Preparing preservice early childhood educators to use music in Australian settings: An audit of programmes

Abstract

Music is ever-present in early childhood but does not feature strongly in the national curriculum framework – The Early Years Learning Framework in Australia or in the intentional practice of educators in early childhood education and care settings. This is mainly due to a lack of knowledge and confidence or self-efficacy to engage musically with the children. Preservice educator training plays a critical role in the development of effective pedagogical skills, knowledge and understanding. This article explored the music education preparation that preservice educators receive in initial training. A content analysis approach was used to review course content of all approved preservice educator programmes in Australia by the Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority. Interviews with tertiary teachers explored content taught. The findings offer rich insight into the extent of music education provided for preservice early childhood educators and implications for the development for future programmes.

<p>Music in Early Childhood Education: generalist teachers versus specialist teachers [Música en Educación Infantil: profesores generalistas versus profesores especialistas]</p>

“…It is also very striking, and dare we say alarming, that approximately half of the participants did not feel prepared to teach music. This confirms once again the lack of confidence of ET in their musical skills that previous studies have pointed to (Kulset & Halle, 2020;Nieuwmeijer et al, 2021;Pestana, 2022;Ruiz, 2012).…”

“…In other cases, although teachers are aware of the importance of music at this age and know that it is not necessary to have highly specialised musical training, they do not carry out musical activities in the classroom because they believe that they do not sing well or do not sufficiently understand music (Ruiz, 2012). This reality reflects the lack of confidence that ET have in their musical abilities to carry out this type of activities with their students (Kulset & Halle, 2020;Nieuwmeijer et al, 2021;Pestana, 2022). The research by García-Gil and Bernabé Villodre (2019) on the musical training of 118 students of the Early Childhood Education Degree shows that they feel more confident with the development of songs, rhythmic activities and dances, but they consider that the training received is basic and demand more specialised instruction to be able to respond to the educational reality.…”

The Paris Conference on Education 2023: Official Conference Proceedings

“…Daniela Carmen has also found that preschool teachers are not ready to implement such intensive musical practices (Carmen, 2020). The use of music in the preschool teacher's work is related to the knowledge of music (Hodijah & Kurniawati, 2020;Pestana, 2022). The level of music knowledge also determines the frequency of using musical activities (Balduc & Edrard, 2017).…”

“…Teachers' confidence is associated with selfefficacy and can indicate whether the preschool teacher is convenient for their musical abilities. Self-efficacy as an essential factor for using different types of musical activities in working with children is also highlighted in several studies (Digby, 2020;Pestana, 2022;Ehrlin & Wallerstedt, 2014). Preschool teachers who play a musical instrument can be more self-efficient (Burak, 2019), which leads to a more effective musical lesson (Sökezoğlu Atilgan & Türkkaş Özer, 2021).…”

Music education in early childhood in Türkiye: How do school types affect the implementation of musical activities?

“…Music is a tool to support the early childhood years. Hence, research on the benefits of music for the early years has recently started to increase (Pestana, 2022;Young, 2016;Welch, 2021). It is accepted that music has positive contributions in early childhood in terms of sensory development, listening, preparation for reading and writing, and the development of language and speaking skills (Büyükgönenç-Polat, 2018).…”