Preschool Teachers’ Use of Music in the Classroom: A Survey of Park District Preschool Programs

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore how preschool teachers use music and identify the types of music activities available to children in their classrooms. Preschool teachers (N = 178) at park district programs throughout a large state in the American Midwest responded to an online questionnaire. Although teachers acknowledged using music every day, examples of music activities were primarily teacher-directed such as singing along to CDs or following music cues. Teachers also used music to build academic connections and to engage children during transitions. Teachers valued music as important to their teaching practice and for its contribution to children’s learning and development, but cited limited resources, a self-reported lack of music ability, and an absence of knowledge of the standards for music education, as inhibiting their use of child-centered music activities. Implications for teacher preparation and professional development course work in early childhood and music teacher education are discussed.

Music and movement teacher professional development: An interview study with Hong Kong kindergarten teachers

“…Similar trends have been observed in countries such as the United States (Rajan, 2017) and the United Kingdom (Young, 2007), where PD typically focuses on certain areas (e.g., song repertoires and musical games) at the expense of others (e.g., child-centric music activities and creativity). This exacerbates teachers' lack of awareness of what constitutes good music and movement teaching at the kindergarten level (Garvis, 2012).…”

“…In the field of kindergarten education, it is well known that teachers' level of preparation in music and movement tends to be low (Altinkaynak et al, 2012;Kim & Kemple, 2011;Rajan, 2017). First, most kindergarten teachers have limited personal experiences with music and movement prior to their formal teacher preparation.…”

“…In the Hong Kong context, this is due to factors such as the limited number of local PD providers, the high costs of specialized music and movement training, and the impossibility of kindergartens to hire substitutes to cover for teachers attending PD courses (Ebbeck et al, 2011). The quality of PD has been also criticized by kindergarten teachers, both in Hong Kong (Chan & Leong, 2007) and overseas (Rajan, 2017;Young, 2007), who commonly lament that trainings tend to be too theoretical and short, not providing sufficient time for the practice of skills and classroom pedagogies.…”

Students’ Perspectives on the Implementation of Musical Activities in Preschool Education

“…In this case, the learning materials that have been already prepared and the appropriate material base should facilitate the planning of time for musical activities (r=0.477; p<0.01). The limited resource as a disturbing factor is also mentioned in the study conducted by Rajan (2017).…”

A Child-Directed Music Curriculum in the Montessori Classroom

“…For example, after surveying 293 early childhood centers, Nardo et al (2006) reported that almost half of them offered children opportunities for free play with music materials several times a week, 59% of centers provided a listening center with headphones, and 56% offered a dedicated music center. Similarly, Rajan (2017) found that 88% of 178 surveyed preschool teachers within a large state in the Midwestern United States made classroom percussion instruments (e.g., maracas, drums, bells, shakers, rhythm sticks, triangles, xylophones, egg shakers, bongos) available for children to explore throughout the day via music centers or prop boxes. There is no evidence from either of these studies, however, that the materials available to children were intended to move beyond exploration to encourage consistent and sequential learning about sound or music.…”