Page 21 - IJPS-9-3

International Journal of

Population Studies

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Re-conceptualizing music education in the older

adult life course: A qualitative meta-synthesis

1
Tuulikki Laes * and Andrea Creech 2
1 Center for Educational Research and Academic Development in the Arts (CERADA), University of
the Arts Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
2 Department of Music Research, Schulich School of Music, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
(This article belongs to Special Issue: Active Ageing and Educational Gerontology)

Abstract

The Seoul Agenda by UNESCO has set goals to develop arts education, ensuring that
learners from all social backgrounds have lifelong access to arts education in a wide
range of community and institutional settings. However, the purpose of lifelong
learning for individuals beyond labor-market age has been largely overlooked,
making it challenging to convince institutions, funders, and policymakers of its worth.
The value accorded to the complex forms of lifelong learning in later life and the
widely recognized health impacts of music on aging body and brain are the principal
considerations to take into account when studying the effects of music education
on older adults. In this study, we address the state-of-the-art research concerning
older adults and music education in studies published in major peer-reviewed music
education journals since the Seoul Agenda by UNESCO. We present the findings from
a systematic literature review, followed by a qualitative meta-synthesis, focusing on
*Corresponding author:
Tuulikki Laes the values, beliefs, and key concepts conveyed in the included studies. The findings of
(tuulikki.laes@uniarts.fi) this study indicate that older adults are often portrayed narrowly and stereotypically,
corroborating the issues in the sociology of aging. Our study highlights insights into
Citation: Laes, T. & Creech, A.
(2023). Re-conceptualizing music the conceptualizations of music learning and participation in later life course and
education in the older adult what these might mean for the policy and practice of later-life music education and
life course: A qualitative meta- the educational opportunities for older adults more broadly.
synthesis. International Journal of
Population Studies, 9(3): 15-32.
https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.383
Keywords: Meta-synthesis; Music education; Older adults
Received: September 30, 2022
Accepted: August 29, 2023
Published Online: September 27, 1. Introduction
2023
Copyright: © 2023 Author(s). Contemporary gerontological researchers (e.g., Estes et al., 2003; Baars et al., 2006; Cann
This is an Open-Access article & Dean, 2009; Walker, 2017) generally agree that attitudes toward aging in (Western)
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution post-industrial societies have become harsh, positioning older persons as societal
License, permitting distribution, and burdens rather than resources for social and cultural capital. Many people over the
reproduction in any medium, which
provided that the original work is age of 60 are at risk of social isolation, often due to the loss of a work-related identity
properly cited. after retirement, coupled with a limited sense of purpose in the community and society
Publisher’s Note: AccScience at large (Landeiro et al., 2017). As a result of the generally negative attitudes toward
Publishing remains neutral with aging, new trends and phenomena are emerging in many fields that aim to treat aging
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional as a problem or a deficiency. In the field of music, this deficit perspective has promoted
affiliations. an increasingly popularized focus on the health benefits of music for the aging body

Volume 9 Issue 3 (2023) 15 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.383