Equity in music education in Finland: A policy window opened through the case of “Figurenotes”

• Published in: Nordic Research in Music Education 2021-04, Vol.2 (1), p.20-45
• Main Authors: Kivijärvi, Sanna, Rautiainen, Pauli
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2703-8041; 2703-8041
• DOI: 10.23865/nrme.v2.3027

This article illustrates how a social innovation, Figurenotes, has contributed and can contribute,through conceptual change, to the advancement of equity in Basic Education in the Arts (BEA),Finland’s publicly funded system of extracurricular music education. BEA has traditionally beencharacterised by structures and pedagogical practices–such as the use of Western standard musicnotation–that influence the accessibility of music studies. The theoretical framework for this interviewstudy consists of change-theoretical concepts: namely, social innovation, multiple streams, andpolicy windows. The findings are presented at two levels. First, the innovation process of Figurenotesis described to explain social innovation development. Second, three different strands of discourseon the concept of special music education expose the educational policy change generated by thisinnovation. The findings suggest that the use of Figurenotes has raised awareness of inequity in theinstitutional agenda and has encouraged this problem to be addressed through the public policyprocess. The opening of this policy window is critically discussed in relation to the establishmentof the field of special music education, and in relation to inclusion and equity policies as well asexclusion.