Mellan klassrum och scen – en studie av ensembleundervisning på gymnasieskolans estetiska program

Abstract in English

Singing and playing instruments in Swedish secondary schools follow a long tradition, where playing in orchestras or singing in choirs are common historical
examples of ensemble activities. In the last decades ensemble playing and teaching have undergone different changes, both in relation to musical practices at large, and with regard to repertoire, use of instruments, technical equipment and not least the philosophical and pedagogical ideas about music education.
The aim of this thesis is to get a deeper knowledge about contemporary classroom ensemble in Swedish upper secondary schools. The research questions are:
What does the object of learning look like in classroom ensemble? How are objects of learning in classroom ensemble legitimated?
The theoretical framework is inspired by Foucauldian discourse analysis where the concept of discourse is used in an ecclectic way in order to grasp how ways of thinking about music, music education, pedagogy and didactics inform the music teachers and by that legitimizing different objects of learning.
Data has been collected by focus group interviews, where four groups of music teachers participated, and by observing and interviewing three music teachers
teaching classroom ensemble. Data has been analyzed following Foucault’s concepts of the event, the series, the regularity and the condition of possibility.
In the analysis, two discourses are found to permeate the practice of classroom ensemble: (i) the discourse on artistry, which articulates objects with relevance for the performance (a concert, a show), where pupils try to simulate and implement an informal music practice and, (ii) the discourse on schooling, which articulates objects relating to schooling and education. The results show that the performances play a major role in the teaching of classroom ensemble, and as a result, what pupils learn is limited to what they are playing during those performances. This leads to questions about what the pupils learn by participating in such performances.