Introduction
It is not uncommon to attend a school assembly in Ireland today and hear the familiar sound of children singing We Are the World. The song is intended to bring people together, but yet raises uncomfortable questions; whose world is being represented here? and who gets to decide what to sing? A charity single written in 1980s America may feel uplifting, but what does it say about the identities, languages and cultures of the children singing it? Does it create a space for inclusion, or does it close it down?
These questions point to the complex role music plays in an Ireland that is increasingly diverse. In classrooms that are multicultural, multilingual and multi‑faith, music is often imagined as a universal language but, in practice, music carries diverse histories, geographies and identities.
‘Music in the Intercultural School: Uncovering Spaces for Agency and Belonging’ (MUSPACE) is a research project funded by a Research Ireland Laureate Award that examines these dynamics in depth. Since 2022, the MUSPACE project looks closely at how music operates as a site of intercultural encounter for learners from both migrant and non‑migrant backgrounds. It explores how musical choices are made, who participates, how identity is expressed, and what this reveals about inclusion and belonging in everyday school life. This paper discusses some of the key findings from the project and the policy implications that stem from them.
In recent years, Irish educational policy has emphasised equality, respect for diversity and intercultural understanding (NCCA, 2005; DfES & OMI, 2010). Yet, research continues to reveal that learners from migrant backgrounds experience exclusion, stereotyping and discrimination in both explicit and implicit ways throughout their school day (Darmody et al. 2022; Martin et al., 2023; McGuirk, 2026). There are many demands on schools to build peer relationships, support learners from varying cultural contexts and backgrounds as well as maintain high quality learning environments. Against this backdrop, MUSPACE offers new insights into the role music can play and how music making can be a critical social space, especially within diverse school communities. When viewed as such, music in school becomes a place where identities are formed, community is fostered and children can exercise agency in their learning.
To understand the lived reality of musical life in schools, MUSPACE adopted an ethnographic approach across four schools, two primary and two post‑primary, across Dublin, Cork and Limerick. The project combines classroom observations, music workshops, sound recordings, composed soundscapes, student collages and notebooks, focus groups, teacher logs and teacher professional development workshops (see https://muspace.hypotheses.org/). This multimodal, participatory approach offers a window into what teachers, children and young people actually do with music in school.
Key Findings
Teachers
One of the most significant findings from the MUSPACE project is the central role of teachers. Their ideologies, values and pedagogical decisions profoundly shape learners’ participation. Put simply, when teachers adopt inclusive, active and culturally responsive approaches, learners engage more. When classroom activities rely on rigid routines, narrow repertoire or over-use of screens to teach, participation reduces. For instance, boredom and disengagement were predominantly observed in the classroom research when teachers over relied on sing-along or clap-along music videos played through laptops onto interactive white boards. Further, within the classroom observations, there were clear efforts towards authenticity and expanded repertoire choiceby using videos of songs from other countries. While well-intentioned, such videos often led to an overriding sense of musical tourism, a presentation of stereotyped images and an us-and-them approach was apparent.
Hence, the research revealed that culturally responsive teaching is not simply about adding “a song from another culture” into a lesson. Instead, it involves understanding the diverse identities and backgrounds in the room, and designing activities that resonate with learners’ preferences and cultural references. Importantly, MUSPACE highlights that stereotyping can occur even with good intentions (Kenny and Christophersen, 2026). The project findings suggest that how teachers navigate the complexities of diversity in their classrooms is closely tied to their levels of confidence and comfort with uncertainty. Opportunities for professional reflexivity and reaching beyond the classroom walls to connect with the surrounding community could greatly assist in this regard.
Social Interaction
Another striking finding is the importance of social interaction. Music‑making is deeply relational and involves listening, co‑creating and responding to others. These socio‑musical encounters create some of the strongest opportunities to feel a sense of belonging. Whether learners are composing a soundscape, improvising rhythms, or debating song choices, these shared activities often produce moments of connection that transcend cultural or linguistic boundaries. For instance, activities such as school choirs, school musicals or involvement in cross-school performance initiatives, saw high levels of commitment and enjoyment from both the teachers and children in the schools involved (Kenny and Kyratsou, 2026). The children interviewed commented on the commitment given often outside of school hours, how they liked the repertoire, enjoyed rehearsing with a mix of classes beyond their own cohort, as well as experiencing leadership from a teacher outside of normal class time. Learners valued these experiences highly, but the research also shows the importance of ensuring that such activities are free, accessible on‑site and integrated with teachers’ ongoing work.
Performance
Performance, too, emerged as a key motivator. When learners rehearse and perform, especially where they help shape the repertoire and approach, they gain confidence, take ownership and build connection with each other. Linked to this is the recurring theme throughout the study of agency. Learners overwhelmingly preferred creative tasks such as improvisation and composition over repetitive exercises or screen‑led activities. Within the MUSPACE project a series of soundscape workshops took place where classes could explore and learn about their sonic environments, as well as transform their recorded sounds into new compositions. The children were active agents in this work which focused on shared collaborative ways of working coupled with time to engage in reflective practice. Thus, the project allowed for opportunities and new freedoms to explore musical and sonic experiences outside the usual boundaries of regular classes (Kenny and Jaber, 2025).
Religion
Finally, MUSPACE draws attention to the role of religion, particularly within Catholic schools which makeup the vast majority of schools in the country. Faith‑based musical activities, including those linked to sacramental preparation, continue to shape the musical calendar in most schools. There were a significant number in the study therefore who were not participating in school events, concerts or assemblies for instance due to their or their families request for ‘opting-out’ on religious grounds. While this choice was accepted by the school the feasibility of accommodating an ‘opt-out’ was rarely observed with children most often still present in the spaces where religious music was happening. To complicate matters further, children who abstained from music lessons and performances, appeared to know all the lyrics, were often observed singing to themselves while doing another activity or at times joined the group and actively engaged in music making and singing in class. It is clear that in increasingly diverse classrooms, these activities require greater sensitive navigation to ensure they do not exclude children and young people.
Concluding Thoughts
Returning to the sound of children singing We Are the World, when teachers and schools make repertoire choices without considering who is reflected in the music, whose stories are told and whose are silenced, they risk unintentionally reducing the space for belonging and agency. This research shows that when children and young people are invited to co‑create and collaborate in musical activities, it becomes a powerful site of inclusion and community. If we want schools to reflect all of society, then we must create musical and educational spaces where every voice can be heard and valued.
Policy Implications
- Ensure teachers are given appropriate opportunities for continuous professional development in inclusive music education and interculturalism.
- Provide resources that espouse diverse participation and culturally response approaches to teaching and learning through music education curricula and policy documentation.
- Fund and manage long-term initiatives that promote musical participation and collaborations in-school and across-schools.
- Map and amplify existing examples of best practice of in-school and extracurricular musical activities in schools.
- Provide the necessary support to encourage and promote schools’ participation in performance activities both locally and nationally.
- Advance the national conversation around faith-formation in schools, particularly in relation to sacramental preparation during school-time (which includes music).
- Set up frameworks that facilitate critical dialogue, reflective practice and mutual connections between schools and their local communities.
References
Darmody, M., McGinnity, F. and Russell, H. (2022) Children of migrants in Ireland: How are they faring? Research Series, RS134. Dublin: Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
Department of Education and Skills and Office of the Minister for Integration (2010) Intercultural Education Strategy 2010–2015. Available at: https://assets.gov.ie/static/documents/intercultural-education-strategy-2010-2015.pdf
Kenny, A. and Christophersen, C. (2026) ‘Searching for spaces of encounter and disorientation: Teachers’ lived experiences of music in diverse classrooms’, Research Studies in Music Education. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103X261428699.
Kenny, A. and Jaber, H. (2025) ‘Hearing and creating soundscapes to explore agency and belonging in intercultural schools’, International Journal of Education and the Arts, 25(26). Available at: http://doi.org/10.26209/ijea25n26.
Kenny, A. and Kyratsou, C. (2026) ‘Musical participation and nonparticipation at the intercultural school: A study from Ireland’, British Journal of Music Education, 43(1), pp. 18–31. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0265051726100771.
Martin, S., Horgan, D., O’Riordan, J. and Maier, R. (2023) ‘Refugee and migrant children’s views of integration and belonging in school in Ireland – and the role of micro- and meso-level interactions’, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 28(13), pp. 3214–3233.
McGuirk, N. (2026) ‘We were all sticking with the safe ones’: antiracism education and Educate Together primary schools in Ireland’, Irish Educational Studies, Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2026.2614082
National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (2005) Intercultural education in the primary school: Enabling children to respect and celebrate diversity, to promote equality and to challenge unfair discrimination – guidelines for schools. Dublin: NCCA.
