Singing as a practice of childhood: Towards an understanding of children’s political agency and voice in culturally diverse societies
Analía Capponi-Savolainen; University of the Arts Helsinki, Finland

Children’s singing has been widely studied in music education, with emphasis on vocal skill development, pedagogy, and children’s cultures through song repertoires. However, far less attention has been paid to children’s experiences of singing in relation to political agency and voice, particularly in increasingly diverse educational contexts. This gap is striking at a time when global and national policies—such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and Finland’s Child Strategy—call for greater inclusion of children’s perspectives in decision-making affecting their lives. Singing is embedded in children’s everyday ecologies and functions as a practice of childhood rather than merely a learned form of adult culture. It is relational and place-bound, capable of amplifying or silencing children’s voices. Capponi-Savolainen (2025) demonstrates that through singing, children create spaces of trust and freedom within and beyond school, enabling participation, mutual care, and the expression of agency amid the complexities of rapidly diversifying societies.