A Case Study of Preschool Children’s Musical Interests at Home and at School

Abstract

In the interaction between the child and the adult, interest can be a significant motivational initiator of activities. Systematic monitoring and development of the interest in music activities enables the teachers to influence the preschool children in forming a positive attitude towards the art of music. The research involving preschool teachers, children at the age of five to six and their parents, was conducted in order to determine the interest of preschool teachers and children in music activities. We found that the teachers showed greatest interest in singing songs, playing instruments and listening to music. The children's favourite activities in kindergarten were movement to music (dancing), singing songs and playing on instruments, namely activities where they could take active part in the educational process. The parents reported that at home the children preferred most to listen to music, to sing songs and move to the sounds of music, and less to play on instruments and to be creative in music. The development of the children's interest in music depends on the teachers' expression of interest in music activities, on the choice of music activities and music contents and on the experience in the music environment of the family.

Circle Time: An Exploratory Study of Activities and Challenging Behavior in Head Start Classrooms

“…One of the other key findings from this study was that singing songs, a highly engaging activity for most young children, was the most frequently occurring activity during circle time. A study conducted by Denac (2008) reported a similar finding, where singing songs was one of the favorite activities for kindergarten children in school and at home. Denac also found that preschool teachers showed more interest in singing songs.…”

Benefits of Music Training in Child Development: A Systematic Review

“…Esto ocurre al escuchar canciones de las voces de sus padres y/o sus maestros y, especialmente, a través de la influencia musical de los medios de comunicación social. Si las experiencias musicales iniciales son reforzantes, éstas pueden modelar e influenciar el aprecio de los niños hacia la música (Denac, 2008).…”

Roditelji i dječje glazbene aktivnosti u obiteljskom domu

“…razvoj djeteta dio je, dakle, njegova općeg razvoja, a predškolska dob pravo je vrijeme za razvoj djetetovih glazbenih sposobnosti (Denac, 2008;Gordon, 1988;Panagiotakou i Pange, 2010). Prema Manasteriotti (1982), elementi (glazbenog) estetskog odgoja u radu s djecom su: buđenje i razvijanje osjećaja i smisla za lijepo u glazbi, osposobljavanje za zapažanje estetskih svojstava glazbe, pozicioniranje glazbe kao izvora djetetovih estetskih doživljaja, postavljanje osnova glazbenog ukusa djece, razvijanje stvaralačke snage djeteta u smislu estetski oblikovanog istraživanja u tim područjima, usvajanje elementarnih znanja i vještina te ovladavanje određenim navikama estetskog karaktera.…”