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2014.895313
CreechA.HallamS. (2009). Interaction in instrumental learning: The influence of interpersonal dynamics on parents. International Journal of Music Education, 27(2), 94–106. https://doi.org/10.1177/0255761409102318
6.
CreswellJ. W.PothC. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). Sage.
7.
DenzinN. K. (2017). Sociological methods: A sourcebook. Routledge.
8.
EinarsonK. M.ChoE.D’ErcoleP. (2022). The parent role in Suzuki music lessons: Experiences and perspectives shared by novice Suzuki parents. Music Education Research, 24(5), 638–650. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2022.2105828
9.
EmersonR. M.FretzR. I.ShawL. L. (2011). Writing ethnographic fieldnotes (2nd ed.). University of Chicago Press.
10.
GlesneC. (2016). Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction (5th ed.). Pearson.
11.
HongS.BalochM. H.ConklinK. H.WarrenH. W. (2025). Teacher-family solidarity as culturally sustaining pedagogy and practice. Urban Education, 60(1), 90–122. https://doi.org/10.1177/00420859221131809
12.
IlariB. (2016). Middle class musical childhoods: Autonomy, concerted cultivation, and consumer culture. In IlariB.YoungS. (Eds.), Children’s home musical experiences across the world (pp. 92–105). Indiana University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt2005s41
13.
IshimaruA. M. (2020). Just schools: Building equitable collaborations with families and communities. Teachers College Press.
14.
IshimaruA. M.BangM.ValladaresM. R.NolanC. M.TavaresH.RajendranA.ChangK. (2019). Recasting families and communities as co-designers of education in tumultuous times [Policy memo]. National Education Policy Center. https://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/family-leadership
15.
IshimaruA. M.TorresK. E.SalvadorJ. E.LottJ.WilliamsD. M. C.TranC. (2016). Reinforcing deficit, journeying toward equity: Cultural brokering in family engagement initiatives. American Educational Research Journal, 53(4), 850–882. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831216657178
16.
KimS. (2022). Fifty years of parental involvement and achievement research: A second-order meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 37, Article 100463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2022.100463
17.
KoopsL. H. (2018). Musical tweens: Child and parent views on musical engagement in middle childhood. Music Education Research, 20(4), 412–426. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2018.1491541
MappK. L. M.BergmanE. B. (2021). Embracing a new normal: Toward a more liberatory approach to family engagement. Carnegie Corporation of New York. https://doi.org/10.15868/socialsector.38504
OliveiraA.McPhersonG.Mota RibeiroL.Oliveira-SilvaP. (2023). Musical achievement during a lockdown: The parental support miracle. Research Studies in Music Education, 45(1), 211–226. https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103X211033794
22.
ParisD.AlimH. S. (Eds.). (2017). Culturally sustaining pedagogies: Teaching and learning for justice in a changing world. Teachers College Press.
23.
PattonM. Q. (2014). Qualitative research and evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice. Sage.
PittJ.HargreavesD. J. (2017). Attitudes towards and perceptions of the rationale for parent–child group music making with young children. Music Education Research, 19(3), 292–308. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2016.1145644
26.
PowellS. R. (2023). The ideology of competition in school music. Oxford University Press.
27.
RodriguezA. M. (2019). Parents’ perceptions of early childhood music participation. International Journal of Community Music, 12(1), 95–110. https://doi.org/10.1386/ijcm.12.1.95_1
28.
RoulstonK. (2022). Interviewing: A guide to theory and practice. Sage.
29.
SaldañaJ. (2025). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Sage.
30.
SalvadorK.KnappE. J.MayoW. (2024). Moving beyond data collection: Fostering community engagement in community music schools. International Journal of Music Education, 42(2), 203–216. https://doi.org/10.1177/02557614231163556
31.
SalvadorK.MenonS. A. (2025). Lived experiences of adult caregiver “nonmusicians” and “nonsingers” in early childhood music classes. Journal of Research in Music Education, 73(1), 67–86. https://doi.org/10.1177/00224294241247578
32.
SeidmanI. (2019). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences. Teachers College Press.
33.
StakeR. E. (1995). The art of case study research. Sage.
34.
TracyS. J. (2010). Qualitative quality: Eight “big-tent” criteria for excellent qualitative research. Qualitative Inquiry, 16(10), 837–851. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800410383121
35.
UpitisR.AbramiP. C.BrookJ.KingM. (2017). Parental involvement in children’s independent music lessons. Music Education Research, 19(1), 74–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2016.1202220
36.
YoumH. K. (2013). Parents’ goals, knowledge, practices, and needs regarding music education for their young children in South Korea. Journal of Research in Music Education, 61(3), 280–302. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429413497233
37.
YoungS. (2017). Diverse parenting goals and community music in early childhood. International Journal of Community Music, 10(3), 261–271. https://doi.org/10.1386/ijcm.10.3.261_1
38.
ZdzinskiS. (2013). The underlying structure of parental involvement-home environment in music education. Bulletin for the Council of Research in Music Education, 198, 69–88. https://doi.org/10.5406/bulcouresmusedu.198.0069
