Early Years Music Education Training: Do We Need It? Part 2

Bautista et al (2022) considered the ways that settings currently use to meet their music needs: paying outside specialists to come in regularly; and, rarely, paying to train staff in music provision. Teacher training often only provided a few compulsory hours music education training or was offered as an option. Only around half of the staff at any nursery in the literature consulted had had any experience in playing an instrument, dancing or singing – and in settings with lower qualifications, that fell to less than half.

Researchers found that outside specialists limited the quality of musical instruction because it was not integrated into the children’s holistic learning experience, as music specialists were not involved in the day-to-day planning, so were not familiar with the children. Although some setting brought in skilled performing musicians, they were not usually familiar with teaching pedagogy.

As a result of these half-measures, this poor training provision has ultimately created a situation of unprepared and self-conscious educators who are unable to access the positive benefits of music for their children.

Researchers consulted publications from several countries including America, England, China, South Africa, Japan, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Ireland, Namibia. Topics that early years educators identified for deeper training included: understanding music curriculum design, developing instrumental and singing skills, integrating music within the curriculum, designing and implementing music appreciation activities, learning basic music theory, and developing ways to foster children’s creativity and self-expression, as well as introducing improvisation and composition in early years.

Researchers then suggested a few ways that this type of training could be achieved. As highly motivated people, early years specialists enjoyed practical micro-teaching activities, whether live or video, with opportunities to implement innovative ideas. Mentoring was suggested, as musical novices planning music education curricula alongside accomplished musicians exposed trainees to different teaching methodologies.

Professional development was preferred to be held during work hours, including music seminars, workshops and conferences, but were perceived to be less effective as they were not early years specific. Online music education resources were valued because early years specialists could access them at their convenience, and an interest-based community was valued for the opportunity to discuss and compare experience. Internationally, the lack of funding support was noted to be the biggest barrier to accessing most professional development.

To address these needs, change needs to come from the top, which is an opportunity for music councils and unions to develop strategies together. In terms of teacher training, universities and colleges could facilitate change by increasing their music education provision more regularly. Partnerships with settings could be used to practice these skills, and partnerships with specialist music training centres could offer online/video training, demonstrating a variety of methods. Setting managers could create non-judgemental opportunities to develop these skills and collaborate. With flexible working schedules and protected time for collaboration, these forms of informal learning are more cost effective and sustainable long-term.

Governments could facilitate change through conferences and professional development, either in person or online, that could provide further information on the latest field developments. By developing online learning communities with discussion forums and chats, this knowledge-sharing platform would reinforce personal development and peer learning, again, in a sustainable way.

In the meantime, every day early years specialists can improve their own musical skills gradually and creatively with children using materials currently available.

Below we continue with our of sample songs from the free mini e-book Come And Sing 1 (Turnbull, 2015) – https://books.apple.com/gb/book/musicaliti/id1057514353.

As a reminder, the book Learning with Music (Turnbull, 2017) – https://www.routledge.com/Learning-with-Music-Games-and-Activities-for-the-Early-Years/Turnbull/p/book/9781138192591 – includes substantially more detail.