Community music education programs in Mexico

Abstract

Community music education that seeks to promote musical, personal, and social skills among children, teenagers, and youths have expanded considerably in Mexico in recent years. Some of these programs were inspired by Venezuela's National System of Youth and Children's Orchestras and Choirs, but others were built based on different educational and community models. Official information available on these programs tends to emphasize the number of participants or events performed, without further analysis of their pedagogical practices and the perceived benefits for their participants. For this reason, we conducted a systematic review of studies that included empirical data on community music education programs in Mexico. The search for information yielded 29 documents associated with 22 investigations. In these studies, it was found that community music education programs adapted their objectives in response to the needs of their context. In addition, some of them promoted traditional musical genres and ensembles of their communities. The students in the programs were children and youth from different socioeconomic backgrounds and, although the participation of parents was fundamental, very few centers incorporated them in musical activities. The teachers' involvement was key to the development of their students, but they had limited psychological or pedagogical training. Researchers reported several emotional, psychological, social, and musical benefits in their participants, but some were cautious and did not overestimate the impact of the programs. A considerable part of the research included in this review was associated with undergraduate academic work and was carried out by people working in these programs. Because of its potential to contribute to the development of children and youth in Mexico, more research is needed on community music education programs to document their practices, as well as to strengthen them through teacher training and community development.