Conveying Pupil Access to Wellbeing Through Relational Care in Music Education

Abstract

Abstract This chapter makes the claim that helping schoolchildren relate to music is an act of care. It especially points out the importance of contributing to pupils’ establishment of “musical asylums” of one’s own. By linking liminal aesthetic rooms to issues of social responsibility and education, it poses the question: How can, and why do, music teachers nurture musical processes and enhance pupils’ musical experiences with care? The multifaceted, theoretical answer comprises pedagogical stances of relational and reciprocal equity; acceptance of teacher vulnerability; the concept of “eudaimonia” (understood as wellbeing through citizenship); and a view on the facilitation of aesthetic, pedagogic transitional rooms as deeply connected with care.