No abstract

The first official works about the teacher competencies in Turkey were began in 1998 and many revisions made since then. In this framework, subject-specific competencies were prepared for some areas for primary education in 2008 and secondary education in 2011. This research aimed to review and analyze studies about music teacher competencies between 2008 and 2017 when music teacher competencies were in effect. For this purpose, the studies conducted during this period in Turkey were scanned, and the thematic content analysis was carried out within the framework of the method/design, sample group, data collection tools, aims, results, and recommendations. One of the research findings showed that the studies concerned were particularly related to the competency areas of planning and regulation, the theoretical-applied knowledge and skill, and professional development. Another finding pointed out that the vast majority of the studies employed a descriptive survey model. Last but not least, it was found that the samples of the studies were mostly constructed from pre-service teachers rather than in-service teachers. This current research suggests that further studies should give priority to choose in-service teachers as samples rather than pre-service teachers and also suggests more functional courses for both undergraduate program and in service training.

There are various studies concerning the present situation of the phenomenon of educational music, which dates back to the early years of the Republic i.e. which emerged 90 years ago, the problems in the area, and solutions to these problems as well as the concept of “educational music” which is used to define the songs that are part of music education. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the area of educational music based on composers’ opinions, in other words, on the opinions of the creators of the subject music, and to determine the present situation of the area in the light of these evaluations. For these purposes, 7 composers, all of whom had contributed to educational music, were interviewed. The resultant data were analyzed under three themes by means of content analysis. The themes were the concept of educational music, educational music compositions and educational music composing. As a result, composers indicated that songs composed as educational music pieces should have a content that children can relate to. They also said that music teachers and prospective music teachers who had the ability to compose should engage in the composition of educational music. According to composers, in order for songs to be of good musical quality; easy and catchy melodies and lyrics, prosody, melodic sequence, harmonic structure and form components were important. Composers also expressed their opinions regarding “the points to be considered and the method to be followed in the process of composition”, “essential skills and knowledge in addition to the ability to compose”, and “types of music preferred in compositions”. In addition to this research, further studies, which take opinions of music teachers, who are the appliers of educational music, and those of students, who are the receivers and consumers of educational music, into account, can be undertaken so as to be able to evaluate the area of educational music from different perspectives.

This article explores applications of 21 st century skills in higher education curriculum, specifically in teacher education. The authors discuss why preservice teachers need to be taught in an environment that students will be equipped with the 21 st century skills and competences which help them to develop their own teaching skills and the technology skills of their students. The study is based on document analysis methodology and is focused on higher education competences in Turkey. The paper ends with implications for teacher education institutions which will implement 21 st century skills competences in their curriculum.

Children learn through games, imitation, and modelling and they acquire most of their learning experiences through their environment and interactions with adults and with other children. Child’s most intense learning experience happens during the period between 0 to 6, so called early childhood or preschool period. Thus, the abilities that can be gained in this period are considered to be important for child’s healthy growth. The effectiveness of music during this period is considered to develop not only children’s musical skills but non-musical skills as well. Therefore, to support children’s physical, cognitive, language, social and emotional development, the use of music and musical activities becomes more common during the early childhood period. In this study, on the basis of relevant research and observations, the objectives, philosophy and implementation of the Music Together® program were discussed and interpreted mentioning the importance of supporting early childhood music enriched environment and the importance of the family interactions to support acquiring the non-musical gains as well as the childrens’ musical acquisition. As a result, it is suggested that family-supported program models be implemented in school environments, especially adapted to pre-school curriculum or included in extracurricular activities, and disseminated in school environments. In this way, it is thought that it will make an important contribution to the development of children not only in terms of musical level but also in terms of formation of healthy families, individuals and communities. ÖzetÇocukların öğrenme yaşantılarının pek çoğu, oyun, taklit, model alma, çevreyle ve diğer yetişkin ve çocuklar ile girilen etkileşim yoluyla kazanılmaktadır. Erken çocukluk dönemi veya okul öncesi diye adlandırılan 0-6 yaş dönemi, bu öğrenme yaşantılarının en yoğun olduğu ve çocuğun her yönü ile gelişiminin çok hızla seyrettiği bir dönem olarak adlandırılabilir. Dolayısıyla, erken çocukluk döneminde kazandırılacak becerilerin, sağlıklı gelişim için önemli olduğu düşünülmektedir. Erken çocukluk döneminde müzik eğitimi ve etkinliklerinin bütünleştirilerek müzik becerileri yanında müzik dışı becerilerini de geliştirmek için kullanılması önerilmekte ve müziğin çocuğun gelişim alanlarıyla ilgili becerileri kazanmaya yardımcı olabileceği belirtilmektedir. Bu çalışmada, Music Together® programı örneğinde, programın amaçları, felsefesi ve uygulama biçiminden hareketle, erken çocukluk döneminde müzikle zenginleştirilmiş aile destekli bir ortam yoluyla çocukların ve ailelerin müzik dışı kazanımlar ve çeşitli beceriler edinebilmesi konusunda desteklenmesinin önemi ve yolları, ilgili araştırma ve gözlemler ekseninde tartışılarak yorumlanmıştır. Sonuç olarak, aile destekli bu tarz program modellerinin okul ortamlarında özellikle okul öncesi müfredatına uyarlanarak uygulanması veya ders dışı faaliyetler kapsamında yer almasının sağlanması ve bu tarz modellerin okul ortamlarında da yaygınlaştırılması önerilebilir. Bu yolla sadece müzikal gelişim açısından değil, sağlıklı aileler, bireyler ve toplum oluşturma açısından da çocukların gelişimine önemli bir katkı sağlayacağı düşünülmektedir.