A scoping review of research that examines El Sistema and Sistema‐inspired music education programmes
Authors: Bolden Benjamin , Corcoran Sean , Butler Alana 
Published: August 2021

Dominant discourses promote El Sistema and Sistema‐inspired music education programmes as positively transforming young lives through social inclusion and musical excellence. However, critics have raised concerns that the El Sistema model has little support from objective, evidence‐based research. To address this issue, the authors conducted a review of peer‐reviewed articles published in English between 2010 and 2020, in order to bring together descriptions and findings of research examining El Sistema and Sistema‐inspired programmes. Following a scoping review method, the authors identified 30 relevant articles for detailed review. The reported studies were identified to address programme impacts (including musical growth, academic achievement, cognitive development, and social‐emotional development) and programme design (e.g., pedagogical approaches, curricular focus, and programme challenges). Reported research methods included randomised control trials, longitudinal randomised studies, qualitative interview studies, a quasi‐experimental pre‐post design study, and ethnographic studies. Overall, the results of this scoping review strongly suggest that Sistema‐inspired music education programmes have great potential for positively impacting students, particularly in terms of musical and social‐emotional development, with less convincing but nevertheless reasonable evidence of increased academic achievement and cognitive development. The authors conclude that realising the potential of El Sistema and Sistema‐inspired programming requires context‐ and student‐specific teaching, curricula, and community support.

Context and implications

Rationale for this study

Dominant discourses promote El Sistema and Sistema‐inspired music education as positively transforming young lives through social inclusion and musical excellence. However, critics have raised concerns that the Sistema model has little support from objective, evidence‐based research. To find out what existing research has actually revealed, a review was conducted of peer‐reviewed articles published in English between 2010 and 2020, bringing together descriptions and findings of research that has examined El Sistema and Sistema‐inspired programming.

Why the new findings matter

This review provides clear details of research that reports both the benefits and limitations of Sistema music education in terms of program impacts and program design.

Implications for policy and practice

Results suggest that Sistema music education has great potential for positively impacting students, particularly in terms of musical and social‐emotional development, with less convincing but some evidence of increased academic achievement and cognitive development. Accordingly, policymakers would do well to focus advocacy and improvement efforts on social‐emotional benefits. Findings suggest Sistema educators would do well to adopt more learner‐centred approaches, particularly those that promote self‐expression, creativity, and agency; resist the privileging of Eurocentric music traditions; actively value and celebrate diverse musics, backgrounds, and cultural expressions; and bring teaching methods in line with contemporary K‐12 and community music education practices.