Musical parenting and acculturation of South Korean immigrant mothers

The aim of this study was to explore how South Korean immigrant mothers perceived and supported their children’s musical activities and how acculturation might have affected these mothers’ musical parenting. A qualitative case study was carried out for this inquiry and in-depth interviews with thirteen Korean immigrant mothers provided rich data about their musical parenting. The interview data indicated that the immigrant mothers had a strong belief about their children’s musical engagement and this belief led them to support their children as best as they could even if it required a great amount of time and money. Also, it was clearly found that these immigrant mothers’ musical parenting has been significantly affected by the acculturation process. They all agreed that their decisions on their children’s musical participation would have differed if they lived in Korea. Unlike native Korean mothers who showed a tendency to discontinue support for their children’s musical activities when they reached upper elementary grades, the immigrant mothers were willing to support their children’s musical participation as long as possible. Various factors seemed to have influenced this decision, including a desire for lifelong music participation as a possible tool for college admissions.