Heritage language approach in family music sessions – perspectives of immigrant parents

This study applies a qualitative descriptive design to examine how Polish immigrant parents of young children (0–4 years) in Iceland experience and value family music sessions delivered in their heritage language. Open-ended survey responses were analysed using an interpretive-descriptive thematic analysis, complemented by descriptive statistics from a Likert-type questionnaire. Five themes emerged: (1) music, family, and community as key motivators; (2) the importance of the heritage language; (3) fostering well-being through belonging; (4) the joy of musical participation and (5) supporting children’s development through music. Music was the most frequently cited motivator for enrolment. Parents reported enhanced family and community bonds and positive effects on children’s social-emotional engagement and musical behaviours. Other reported effects included an increase in musical activities at home following attendance (48% of respondents) and integrating the repertoire from the sessions into parenting routines (94%). Findings indicate that a heritage-language approach to early-childhood family music sessions can simultaneously nurture cultural identity, expand social support and enrich musicking at home. The study highlights implications for early-childhood provision and integration policy in increasingly multilingual contexts.