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The past and present of early childhood music education
Hey!
So after looking for a really long time I finally found an article that I think is very interesting:
Looking Back, Looking Forward: A Report on Early Childhood Music Education in Accredited American Preschools
Rachel Lee Nardo, Lori A Custodero, Diane C Persellin, Donna Brink Fox. Journal of Research in Music Education. Reston: Winter 2006. Vol. 54, Iss. 4; pg. 278, 15 pgs.
The link to the article is:
http://ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/login?url=h
This article examined the musical practices that teachers use, how musically prepared teachers are, and the music education needs as reported by early childhood professionals in the United States. It starts by focusing on the preschool music education in the past, which was from 1984-2000. It was interesting to note that the collaborations between early childhood educators and music education professionals have been both practice and research based. The studies from the past also showed that teachers continually try to find out about ways that they can further develop their own skills for song-leading, playing instruments, leading creative movement, and in conducting drama activities with the use of music.
After reviewing the past studies about music education, it was clear that their was a need for collaboration between music and early childhood professionals. The only problem was that all of these studies were completed over a decade ago. Therefore this article talks about the examination of the current state of music education in preschools from a national perspective. I thought that the most interesting findings were that the two major conditions identified in previous studies remain unchanged in the current study. They were that: “(1) that the music education for young children is primarily delivered by classroom teachers and (2) those teachers feel ill-prepared to deliver meaningful instruction.”
From reading the article it seems as if early childhood educators are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of music in early childhood education. The article contributes this awareness possibly because of the national initiative in combination with the music and brain research that has been widely publicized in the media recently. This current study was done to inform policy, and the authors recommend that a new vision that needs to be under taken in order to meet the MENC mission is to guarantee every child the "opportunity to learn music and to share in musical experiences".
I was wondering whether anyone has witnessed collaboration between music professionals and early childhood educators. I believe that this type of collaboration would be a great way to get teachers more comfortable and more familiar with various ways of implementing music into their classroom. Teachers clearly understand the importance of music, and want to make it a part of their classroom, it seems as if they are not just sure how.
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At my school we were granted a music specialist who tours our area. She is itinerant music teacher who services our school for our primary classes once a week. Not only does she work hands on with children in small groups but works with teachers, providing staff with resources and extension activities that correspond with the curriculum. With this, we were also granted funds, both from the Ministry and from the parent council from fund raising initiatives to purchase new instruments. Although the teachers are not mandated to stay for her program, all do as they are experiencing the fun and meaningful learning alongside the children. I witness the true value that you have mentioned and provided through the article. This is a pilot project but I hope funding will be secured for next year, and hope that it is extended to all schools; not based on number of students but on sheer quality of the program and how it enriches our students.