A qualitative investigation of early childhood teachers’ experiences of rhythm as pedagogy

Abstract

Rhythm has been found to enhance not only biological functioning (e.g. balance, timing and coordination), but also to facilitate learning across sociocultural contexts. That is, rhythm may be a method of supporting child development and well-being. Hence, to the extent that children are not exposed to or engaged with rhythm, their development or the realization of their full potential may be limited. However, little research has explored the use of rhythm in early childhood education-a major context (in terms of time and importance) of children's lives-or teachers' experiences with rhythm in their pedagogy. Therefore, we conducted a qualitative study to investigate elementary teachers' experiences of rhythm in their classroom teaching specifically, and in the teaching-learning process generally. A phenomenological approach that assumes that peoples' perceptions present us with evidence of the world not as the world is thought to be but as it is lived was employed. Our goal was to understand the everyday pedagogy of a group of elementary school teachers, specifically, to understand how they experienced and constructed the role of rhythm in elementary education. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with study participants to probe and generate a rich description of the phenomenon of rhythm in the teaching-learning process. Results consisted of nine themes that convey (1) what rhythm meant to the teachers, (2) what they saw as the importance of rhythm in their teaching, and (3) the challenges they faced in incorporating rhythm in their teaching. Findings suggest that a broader and more inclusive range of activities (i.e. because rhythmic activities such as music, dance, oral rhymes, and other bodily movement) in the academic curriculum is important as such activities have the potential to improve the learning, development, and well-being of elementary school-age children and enhance the lived experiences of schooling for both educators and their students. However, a number of challenges also confront elementary educators who seek to incorporate rhythm into their pedagogy.

Öğretmenlerin Erken Çocukluk Eğitiminde Müzik Etkinliklerine İlişkin Algıları: Türkiye'den Örnekler Üzerine Bir Odak

“…Qualitative research investigates how individuals interpret or perceive social phenomena. Qualitative researchers investigate social phenomena in their natural environments and attempt to illuminate phenomena that might otherwise go unnoticed (Biasutti et al, 2022;Matthews et al, 2016). This study is informed by phenomenology, which focuses on the general interpretation of a few individuals' experiences.…”

“…From this perspective, comprehending a group's daily lives requires understanding how they perceive and respond to experience objects. Moreover, the reality of anything is not "outside" in an objective or independent sense; instead, it is inextricably linked to one's consciousness (Matthews et al, 2016). Through interviews, this study investigated teachers' perceptions of music activities (music awareness and what it means to them as a teachinglearning strategy).…”

“…The goal was to explore the research questions at hand. The interview questions began with a broad, open-ended inquiry to establish communication, followed by more specific inquiries that delved deeper into the participants' experiences and perceptions (Matthews et al, 2016). This approach was chosen because it is a versatile method of gaining a comprehensive understanding of a given topic, emphasizing the thoughts and personal experiences of the participants (Biasutti et al, 2022).…”

Influence of rhythmic-movement activity intervention on hot executive function of 5- to 6-year-old children

“…The process of rhythmic-movement activities typically includes warm-up; introduction; music appreciation; movement expression; music performance; and relaxation etc. (Matthews et al, 2016;Kim and Lee, 2023;Laure and Habe, 2023;Williams et al, 2023). A study designed a rhythm and movement intervention program to explore the effect of rhythm and movement intervention on improving the self-regulation skills of 3-4 year old children, which included the following steps: (i) warm-up involving body percussion; (ii) becoming familiar involving an adaptation of a familiar early childhood song; (iii) moving to the beat involving large grossmotor movements; (iv) playing to the beat involving simple rhythm sticks or castanets; (v) dancing to the beat involving slightly more complex gross motor movement patterns to activity three of the session and often involving visual motor skills and coordination such as mirroring the shape of rhythm sticks on the floor with bodies; and (vi) calming, which includes a series of movements and then stillness accompanied by relaxation music to support physiological entrainment to a calmer state, targeting embodied emotional regulation.…”

“…American researchers in rural southwestern Ohio conducted a study to understand how teachers experience and structure the role of rhythm in basic education. Through qualitative research methods, rhythm was incorporated into curriculum teaching by using music and rhythm, creating rhythmized learning environment, integrating art and music, and encouraging students to study independently, which effectively improves students' learning effect and academic achievement (Matthews et al, 2016). Therefore, this study designed and implemented an intervention measure targeting rhythmic-movement activities with rewards for children.…”