Music Education and the Primary/Early Childhood Teacher: A Solution

Abstract

Music curriculum courses for generalist primary and early childhood teacher education students have tended traditionally to be heavily skill-intensive and instruction-based and reflective of the pedagogical methods of prominent music educators. In such learning experiences emphasis is generally placed upon the acquisition of skills dealing with notational and historical precedents and the development of some expertise in the areas of singing, playing and listening. Whilst these experiences provide students with valuable insights into traditional music education pedagogy, students who have a limited formal knowledge of music and who do not consider themselves to be musically articulate or literate frequently find such experiences alienating. Furthermore the teaching practices modelled through such programs tend to conflict with those advocated in other curriculum areas.In an attempt to redress this situation an action research study was undertaken in which compulsory music curriculum units for generalist primary and early childhood teacher education students were re-developed to place compositional experience at the heart of the music education enterprise. In developing a theoretical and philosophical base for the pre-service music education units a number of educational strategies common in other curriculum areas were examined and adapted for use in the music education classroom.Qualitative evaluation of the units has indicated that participating students whilst developing skills and knowledge in music and understanding of a range of teaching and learning strategies also perceive themselves to be more capable and confident as musicians.

Fostering musical creativity in pre-service teacher education: Challenges and possibilities

“…It is suggested in the literature that self-efficacy beliefs seem essential for advancing primary teaching practices (Hudson & Hudson, 2007) and that individuals who believe they have no hope of accomplishing what they set out to do, will make no attempt to do it (Bandura, 1997). In the music education context, the problem of the lack of confidence and low self-efficacy beliefs, in cases where teachers with little formal training in music teach the subject, is often worse than the problem of the lack of competence (Barrett, 1994; Holden & Button, 2006; Jeanneret, 1997; Mills, 1989, 2005). The main challenge, then, for those who wish to educate generalist student teachers in how to facilitate creative music-making activities in their teaching, should be to create the possibility within their modules for the acquisition of these same qualities (Hewitt, 2002, p. 36).…”

Teaching music in the early years in schools in challenging circumstances: developing student teacher competence and confidence through cycles of enactment

“…When I invited critique after the first session, Simona took me at my word, saying that she thought one of the songs had been sung too fast. This study drew on the expertise and findings of other researchers in the field (Barrett 1994;Kokotsaki 2012;Biasutti et al 2014;Collins 2014;Welch and Henley 2014;James 2016). The insistence on the part of these researchers on practical experience is universal.…”

“…aimed to develop her STs' competence to play a tuned classroom instrument; andBarrett (1994), Russell-Bowie (2012) and Biasutti and her colleagues (2014) provided their STs with a course of classroom-based music making experiences. On the other hand, forWelch and Henley (2014), it was most important not only for the STs to have a level of competence gained in the university workshops, but that they should then teach real children in a real classroom in order to improve their confidence.…”

Problem-based Learning: Composing in the classroom as a music learning challenge

“…It is unquestionable that the approach to composition in educational contexts is determined by the respectively prevailing aesthetic, historical, social, cultural, and curricular contexts, including the corresponding perceptions in terms of its substance, meaning, and place in the learning process. From a psychological and educational point of view, the notion of composition as a domain of knowledge and know-how, which establishes the basis for the reflections in studies carried out by various authors whether approaching through the lens of fields such as philosophy, aesthetics, and sociology, seems to have contributed to the development of its definition, function, and place in curricula; as well as educational conceptions about music and musical literacy in almost every part of the world (Bamberger, 1977;Barrett, 1990;Burnard, 1995Burnard, /1999Burnard, & Younker, 2004;Elliot, 2005;Hickey, 2003;Hickey, & Webster, 2001;Kratus, 1989Kratus, /1991Malotti, 2023;McPherson, & Gabrielsson, 2002;Mills, & McPherson, 2006;Mills, & Paynter, 2008;Wiggins, 1992Wiggins, /1994Wiggins, /2003Odena, 2018), which includes the Portuguese educational system (ME, 2001(ME, /2021Silva, 2008;Vasconcelos, et al, 2016Vasconcelos, et al, /2022Veloso, & Mota, 2021). Specifically, the study that encompasses psychological and cognitive processes, allows us to position composition not only in terms of what it constitutes as a process, nature, or quality of musical knowledge, but also in terms of what it demands for its realization, even on the emotional and social level.…”