Music and Play in Early Childhood Education: Teaching Music in Hong Kong, China and the World 9811950326, 9789811950322

Table of contents :
Preface
Acknowledgments
Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
1 Introduction: Globalization of Education Policy, Sociocultural Change, and Education Reform in Early Childhood Music Education
Introduction
Early Childhood Music Education, Curricula, and Cultural Practices
Music Education in the Generalist Classroom: A Global Practice
Confucian Tradition, Music, and Education: Toward Social Harmony, Stability, and Unity
Nationalization and the Development of National Identity and Patriotism in School Music Education
The Introduction of Moral Education into the Curriculum
Theoretical Frameworks and Historical Research on PBL
Self-Efficacy and Social Cognitive Theories
The Organization of the Book, the Research Strategy, and Questions Guiding the Study
References
2 The Power of Play in Early Childhood Music Education: From Policy to Practices
Introduction
Learning Through Play in the Global Age
The Elusiveness of Conceptualization
Dilemmas of Play: Tensions Between Academic and Developmental Perspectives
Cultural Complexities of and Contextual Perspectives on PBL
International Studies of PBL
Early Childhood Education Globally: Cross-Cultural Studies of Play
Synergy Between Inquiry-Based Learning and Play-Based Pedagogy: Ontario, Canada
Musical Practices in PBL
Prevalent Western Play-Based Models of Music Education in the Twenty-First Century: Dalcroze Eurhythmics, Orff Schulwerk and the Kodály Method
Dalcroze Eurhythmics
Orff Method
Kodály Method
Challenges and Criticism
Interdisciplinary Play-Based Approach in Early Childhood Music Education: Exemplary Pedagogical Plans
Summing Up: Complexity of Learning Process and Interpretation in Musical Play
References
3 Teacher Self-Efficacy as a Catalyst: Teacher Beliefs, Teaching Behavior, and Music Education
Introduction
The Social Psychology of Self-Efficacy: Self-Efficacy Theory
Teacher Self-Efficacy as a Powerful Catalyst for Effective Teaching
Theoretical and Practical Studies of Self-Efficacy
Four Sources of Efficacy Informing Teacher Self-Efficacy
Enactive Mastery Experience
Vicarious Experience
Verbal Persuasion
Physiological and Affective States
Self-Efficacy Beliefs in Academic Settings: Self-Efficacy and Achievement Behavior
Self-Efficacy and Students’ Performance in Academic Subjects
Self-Efficacy and Music Competency
Teacher Self-Efficacy and Arts Education in Early Childhood
Pitfalls and Limits of Self-Efficacy in Relation to Student Behavior and Achievement
Summary
References
4 Impacts of Music Teacher Education: Developing Generalists’ Self-Efficacy Regarding Teaching Music to Young Children
Introduction
Music Teacher Education for Generalists in the Global Age
Standards of Teaching Competency: Content Knowledge, Pedagogical Competencies, and Attributes
Music Teacher Education in Early Childhood in Hong Kong: Reform, Policy, and Challenges
Research Study
Aim and Research Questions
Procedure and Methods
Participants
Contexts of Study
Findings
Quantitative Analyses: Impacts of Music Teaching Training on In-Service Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Regarding Teaching Music to Young Children
Qualitative Analyses: Impacts of Music Teaching Training on Various Areas of Music Teaching in Early Childhood
Discussion and Conclusions
References
5 Policy Reforms, Pedagogical Practices, and Challenges in Early Childhood Music Education: Sources of Self-Efficacy Regarding Teaching Music
Introduction
Historical and Cultural Influences on Music Education in Hong Kong
Education Reform in Postcolonial Hong Kong’s Early Childhood Education: From Rote Learning to PBL
Challenges for the Development of Hong Kong Early Childhood Music Education Regarding Policy Reform
Dilemma Between Policies and Market Forces
Teachers’ Music Competencies and Pedagogical Understanding Regarding Implementing the New Curriculum Guide
Culturally Relevant Practices in Music Education: Translating Western Pedagogical Models into a Chinese Society
Research Study
Aim and Research Questions
Procedure and Methods
Questionnaire
Interviews
Demographic Information
Findings
Beliefs and Values Regarding Music and Music Education
Teachers’ Levels of Interest in Teaching Different Areas of Music
Teachers’ Beliefs and Values Regarding Teaching Music to Young Children
Teachers’ Sources of Self-Efficacy Regarding Play-Based Approaches to Music: Mastery Experience, Vicarious Experience, Verbal Persuasion, Physiological and Affective States
Mastery Experience
Vicarious Experience
Verbal Persuasion
Physiological and Affective States
Discussion and Conclusions
References
6 Moral Education Through Musical Play: Conceptions, Practices, and Challenges
Introduction
Theorizing Moral Development: Development of Moral Values in Early Years
Play, Music, and Moral Education
Cultural Perspectives of Moral Development and Education
Historical Development of Moral Education in Hong Kong
Introducing Moral Education to Hong Kong Early Childhood Curriculum
Methodological Approach
Study Context
Participants
Interviews
Analysis
Findings
First Research Question
Moral Areas to Be Integrated into the Kindergarten Curriculum
Importance of Integrating Moral Development in the Earliest Curriculum
Music as a Powerful Means to Promote Children’s Moral Development
Second Research Question
Games and Stories as Major Strategies for Implementing Moral Education
Resolution of Conflicts and Law-Abidingness
National Identity Development
Third Research Question
Teachers’ Insufficient Knowledge of Both Moral and Music Education
Teachers’ and Parents’ Attitudes Toward Music Education
Time Constraints in the Kindergarten Curriculum
Low Confidence Level Regarding PBL Among the Teachers
Need for Space and Resources for PBL
Discussion and Conclusions
References
7 Conclusions and Implications: Toward a Conceptual Framework for Music Teacher Education
Introduction
Dynamics of Interlinking Globalism, Nationalism, Confucianism, and Localism in Early Childhood Music Education
What Are the Teacher Competencies Required for Music Education Against the Global Spread of Traveling Reforms in Education?
Contemporary Challenges, Prejudices, and Barriers in Early Childhood Music Education
Workplace Mentoring
Moving Forward: Toward a Conceptual Music Teacher Education Framework
Summary
References
Index

Citation preview

Music and Play in Early Childhood Education Teaching Music in Hong Kong, China and the World Fanny M. Y. Chung

Music and Play in Early Childhood Education “This book is a timely contribution to early childhood music education and teacher education of Hong Kong and the globe. The author raises the issues of play-based learning in early childhood music education, teachers’ self-efficacy, teacher education for generalists, moral education through music learning and how these are related to the current socio-political development in Hong Kong and China. This book reminds global music educators how contexts matter, and how we should deal with recent international challenges.” —Professor Bo-Wah Leung, President (2022–2024), International Society for Music Education (ISME) “Dr. Fanny Chung is a pioneering music educator who presents in this book, in the context of early childhood music education, a penetrating consideration of the changes and challenges that have taken place in Hong Kong at its intersections with Western models and values in both the British colonial period and the postcolonial era after the return of its political sovereignty to the People’s Republic of China in July 1997. At the heart of the book is an exploration and examination of teacher education at higher institutions, with evidence-based recommendations for the development of music teacher education, which provide fascinating insights into the development of a music teacher training framework in line with Bandura’s (1997) theory regarding the development of measuring self-efficacy. In particular, Dr. Chung analyses and discusses musical play as a mandated policy and as a preschool activity of children in many cultural communities across the globe.” —Professor Wai-Chung Ho, Professor, Academy of Music, Hong Kong Baptist University “Dr. Fanny Chung offers in her new publication interesting insights into early childhood music education on different perspectives, starting from Hong Kong and China up to a globalized overview. The book is a great opportunity to learn more about Eastern approaches in music education in connection to cultural and historical aspects. Especially the impact of China on the previously Western orientation of Hong Kong education is illustrated in detail. This publication is an important step for the documentation and development of play-based learning in music education for young children.” —Professor Andreas Bernhofer, Ph.D., Department for Music Education, Mozarteum University Salzburg, Austria

Fanny M. Y. Chung

Music and Play in Early Childhood Education Teaching Music in Hong Kong, China and the World

Fanny M. Y. Chung The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong, China

ISBN 978-981-19-5032-2 ISBN 978-981-19-5033-9 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5033-9 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover illustration: Maram_shutterstock.com This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore

This book is dedicated to all the scholars, researchers, musicians, and educators who use the power of music, the arts, and culture to transform the lives and nurture the creativity of children and the younger generation.

Preface

With the wealth of empirical-based evidence on the benefits of music in human’s early learning and development, there is an increasing worldwide emphasis on quality early childhood music education. While scholarly attention has been paid to a range of aspects of early childhood education, to date no single publication has systematically addressed the complex interplay of sociocultural transformations and educational practices underlying the development of early childhood music education in postcolonial Hong Kong. In response to waves of education reform, sociocultural changes, and increasing national influences from China, this book aims to examine the development of music education in postcolonial Hong Kong with a particular focus on early childhood music education and music teacher education. Driven by national and local policy after the 1997 political handover, music education in Hong Kong has undergone astounding changes. This is evinced by waves of measures to rectify perceived discrimination against Chinese music, including the introduction of Chinese opera and Chinese traditional genres into the formal curriculum, alongside the development of national identity through music education and other curriculum areas. Further, the Hong Kong government has been committed to advocating moral and values education in early childhood education to enhance character development, social harmony, and the emotional well-being of children. The latest official kindergarten curriculum guide has officially stated that moral education should be integrated into the pedagogical practices of all major study

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areas, including music, in the kindergarten education curriculum. Despite all these changes in pedagogical and educational practices, early childhood teachers in Hong Kong are, like other parts of the world, largely educated as generalists and their training in music education is highly insufficient. This raises some related questions: What are the content knowledge, musical skills, and pedagogical competencies required to implement early childhood music education effectively? How have early childhood teachers responded to the social changes and educational reforms in postcolonial Hong Kong in terms of the pedagogical and educational practices in music education? The global spread of “travelling reforms” in education has triggered an avalanche of fascinating research that examines the variances in the adoption of global education policies across different global contexts. For example, why are global education policies readily adopted in some contexts but resisted in others? How are these global education policies interpreted by, translated into, and implemented in local contexts? One feature of this book is that it addresses the local responses to the global education issues. Many readers might be interested in learning about music education in Hong Kong, where East meets West. For example, play-based learning (PBL) has become a prominent theme in Western education literature and attracted attention and controversy across different national contexts. Accordingly, the Hong Kong government’s recently issued Kindergarten Education Curriculum Guide was themed “Joyful Learning through Play,” and it has mandated that “play” should be the focus of the official early childhood curriculum. PBL embraces substantial elements of creativity, and a wealth of scholarship has suggested that creativity is closely linked to culture. Creativity should reflect a sociocultural perspective. In Hong Kong, given the complex historical and sociocultural background, the implementation of PBL remains a challenge. Hong Kong is a former British colony in which the education system was based on Western models and students were taught to embrace the Western standards and cultural values ingrained in this system; on the other hand, Hong Kong has also embraced other values inherited from traditional Chinese societies, such as achievement-driven motivation, success-oriented learning, the transmission model of education, and the Confucian tradition. This raises some related questions: Do teachers’ practices and attitudes toward music education resemble Western practices? Are these practices and attitudes derived from indigenous Hong Kong or China? Additionally, this book seeks to understand

PREFACE

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how Westernization and globalization, on the one hand, and indigenous culture and national power, on the other, have influenced music teacher education in early childhood and subsequently early childhood music education in postcolonial Hong Kong. Although focusing on early childhood music education in postcolonial Hong Kong, the relevance of the study to international and cross-cultural understandings of music and early childhood education in relation to sociopolitical changes, cultural perspectives, and music education is another of the book’s significant features and contributions. Studies of the benefits of play have influenced current curricular policies mandating the adoption of PBL in many places in the world. Using PBL as the backbone that connects the chapters of this book, this book fills an important gap in theoretical and professional knowledge about the implementation of a play-based approach in early childhood music education, which is a notably underexplored area. This book will provide teacher educators of the higher education institutions with evidence-based recommendations concerning the development of music teacher training frameworks for addressing preschool teachers’ pressing professional needs, with wider implications for other creative arts with play-based elements. Ultimately, they may inform future policymaking in kindergarten education by providing significant insights into the application of PBL, which is currently included in the policy agenda of kindergarten curricula in many global contexts. With my interest in exploring the theoretical issues and empirical knowledge concerning the interplay between sociocultural transformation, policy, and educational practices in an increasingly globalized world, this book meets the aforementioned demand by summarizing some of my previous research over the past years. This research reflects contemporary challenges and social changes in relation to music education and teacher education, by incorporating new empirical findings and illustrative examples of the impacts of sociopolitical transformation and changing educational practices in early childhood education in postcolonial Hong Kong. This case study of Hong Kong, an inalienable part of China, can be read on its own, or in relation to comparative international studies of music education across various cultures. The primary impact of this book will be on four spheres: (i) providing contributions to the theoretical concepts and arguments that can be used to interpret the impact of China on the previously Western orientation of

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Hong Kong education; (ii) conceptualization of and knowledge advancement in pedagogical practices such as PBL and moral education in early childhood music education; (iii) offering empirical-based directions for the development of a music teacher education model that addresses early childhood teachers’ academic and professional needs; and (iv) indicating the theoretical implications of teacher competencies and self-efficacy for early childhood music education. Hong Kong, China

Fanny M. Y. Chung

Acknowledgments

Writing this book has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and academic endeavors—to read, to research, and to write about the trajectory of music education in Hong Kong and its interplay with China and the world. The task has been demanding, requiring substantial perseverance, self-discipline, and support from individuals and institutions. This book would not have been possible without the contributions from many individuals and institutions. I would like to express my gratitude for the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China. The work described in this book was substantially supported by a grant (GRF) from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project no: CUHK14610821). I am also grateful to the Faculty of Arts, the Chinese University of Hong Kong for the kind support of the Publication Subvention Fund and Direct Grant for Research (Project no: 4051124). I have benefited significantly from their generosity, trust, and much needed support. I am indebted to all the informants of this study who have generously helped me in the course of my research for this book and who were kind enough to participate in the interviews and surveys, despite the many demands on their precious time. Without their kind help, this research would not have been possible. I am especially thankful to the school principals, early childhood teachers, and music specialists for their

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enthusiasm and help in arranging the observations and fieldwork, administrating the surveys, and giving me their invaluable time for all the formal and informal meetings. Their feedback and insight were crucially useful for my research. I also wish to acknowledge the many scholars who have given me advice and their kind support at different stages of my research. First of all, my heartfelt thanks goes to the support from the University of Bristol, UK, where I pursued my doctoral studies, and to Professor Sheila Trahar and Dr. Marina Gall who guided me through my academic journey and significantly broadened my intellectual horizons. I must also express my most sincere gratitude to Professor Wai-chung Ho, Professor Bowah Leung, Professor Andreas Bernhofer, Professor Michael Crossley, Dr. Kate Hawkey, Dr. Phil Kirkman, Professor Herman Keahey, and Professor Delores Heahey for their advice, rigorous scholarship, unfailing support, and for establishing scholarly models for me to follow. My colleagues at the Chinese University of Hong Kong have formed a supportive and stimulating community while I have written this book. My profound gratitude goes to Professor Sidney Cheung, Professor Frank Vigneron, Professor Pedith Chan, Professor Isaac Leung, and Professor Peng Peng—for their guidance, trust, friendship, and continuous support which have given me the strength to conquer any challenge that I might encounter in my research and teaching. I thank my research and teaching assistants at the Chinese University of Hong Kong—Miss Amanda Lee, Mr. Kelvin Leong, Mr. Eddie Lo, Mr. Louis Cheung, Miss Maggie Ma, Miss Holly Yau, Mr. Hilton Chan, Mr. Benjamin Yuen, and Miss Amy Tong. I would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers at different stages of this book project and the amazing editors and editorial team of Springer Nature. Especially, I sincerely thank Bai Hua and Hemapriya Eswanth for their support, suggestions, and attention to details for bringing this book to fruition. Last but not least, I am most fortunate to have a supportive and loving family. My deepest debt of gratitude to my family for their endless love and unflinching support. Their love has given me the courage and strength to fulfill a lifelong desire and achieve this milestone in my academic journey.

Contents

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2

Introduction: Globalization of Education Policy, Sociocultural Change, and Education Reform in Early Childhood Music Education Introduction Early Childhood Music Education, Curricula, and Cultural Practices Music Education in the Generalist Classroom: A Global Practice Confucian Tradition, Music, and Education: Toward Social Harmony, Stability, and Unity Nationalization and the Development of National Identity and Patriotism in School Music Education The Introduction of Moral Education into the Curriculum Theoretical Frameworks and Historical Research on PBL Self-Efficacy and Social Cognitive Theories The Organization of the Book, the Research Strategy, and Questions Guiding the Study References The Power of Play in Early Childhood Music Education: From Policy to Practices Introduction Learning Through Play in the Global Age The Elusiveness of Conceptualization

1 1 4 8 10 12 15 17 19 21 24 35 35 36 37 xiii

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Dilemmas of Play: Tensions Between Academic and Developmental Perspectives Cultural Complexities of and Contextual Perspectives on PBL International Studies of PBL Early Childhood Education Globally: Cross-Cultural Studies of Play Synergy Between Inquiry-Based Learning and Play-Based Pedagogy: Ontario, Canada Musical Practices in PBL Prevalent Western Play-Based Models of Music Education in the Twenty-First Century: Dalcroze Eurhythmics, Orff Schulwerk and the Kodály Method Challenges and Criticism Interdisciplinary Play-Based Approach in Early Childhood Music Education: Exemplary Pedagogical Plans Summing Up: Complexity of Learning Process and Interpretation in Musical Play References 3

Teacher Self-Efficacy as a Catalyst: Teacher Beliefs, Teaching Behavior, and Music Education Introduction The Social Psychology of Self-Efficacy: Self-Efficacy Theory Teacher Self-Efficacy as a Powerful Catalyst for Effective Teaching Theoretical and Practical Studies of Self-Efficacy Four Sources of Efficacy Informing Teacher Self-Efficacy Self-Efficacy Beliefs in Academic Settings: Self-Efficacy and Achievement Behavior Self-Efficacy and Students’ Performance in Academic Subjects Self-Efficacy and Music Competency Teacher Self-Efficacy and Arts Education in Early Childhood Pitfalls and Limits of Self-Efficacy in Relation to Student Behavior and Achievement Summary References

39 42 42 45 48 52

54 62 64 66 67 79 79 80 82 82 84 87 87 88 89 90 91 92

CONTENTS

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5

Impacts of Music Teacher Education: Developing Generalists’ Self-Efficacy Regarding Teaching Music to Young Children Introduction Music Teacher Education for Generalists in the Global Age Standards of Teaching Competency: Content Knowledge, Pedagogical Competencies, and Attributes Music Teacher Education in Early Childhood in Hong Kong: Reform, Policy, and Challenges Research Study Aim and Research Questions Procedure and Methods Participants Contexts of Study Findings Quantitative Analyses: Impacts of Music Teaching Training on In-Service Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Regarding Teaching Music to Young Children Qualitative Analyses: Impacts of Music Teaching Training on Various Areas of Music Teaching in Early Childhood Discussion and Conclusions References Policy Reforms, Pedagogical Practices, and Challenges in Early Childhood Music Education: Sources of Self-Efficacy Regarding Teaching Music Introduction Historical and Cultural Influences on Music Education in Hong Kong Education Reform in Postcolonial Hong Kong’s Early Childhood Education: From Rote Learning to PBL Challenges for the Development of Hong Kong Early Childhood Music Education Regarding Policy Reform Dilemma Between Policies and Market Forces Teachers’ Music Competencies and Pedagogical Understanding Regarding Implementing the New Curriculum Guide

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97 97 98 101 103 106 106 107 110 111 112

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119 122 125

131 131 132 133 138 139

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CONTENTS

Culturally Relevant Practices in Music Education: Translating Western Pedagogical Models into a Chinese Society Research Study Aim and Research Questions Procedure and Methods Demographic Information Findings Beliefs and Values Regarding Music and Music Education Teachers’ Sources of Self-Efficacy Regarding Play-Based Approaches to Music: Mastery Experience, Vicarious Experience, Verbal Persuasion, Physiological and Affective States Mastery Experience Vicarious Experience Verbal Persuasion Physiological and Affective States Discussion and Conclusions References 6

Moral Education Through Musical Play: Conceptions, Practices, and Challenges Introduction Theorizing Moral Development: Development of Moral Values in Early Years Play, Music, and Moral Education Cultural Perspectives of Moral Development and Education Historical Development of Moral Education in Hong Kong Introducing Moral Education to Hong Kong Early Childhood Curriculum Methodological Approach Study Context Participants Interviews Analysis Findings First Research Question Second Research Question Third Research Question

140 142 142 142 146 147 147

150 151 153 154 155 158 163 169 169 170 172 175 176 177 179 179 180 180 181 182 182 184 187

CONTENTS

Discussion and Conclusions References 7

Conclusions and Implications: Toward a Conceptual Framework for Music Teacher Education Introduction Dynamics of Interlinking Globalism, Nationalism, Confucianism, and Localism in Early Childhood Music Education What Are the Teacher Competencies Required for Music Education Against the Global Spread of Traveling Reforms in Education? Contemporary Challenges, Prejudices, and Barriers in Early Childhood Music Education Workplace Mentoring Moving Forward: Toward a Conceptual Music Teacher Education Framework Summary References

Index

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192 196 201 201

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206 206 209 211 219 221 231

List of Figures

Fig. 4.1 Fig. 5.1

Fig. 6.1 Fig. 7.1

Frequency distributions of the mean scores for music teaching self-efficacy: (a) pre-MSTES; (b) post-MSTES Schematic representation of the sources of in-service early childhood teachers’ self-efficacy perception regarding teaching music Interactions of the dimensions of moral development Teacher education framework for music in early childhood curricula

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159 171 215

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List of Tables

Table Table Table Table Table Table Table

2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 4.1 4.2 4.3

Table 4.4 Table 4.5 Table 4.6

Table 4.7 Table 4.8

Table 4.9 Table 5.1 Table 5.2

The status of play in global early childhood curricula Inquiry process in the kindergarten classroom Orff instruments Orff process’s building blocks and Bloom’s taxonomy List of music competencies for early childhood teachers Music Teaching Self-Efficacy Survey (MTSES) questions Instrument reliability statistics based on administration time for MTSES subscales (Cronbach’s alpha coefficient) Paired sample tests for pre-MTSES and post-MTSES Descriptive statistics for the Music Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale: Music and language Descriptive statistics for the Music Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale: Ensemble playing (singing, body percussion, and ostinato) Descriptive statistics for the Music Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale: Hand signs and creative music activities Descriptive statistics for the Music Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale: Choreography and using dance to foster children’s learning through music Descriptive statistics for the Music Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale: Overall confidence about teaching music Frequency counts of participation in music activities during pre-service years Descriptive statistics for role of music in participants’ lives

43 51 58 60 103 109 113 113 116

117 117

118 119 147 148

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 5.3 Table 5.4 Table 5.5

Descriptive statistics for role of music in participants’ adolescence Teachers’ levels of interest in teaching different areas of music Descriptive statistics for beliefs and values about teaching music

149 149 150

CHAPTER 1

Introduction: Globalization of Education Policy, Sociocultural Change, and Education Reform in Early Childhood Music Education

Introduction Social change, music, and education can be seen as colors in a kaleidoscope whose patterns are ever-changing. This book takes a kaleidoscopic view of music education in early childhood and its interrelationships to global education policy, sociopolitical systems, and education reform, with a particular focus on music teacher education. This book offers an extensive historical, theoretical, and empirical analysis of postcolonial music education in Hong Kong in relation to, on the one hand, the external forces of global education policy, and on the other hand, increasing localization and national influence from China. This book conceptualizes music education in early childhood by grounding current theoretical discussions of “globalization,” “localization,” “nationalization,” “teacher self-efficacy”, “play,” and “teacher education” in empirical data from Hong Kong. It is situated in the broader intellectual attempt to understand the complex relationship between globalization, education policymaking, and pedagogical practices. Verger et al. (2012) maintained that a “global education policy” exists, referring to “similar education reforms and a common set of education policy jargon that are being applied in many parts of the world” (p. 1). In particular, this book analyzes global education policy or “traveling reforms” (Lao, 2015, p. 3), including “learning through play” (CDC, 2017, p. 62), “child-centeredness” (p. 64), and creativity © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 F. M. Y. Chung, Music and Play in Early Childhood Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5033-9_1

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in early childhood education. Deploying cultural politics of borrowing as critical lens (Lao, 2015), it aims to address local responses to global education reform. For example, play-based learning (PBL) has become global education policy and a prominent theme in Western literature on early childhood education, attracting attention and controversy across different national contexts. In this light, the Hong Kong government’s recently issued Kindergarten Education Curriculum Guide (CDC, 2017) was themed “Joyful Learning through Play,” and it has mandated that play should be the focus of the official early childhood curriculum. PBL embraces substantial elements of creativity, and a wealth of scholarship suggests that creativity is closely linked to culture (Gl˘aveanu, 2017; Montuori & Donnelly, 2016; Rudowicz, 2003). Moreover, creativity should reflect a sociocultural perspective. Given its complex historical and sociocultural background, the implementation of PBL remains a challenge in Hong Kong. As a former British colony, Hong Kong’s education system was based on Western models and students were taught to embrace the Western standards and cultural values ingrained in that system. However, Hong Kong has also embraced other values from traditional Chinese societies, such as, achievement-driven motivation, success-oriented learning, the transmission model of education, and the Confucian tradition. The analysis of the historical context, political influences, and role and belief systems of teachers within Hong Kong’s early childhood education subsystem will provide fertile ground for a thorough understanding of the meaning and implications of global education reform at multiple levels. The case of Hong Kong is also nested in the broader interest to understand the development of education in Asia, particularly China. Driven by national and local policy after the 1997 political handover, music education in Hong Kong has undergone dramatic changes, as evidenced by waves of measures to rectify perceived discrimination against Chinese music. Such measures include the introduction of Chinese opera1 and Chinese instruments to the formal curriculum and the development of 1 Chinese opera (also known as Xiqu) is a genre of integrated arts, combining singing, acting, characterization, movement, choreography, and acrobatics. There are over 350 regional genres of Chinese opera, and although they differ in music, style, and dialect, they often share the same plots. In Hong Kong, the most popular genre of Chinese opera is Cantonese opera (also known as Yueju opera) which is sung and spoken in Cantonese, the dialect of Hong Kong. There are different role types in Chinese opera, and different regional genres may have their unique categorization. The categories are

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INTRODUCTION: GLOBALIZATION OF EDUCATION …

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national identity through music education and other curriculum areas, including the teaching of traditional Chinese music and the national anthem. Further, drastic social and political circumstances in postcolonial Hong Kong have driven the Hong Kong government to strongly advocate moral and value education in early childhood education, in order to enhance social harmony and the emotional well-being of children. The latest official kindergarten curriculum guide has stated that moral education should be integrated into the pedagogical practices of all major study areas, including music (CDC, 2017). With all these changes in pedagogical and educational practices, however, early childhood teachers in Hong Kong, as in other parts of the world, are largely educated as generalists, and their insufficient training in music and music education has posed tremendous challenges for adapting to education policy. This initial chapter provides the background of the study, as well as its scope, research problems, theoretical rationale, purposes, and significance. Specifically, it outlines the cultural practices, curricula, and professional development of early childhood education in response to the sociocultural changes of the global age. Additionally, it sketches the broad outlines of the theoretical overview and controversies of the interplay between music, education, and nationalism, and it introduces policy reforms and curriculum changes concerning early childhood music education in postcolonial Hong Kong. It also discusses how music education has been reshaped in response to the transfer of Hong Kong from British to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, especially in relation to the gradual cultural shift from Westernization to nationalism. Finally, it discusses the methodology and organization of the book. The primary contribution and impact of this book will include: (i) a conceptualization of and advancement in knowledge about the interplay between education policy, sociopolitical change, and pedagogical practices; (ii) the provision of evidence-based directions for the development of a music teacher education framework that addresses early childhood teachers’ professional and academic needs; and (iii) making theoretical implications of teacher competencies and self-efficacy regarding the specific context of a play-based approach to early childhood music education.

often divided according to age, gender, social status, and acting conventions, including movement, voice, facial expressions, costume, and make-up.

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Early Childhood Music Education, Curricula, and Cultural Practices Early childhood education refers generally to educational programs for young children from birth to the age of eight (NAEYC, 2018). Early childhood is a crucial period that lays the foundation for the development of the whole person and functions as an important starting point for lifelong education, hence it is widely recognized as the most important and influential stage in a human being’s life (Baker et al., 2017; Feriver et al., 2016; NAEYC, 2018). Human development studies have examined each stage of life and revealed that childhood is a particularly significant stage for exploration, with the greatest need for attention and advocacy (Association for Childhood Education International, 2014). During early childhood, much is determined concerning how an individual ultimately develops physically, intellectually, emotionally, and socially. In particular, scholarship on the human brain has demonstrated that the period from birth to the age of eight is a critical phase of brain development and, therefore, the best time for learning (CDC, 2017). Conceptualizations of the quality of early childhood learning cover multiple dimensions and relate to teachers’ beliefs, competency, orientations, and other structural characteristics (e.g., class size, child–adult ratios, staff qualification levels, and school facilities) concerning learning processes and the process quality of interactions between teachers and children (Anders et al., 2012; Bassok & Galdo, 2016; Walsh & Gardner, 2005). Among these indicators, the strongest correlation is found between the early childhood environment and the level of teacher qualification (Darling-Hammond et al., 2005). Souto-Manning et al. (2019) pointed out that the qualification of teachers is a complex construct and may vary according to (i) level of education (e.g., high school, posthigh school, university degree), (ii) degree of specialization (i.e., general, special, or early childhood education), and (iii) type of training (e.g., preservice, on-the-job, or continuing). Process quality also includes appropriate behavior in children, warm classroom climates (Newcomb & Hagopian, 2018), and domain-specific stimulation in different subjects (e.g., music, language, math, and science) (Chung, 2021b; Kuger & Kluczniok, 2008; Sylvia et al., 2003; Young, 2016). Previous studies have identified a range of characteristics regarding how children learn, including curiosity in exploration; learning through life experiences, sensory stimulation, and interesting activities;

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increased independence; becoming highly verbal; and learning according to different stages of development (CDC, 2017; Nijs & Bremmer, 2019). Recently, “learning by doing” (Rogovin, 1998, p. 84) and “learning through play” (CDC, 2017, p. 13) have been widely regarded as effective means for children to learn in a self-initiated, committed, enjoyable, and relaxing manner (Reese, 2011). Many scholars have recognized that teachers should plan learning experiences for children in an appropriate manner by understanding their developmental stages and learning characteristics and by taking into account appropriate levels of difficulty, children’s educational needs, and their interests (Campbell & Scott-Kassner, 2006; Lau, 2008; Lonie, 2010). Music engagement is considered to be a powerful force in early development, and it is central to the everyday cultural practices and circumstances of many young children (Barrett, 2009). In particular, as music is often integrated into children’s daily lives, it may positively affect their quality of life and their social and emotional well-being (Chan, 2012; Fasina, 2011; Lamont, 2008; Nardo et al., 2006; VannattaHall, 2010; Young, 2008). Previous studies have suggested that music is a powerful means for enhancing children’s holistic development in both musical and nonmusical contexts. It provides a range of longterm benefits, such as emotional, cognitive, and intellectual development (Barrett, 2003; Campbell & Scott-Kassner, 2009; Chung, 2019; Gardner, 1983; National Association for Music Education, 2000; Piaget, 1962; Suthers, 2001). Music is also a means for facilitating children’s learning and is, therefore, integral to development in a range of other areas (Campbell & Scott-Kassner, 2009; Kim & Kemple, 2011). There is empirical evidence suggesting that music instruction is associated with improved measures of intellectual functioning and spatial skills (CostaGiomi, 2012), as well as numeracy and aspects of executive function (Sachs et al., 2017). As suggested by scholarship, learning music is also especially beneficial for children’s language development (ChenHaftech & Mang, 2012; Paquette & Rieg, 2008). A number of studies have revealed that involvement in musical activity during early childhood can help develop reading skills, neuroanatomical abilities, verbal learning, and retention (Butzlaff, 2000; Ho et al., 2003), while also enhancing the understanding of language, improving the ability to recall information, fostering creativity, and creating an environment conducive to other areas of learning (Rauscher, 2002; Rauscher & LeMieux, 2003;

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Vaughn, 2000). For example, toddlers initially experiment with grammatical rules and different rhyming patterns through songs, and children are often introduced to patterned text through songs, chants, and poetry. Further, Hill-Clarke and Robinson’s (2004) study noted that music can enhance listening and oral language skill development and improve attention and memory. The National Survey of Music in Early Childhood, conducted in the United States in 2003, revealed seven categories of beneficial experiences/outcomes related to early childhood music education: creativity, enjoyment, mood regulation, teaching other subjects, cognitive skills, socio-emotional well-being, and self-esteem. Furthermore, previous studies have revealed the positive impacts of music in building strong parent–child relationships (Lonie, 2010; Nicholson et al., 2008). Bilhartz et al. (1999) noted that the transfer effects of learning music can be strengthened if parents participate in the learning process. A Canadian study examined the brain activity of four-year-olds before and after a year of musical training (Trainor et al., 2003); children who received a year of music education using the Suzuki method2 were found to have a significantly more developed auditory cortex, which means they could discriminate between a greater number of sounds. This finding suggests that early music education has a significant impact on auditory cortical representation. The various benefits and transferred effects associated with early childhood musical activity have prompted many countries around the world to integrate music into their national curricula starting from early childhood. In terms of global practice, different countries across the globe have planned and implemented their early childhood music curricula in various ways. The early childhood education sector in the United Kingdom, for example, has grown rapidly in terms of public awareness and pedagogical development in recent years. Lamont’s (2008) study in the United Kingdom investigated preschoolers’ engagement with music in daily life, providing evidence that music is highly prevalent in the 2 Developed by Shinichi Suzuki (1898–1998), a Japanese violin educator and performer, Suzuki method is a teaching philosophy and music curriculum that aims to create an environment for learning music which parallels the linguistic environment of acquiring a native language. With his theory of natural language acquisition, he advocated the pedagogical approach “Talent Education.” Suzuki believed that every child, if properly nurtured, was capable of developing a high level of achievement in music. He emphasized that the ultimate goal of such music education was to raise generations of children with “noble hearts”.

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lives of young children. The same study also found that children’s music (e.g., school songs, nursery rhymes, Disney music, and music from children’s television programs) and popular music were the types of music most frequently chosen and heard by children, whereas classical music and other styles, such as jazz, folk, big band, and religious music, were less common (Lamont, 2008). Further, the Youth Music projects in the United Kingdom, conducted between 2004 and 2009, revealed that music-making experiences significantly increased children’s confidence; this increase in confidence was related primarily to the music making itself, with children eager to try a variety of new, creative musical elements (Lonie, 2010). Importantly, the Youth Music projects also found that music was commonly used as a key tool for integrating children for whom English was a second language. Furthermore, the Youth Music projects noted that music-making activities for young children were particularly effective when integrated with other areas of creative arts, such as visual arts, drama, and creative movement. Of the various creative arts, the study found that the integration of music and creative movement was the most successful. In Australia, Barrett (2003) identified five major components of music programs in early childhood education: (i) composing and improvising with instruments and voice, (ii) notating musical experiences, (iii) singing both invented and canonical songs, (iv) playing instruments, and (v) listening to music. A North American study (Tarnowski & Barrett, 1997) revealed that large-group singing and finger-play activities were most common, being conducted more than five times per week in the majority of preschools surveyed. This study also revealed the prominent use of music for non-musical objectives. Music was commonly used to integrate various themes in the curriculum and structure daily routines; promoting musical competence and knowledge was viewed as less significant. Another study in the United States noted that music only played a minor role in the school settings, as many early childhood teachers used music only as background sound and as a means to create an atmosphere of calm in the classroom (Nardo et al., 2006). Furthermore, the 2003 National Survey of Music in Early Childhood revealed that despite group singing being the most common musical activity, singing was the area in which teachers felt the least skilled and confident. Most teachers in the study used movement as a means to teach music in order to allow students to experience and learn various musical elements (e.g., rhythm, tonality, dynamics, style, gradation of tone, tempo, and expression)

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and to promote learning in other areas (e.g., science, math, language, creativity, social skills, and physical coordination). The use of percussion instruments was common in music classrooms, including in percussion ensembles, in marching bands, and to freely accompany singing or recording (Nardo et al., 2006). Previous studies have compared cultural differences between Western and non-Western contexts regarding early childhood education practices. For example, Wong (2002) conducted a study in which the content and teaching approaches of music classes in Hong Kong and Vancouver were compared, studying 10 cases in each country. In Vancouver, play-based, child-centered approaches were used by teachers to encourage children’s love for and creativity in music. In Hong Kong, however, success-oriented, teacher-centered approaches emphasized knowledge and skill mastery.

Music Education in the Generalist Classroom: A Global Practice The role of generalist teachers in music instruction has been the focus of debate and research for many decades. The term “generalist” in this context refers to those teachers who have responsibilities for all content areas of the early childhood curriculum. There is a belief that university teacher training programs do not sufficiently prepare prospective generalist teachers for the ways in which they will be expected to deal with the complexities of music education. Globally, music is considered an essential learning area of the early childhood education curriculum, and many early childhood settings have expressed their preference for music specialists in early childhood classrooms because of the specialized and unique nature of music as a subject area in early childhood. Nevertheless, the reality is that financial constraint and school policies and practices may not always accommodate choosing between having a generalist or a music specialist deliver music instruction. Consequently, early childhood teachers usually receive an interdisciplinary education and so have very limited expertise in a number of subjects, including music (Ray et al., 2006). The literature suggests a strong correlation between high-quality early childhood education and teachers’ subject qualifications and quality practices in learning and teaching (Goldhaber, 2002). Hence, early childhood teachers face considerable challenges to acquiring a professional knowledge of the subject (including musical knowledge and skills) and an understanding of how to integrate music into early childhood education.

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While there is a general assumption that the acquisition of musical expertise will benefit or simultaneously ensure the quality of music teaching, research that acknowledges the generalist teachers’ traits, competencies, and self-beliefs is lacking (Jeanneret & DeGraffenreid, 2012). Jeanneret and DeGraffenreid (2012) identified that despite limited background in music, some generalist teachers taught music to young children as competently as those with considerable formal training in music. This might be explained by such teacher traits as determination, industry, enthusiasm, and willingness to take the initiative, and these traits may be more impactful on children’s improvement than the teachers’ musical background. In contrast, Wiggins and Wiggins (2008) observed that some generalist teachers adopted a different pedagogical style from music specialists when teaching music to young children in the early childhood classroom: Time and time again, we saw teachers whose classrooms had a marvelously democratic feel during the teaching and learning of other disciplines who, as soon as they began teaching music, adopted the stern air of a “prima donna” music teacher. We saw them completely change their demeanor with the children, drilling them in discrete activities, chastising those who made mistakes. (p. 14)

There are different qualifying mechanisms and professional requirements for early childhood generalists in different parts of the world, and the music component usually plays only a small part in the training framework. In the United Kingdom, qualified early childhood teachers normally should have a bachelor’s degree and initial teacher training in early childhood education (DfE, 2022). In the United States, although teachers’ educational qualifications vary greatly depending on the auspices of early childhood programs (Cho & Couse, 2008), state certification commonly earned through a bachelor’s degree program with a major in early childhood education is typically required to work as an early childhood professional in public schools (DfE, 2016). In Australia, early childhood teachers are required to have a primary or secondary education teaching qualification, to be registered in Australia, and to have a certificate for early childhood education and care qualification approved by the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (2022). In Hong Kong, formal professional teacher training is required to become a qualified early childhood teacher, which is offered by

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government-accredited teacher-training institutions. Formal professional teacher education refers to the qualifications required for early childhood teachers, which are offered by government-accredited teacher education institutions. Before 2006, all early childhood teachers in Hong Kong were required to possess the qualification Qualified Kindergarten Teacher. Though music was included in pre-service education, only 20 contact hours were allocated for both music fundamentals and pedagogy, whereas the language learning component was allocated more than 60 contact hours (Chan, 2012). Beginning in 2006, all early childhood teachers were required to complete the Certification of Kindergarten Teacher. The amount of music education is similar to that of the previous Qualified Kindergarten Teacher, which offered early childhood teachers only minimal instruction. In view of the insufficient provision of musical training in the formal teacher education mechanism, some in-service teachers pursue their musical training through other informal professional teacher-education settings in order to better equip themselves to teach music in the early childhood curriculum. Informal professional teacher education refers to professional education organizations offered by non-government-subsidized organizations or the private sector, which do not provide the formal qualifications needed to work as a kindergarten teacher. With appropriately planned curricula designed to enhance the competencies of early childhood teachers, informal teacher education programs may contribute to filling the gap in formal education provided for pre-service early childhood teachers. However, these programs have so far been highly inadequate in this regard, and there are currently an insufficient number of such informal professional learning programs offered in Hong Kong.

Confucian Tradition, Music, and Education: Toward Social Harmony, Stability, and Unity This section provides some cultural background to the context of the studies presented in this book. To understand individuals’ learning processes in a particular cultural context, it is crucial to consider the ways in which they make meaning and sense of the world. Rosenberg et al. (2008) noted that cultural tendencies impact the way individuals participate in learning and the lack of knowledge about students’ cultural backgrounds might lead to a misunderstanding of students’ responses or

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behaviors in the process of learning. Eldridge and Cranston (2009) highlighted that the study of the sociocultural attributes of local settings is important for determining the appropriate strategies for academic and operational management of a transnational higher education program. Confucianism is the cornerstone of traditional Chinese culture and emphasizes interpersonal harmony, group orientation, acceptance of authority, and academic attainment. Hong Kong is widely considered a Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC) area as it has an active Confucian heritage that permeates its ethical, ritual, and educational life. A CHC area is described by education research communities as a group of Asian nation states and their motherland and overseas populations who share Confucian values that are consistently reflected in social behavior and practices, including learning approaches, behaviors, and academic outcomes (Biggs & Biggs, 1996). Due to the deeply rooted Confucian inheritance, CHC learners value collective harmony, often refrain from expressing opinions that assert their own individuality in thought and that might clash with group norms, and habitually defer to authority rather than disagree with teachers or seniors (Turner, 2010). This is in contrast to the Western learning style, which is considered assertive, independent, and self-confident and is characterized by a willingness to ask questions and explore ways of thinking and acting. Hence, Asian students are often criticized for not thinking deeply and not being creative or critical enough as they learn. To assess whether CHC educators in Hong Kong are likely to struggle with increasingly more active pedagogies that require much more creativity from teachers (e.g., PBL and child-centered approaches), the author explores the CHC background of early childhood teachers’ beliefs in and implementation of creative pedagogical approaches to early childhood education. Significantly, this book will contribute to the understanding of how culture and cultural values affect teachers’ approaches to education and acceptance of innovative practices (Cheng, 2004; Ho, 2020; Lam et al., 2002; Law & Ho, 2011). Numerous studies have reported misconceptions of CHC students’ learning behaviors, largely owing to a lack of sufficient understanding of the local sociocultural factors that influence learning. Despite the general perception that CHC hinders the adoption of active, critical thinkingoriented pedagogical practices in classrooms, it is important to note that Confucian philosophy also embraces reflection, persistence, and a stoic

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response to pain, which are considered crucial attributes for educational success (Yang & Bond, 1986). In traditional Chinese societies, music was one of the four fundamental social functions together with morals, law, and politics. One Chinese saying proclaims that the means for achieving an ideal state is “[h]armony between music and man; harmony between heaven and man.” Both imperial and contemporary Chinese governments have promoted social harmony through music education as a means of state governance and the maintenance of social stability. In history, government has played an active role in fusing the values of social harmony and the content of musical knowledge (Law & Ho, 2011). Thus, music education has played a significant role in Confucian Chinese societies culturally, socially, and politically.

Nationalization and the Development of National Identity and Patriotism in School Music Education In response to the transfer of Hong Kong from British to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, the Hong Kong government emphasized the importance of national identity, and so, the promotion of national identity has become a central component of the development of the formal education curriculum in the past two decades. Such an emphasis on nationalism has led to a gradual cultural shift from Westernization to nationalism within the school education system in Hong Kong. In this light, Tung Cheewah, the first Chief Executive of post-handover Hong Kong, officially established patriotism as part of the education reform agenda (Fairbrother & Kennedy, 2011). As in many other national or governmental settings, Hong Kong’s postcolonial education reform mandated, as part of the formal education curriculum, raising the national flag and the incorporation of specific patriotic repertoires (e.g., singing the national anthem in school daily and on other occasions) alongside teaching about traditional Chinese culture within different disciplines. Such a transformation in education has led to many conflicts and to social disharmony within society, particularly hostility from teachers who are not comfortable teaching civic education because of the lack of teaching resources, insensitivity toward politics, and insufficient knowledge about civic education (Ho, 2021).

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Nationalism embraces the notion that cultural identity should lay the foundation for a state, ultimately unify a common identity, and develop national pride (Smith, 1998). Historically, conceptions of nationalism, cultural identity, patriotism, and school education have been nationoriented and civic-affiliated (Ho, 2021). Education has been a powerful means for shaping the power structure of a state’s educational politics and molding citizens’ beliefs and norms. A number of scholars maintain that the education system can never be socially or politically neutral or separate and is therefore intentionally political (Giroux, 2003; Shor, 2012). The relationship between cultural identity and music education has long been documented in the literature. In both Western and nonWestern contexts, issues of local, national, global, ethnic, and cultural identity are increasingly important topics in music education at all levels (Ho, 2021). As Hong Kong is a former British colony, Western musical genres have historically dominated both formal education and community settings. For example, the number of students learning Western musical instruments in Hong Kong has overwhelmingly exceeded the number learning Chinese musical instruments. Such a pattern of musical preference, however, has not changed significantly after two decades of political handover despite the government’s acts of decolonization; this poses a challenge to the advocacy of Chinese musical genres as a means to promote national identity. Historically, the teaching of traditional music has been a powerful means for creating a national identity and a sense of patriotism through the development of musical and cultural identity. In the past two decades, the Chinese government has proactively implemented cultural protection policies in an attempt to maintain the sustainability of national cultures, to enhance social cohesion, to promote love of traditional Chinese music, and to enhance the understanding of the varied musical styles of China’s 56 ethnic groups3 (Ministry of Education, 2001a, 2001b). Moreover, China has begun a long-term plan to publicize its cultural heritage among younger generations. Thus, Chinese opera has been vigorously promoted

3 As confirmed by the Central government, there are 56 ethnic groups in China, namely,

the Han, Mongolian, Hui, Tibetan, Uygur, Miao, Yi, Zhuang, Bouyei, Korean, Manchu, Dong, Yao, Bai, Tujia, Hani, Kazak, Dai, Li, Lisu, Va, She, Gaoshan, Lahu, Shui, Dongxiang, Naxi, Jingpo, Kirgiz, Tu, Daur, Mulam, Qiang, Blang, Salar, Maonan, Gelo, Xibe, Achang, Pumi, Tajik, Nu, Ozbek, Russian, Ewenki, Deang, Bonan, Yugur, Jing, Tatar, Drung, Oroqen, Hezhen, Moinba, Lhoba and Jino.

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and interest in it stimulated through the collecting of traditional libretti, promoting new plays and operas, supporting public performances, and training and rewarding professionals (Law & Ho, 2011). With its official recognition as a Human Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 2009, Cantonese opera has been identified as a representative traditional music genre that should be incorporated into Hong Kong’s formal education system (CDC, 2003). Cantonese opera is one of the regional styles of Chinese opera (Chan, 2019). It is a widely known theatrical genre performed in Guangdong Province, Southern Guanxi Province, Hong Kong, Macau, and among the Cantonese-speaking diaspora in Southern Asia and the West (Chung, 2021b). This genre has long been popular in Hong Kong, particularly because it was originally part of Cantonese-speaking Guangdong Province (Leung, 2014). In light of the richness of its traditional Chinese culture and artistry, Cantonese opera has been considered an appropriate means for nurturing students’ national identity. Through Cantonese opera, students learn about and are exposed to elements of traditional Chinese music, including its history, literature, musical instruments, traditional costumes, make-up, and theater design. Some studies have explored teaching Cantonese opera in the formal school system. Leung and Leung’s (2010) study revealed that primary school students in Hong Kong tended to be more motivated to learn Cantonese opera than secondary school students because of their attitudes toward social-cultural identity. Even though Cantonese opera has not been specifically identified by the government as a compulsory component of the kindergarten curriculum, many kindergartens in Hong Kong have attempted to incorporate elements of Cantonese opera or other traditional Chinese music in view of the government policy and its intention to promote national identity through formal education. Such elements include teaching simple movements, singing, history, and Cantonese opera literacy, as well as teaching about folk music, poetry, and musical instruments. In particular, the Chief Executive’s 2021 Policy Address explicitly states that the development of children’s character and sense of national identity must begin from an early age so that they might develop an understanding of the history and culture of their country (Hong Kong SAR Government, 2021). Music teachers are expected to be accountable for cultivating cultural understanding and expression, demonstrating how politics shape the content of formal school education (Jorgensen, 2007). Nonetheless, as illustrated in the sections above, early childhood teachers in Hong Kong are trained as generalists and have

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very limited training in music. Consequently, they may not have the background needed to teach Cantonese opera or other traditional Chinese music, particularly considering the Western music background of their own education. Furthermore, systematic instructional material and guidelines for implementing the promotion of national identity through music in early childhood education have been lacking.

The Introduction of Moral Education into the Curriculum Moral and nationalistic education in postcolonial Hong Kong are two wings of the same bird. The concepts of moral and nationalistic education are often intertwined and sometimes overlap with such values as social cohesion, unity, loyalty, selflessness, civilized behavior, love for traditional culture, love for the motherland, and patriotism. Due to the sociopolitical, economic, and ideological shift in postcolonial Hong Kong, the moral messages taught in school encompass traditional nationalism, values, and culture alongside other values like perseverance, respect for others, responsibility, commitment, integrity, care for others, law-abidingness, empathy, and diligence (CDC, 2021). Under British colonial rule, the first and only specific official document on moral education in formal education in Hong Kong, the General Guidelines on Moral Education in Schools, was published by the Education Department in 1981. Nevertheless, its historical provenance and influence can be traced to a period five decades before the present. The launching of moral education in Hong Kong emerged from the social context in 1973, in which the community-wide protest against bribery led to the establishment in 1974 of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, a social agency for civic morality (Cheng, 2004). Significantly, this represented a milestone for moral education’s inclusion in formal education, as it was explicitly asserted to be a fundamental and vital function of schooling for all children. The Hong Kong Education Department (1981) has highlighted the rationale for the introduction of moral education in Hong Kong. The introduction of universal and compulsory education in Hong Kong for nine years has given rise to a greater degree of mixed ability classes. The children may also come from very different family backgrounds. Teachers need to pay considerably more personal attention to the pupils’ moral

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as well as intellectual development. With the recent increase in juvenile delinquency, more attention has been focused on the need for the general school curriculum to reflect greater awareness of the importance of moral education. (p. 1)

In postcolonial Hong Kong, the emphasis on national identity and nationalism has shifted from the moral to the civic in a wider national context. In 2001, the Hong Kong government officially included “moral and civic education” as one of the five essential learning experiences for formal school education in Hong Kong, covering early childhood education through secondary school, with the aims of developing personal character and interpersonal skills, respect for others, perseverance, and national identity (CDC, 2001). Furthermore, the government has posited that moral and civic education should be internalized through school life and life-wide learning activities. Historically, moral education has been utilized as a catalyst for integrity and law-abidingness, as is exemplified by the official launch of moral education in formal schooling in light of community-wide protest against bribery in 1973. In 2019, following the historic large-scale social unrest, the Education Bureau issued the official document Values Education Curriculum Framework in 2021. The aim of this document was to “provide schools with suggestions and exemplars for the planning of their school-based values education curriculum, within and beyond the classroom, in order to cultivate students’ positive values and attitudes from an early age, in preparation for the challenges they face in their studies, in their daily life, and while growing up” (CDC, 2021, p. 5). Developmental psychology studies have suggested that children as young as three begin to develop an initial understanding of the conception of right and wrong; hence, early childhood is a crucial stage for nurturing their moral development. Hong Kong’s early childhood education officially recognizes moral development as one of the major developmental objectives, explicitly stating that moral education should be integrated into the six major learning areas of early childhood education: (i) arts and creativity, (ii) physical fitness and health, (iii) language, (iv) early childhood mathematics, (v) nature and living, and (vi) self and society (CDC, 2017). The Kindergarten Curriculum Guide states that “Hong Kong is a fast-developing international city” whose traditional values are “being challenged in its everchanging social context. Parents

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and various sectors of the community have growing expectations of the moral development of our next generation” (p. 21). Throughout history, philosophers and scholars have asserted the tremendous impact of music on the moral development of the young generation and the development of a sustainable society. Plato (429–347 BC) identified the powerful though elusive role of music in shaping an individual character or the wider society, noting that the primary aim of music was to attach sentiments to deeds and to reinforce the power of the government (Plato, 1941). Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778), a philosopher and composer, recognized that music was originally and essentially meant to communicate morality (Scott, 1998). The philosophy of the interplay of music and moral development was supported by other philosophers, including Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Schiller, Herbert Read, and Roger Scruton, who contended that the arts represent the good and are thus crucial for the cultivation of moral attributes (Carr, 2006; Davis, 2005; Jorgensen, 1996). Musical and moral aspects are inseparable from a complex pattern of social, political, educational, and historical phenomena in a wider sociopolitical context. Hence, arts education has been a powerful means for building a cohesive, responsible, and vigorous society in both Western and non-Western contexts (Ho, 2010).

Theoretical Frameworks and Historical Research on PBL Play, a prominent theme in early childhood education globally, is no modern phenomena in research and practice. Sociocultural theories, constructivism, and socio-developmental theory have had tremendous impacts on PBL and on the way scholars and educators view children’s learning and development. Anticipating the work of Vygotsky, Friedrich Frobel (1782–1852) identified play as a cognitive processing mechanism for integrating learning and a vehicle for “seeing play as the highest form of learning” (Bruce, 2012, p. 13). Froebel believed that play was the highest expression of humanity, and so, he advocated for children constructing their understanding of the world through direct experience and engagement in play. His philosophical stance regarding the importance of play and learning through nature have spread throughout the world and have had far-reaching impacts on later developments in research and practice concerning play.

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Another thinker who impacted the concept of play was Rudolf Steiner (1862–1925), who stressed the necessity of activities as a vehicle for meeting children’s learning needs and helping children understand learning contexts. As noted by Nicol and Taplin (2018), “Steiner practitioners advocate that what children unconsciously choose to play and how they choose to play meets their needs” (p. 70). Steiner teachers aim to create an environment that facilitates children’s self-directed free play. According to Steiner, free play supports the developmentally appropriate needs of children, and children can work out identities, relationships, and fantasy and reality for themselves through play. In particular, Steiner highlighted the importance of storytelling, singing, and drama as components of children’s daily routine of play. Stemming from Vygotsky’s early work, sociocultural theory suggests that learning is primarily a social phenomenon. It emphasizes that an individuals’ learning and development is heavily influenced by their culture and the social interactions they observe and in which they participate (Taylor & Boyer, 2020). Vygotsky’s (1966/1979) theoretical perspective stresses the importance of play in learning and development, and he stated that “[t]he child moves forward essentially through play activity. Only in this sense can play be considered a leading activity that determines the child’s development” (p. 103). Vygotsky urges educators to use this framework to provide opportunities for child’s engagement in play, believing that through play, children develop their conceptual capabilities, knowledge of the world, and abstract thinking. The sociodevelopmental theory of learning specifically stresses that for “a child of preschool age, action is initially dominant over meaning and is incompletely understood. The child is able to do more than he can understand” (Vygotsky, 1966/1979, p. 100). Scholars of the socio-developmental theory of learning underscore the significance of classroom context and social interactions (Taylor & Boyer, 2020). Piaget’s constructivist theory has also had far-reaching impacts on PBL research and practices. Grounded in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, the constructivist paradigm emphasizes play as a critical construct in the phenomenon of cognitive growth and development. Hence, children acquire concepts through active engagement and interaction with their environment wherein they construct their own knowledge through exploration (Piaget, 1962). Piaget’s theory of constructivism argues that individuals construct knowledge and form meaning based on their experiences. The key components that facilitate the construction of an

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individual’s new knowledge are accommodation and assimilation. Further, Piaget’s theory of constructivism addresses how learning occurs when the role of teachers as key actors in the learning process is emphasized.

Self-Efficacy and Social Cognitive Theories Motivation refers to the condition or state in which an individual has strong grounds to act in order to accomplish something (Wigfield et al., 2019). Motivation is an important aspect of this study’s investigation of teacher self-efficacy. First, the importance of motivation in music education has been widely recognized by music educators (Asmus, 1986). Second, Bandura’s (1977, 1986) social cognitive theory of motivation is the primary research lens for this project as whole. Motivation is an important construct of self-concept. A number of scholars have identified the significant impact of self-concept in determining musical accomplishment (Asmus, 1986; Covington, 1983; Schmidt, 2005). Furthermore, an increasing number of studies have examined the factors that contribute to enhancing music instruction’s effectiveness in schools (Hennessy et al., 2001; Russell-Bowie & Dowson, 2005). One of the most significant factors influencing music instruction’s effectiveness is teachers’ self-belief and level of self-confidence regarding directing musical activities (Yim et al., 2007). Self-efficacy has significant implications for teacher education and development and, ultimately, has far-reaching impacts on learning and teaching experiences across a wide range of academic disciplines. In this book, teacher self-efficacy provides a conceptual framework for understanding generalist teachers’ practices and beliefs about teaching music in response to drastic education reform, sociopolitical changes, and the increasing influence of nationalism in postcolonial Hong Kong. Selfefficacy is defined as belief “in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments” (Bandura, 1997, p. 3). Self-efficacy theory is founded on Bandura’s social cognitive theory (1986), which is based on several assumptions concerning the reciprocal nature of the influence of personal, behavioral, and environmental factors; the relationship between learning and motivation; and the enactive and vicarious courses of behavioral change. Most importantly, Bandura (1997) highlighted that self-efficacy plays a significant role in determining one’s level of achievement, and is therefore regarded as an important predictor of performance.

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Previous studies have identified the significant impact of motivation and self-concept on determining musical accomplishment (Asmus, 1986; Covington, 1983; Schmidt, 2005; Vander Ark et al., 1980). The understanding that motivation plays an important role in music is one reason why self-efficacy was selected as the lens for examining teachers’ motivation and competence in teaching music. Research has shown that positive self-efficacy beliefs are related to teacher behavior, producing some of the following results: decreased burnout (Brouwers & Tomic, 2000), increased job satisfaction (Caprara et al., 2003), high levels of commitment to teaching (Coladarci, 1992), greater efficiency in planning and organization (Allinder, 1994), being less critical of students who perform unsatisfactorily (Ashton & Webb, 1986), persistence in working with struggling students (Gibson & Dembo, 1984), using more creative curriculum resources (Wertheim & Leyser, 2002), and increased motivation for music participation (Ho, 2010). In particular, an increasing number of studies have examined the factors that contribute to enhancing the quality and effectiveness of music teaching in schools (Hamann et al., 2000; Hennessy et al., 2001), and these studies have indicated that teachers’ self-efficacy regarding directing musical activities is one of the most significant (Yim et al., 2007). Nevertheless, studies have suggested that in Hong Kong, many generalists in early childhood education have lower self-efficacy concerning teaching music than they do teaching other subjects (Chan, 2012; Chung, 2021a). Ebbeck et al.’s (2008) study in Hong Kong indicated that teachers were uncomfortable with composing and improvising when directing music activities for young children. Seddon and Biasutti’s (2008) study in the United Kingdom found that generalists compare their informally educated musical skills and knowledge with those of music specialists, reinforcing their perceived inadequacies. Barr’s (2006) study in the United States found that generalists who lack basic knowledge of music are not comfortable integrating musical elements into the curriculum. Regrettably, very little is known about the impact of teacher self-efficacy’s (e.g., level, sources, and weight of different sources) on the implementation of music education in the context of early childhood education in Hong Kong. By adopting Bandura’s (1997) self-efficacy framework, this book aims to explore which forms of professional musical education can empower early childhood teachers by enhancing their musical competence, broadening their knowledge, improving the skills

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they use in the music classroom, and ultimately enhancing their selfconfidence regarding teaching music (Smith & Haack, 2000), all of which should help them cope with the sociopolitical transformations and education reforms of postcolonial Hong Kong. A range of social learning theories inform the generative system of human capability. Another reason that Bandura’s self-efficacy theory (1997) was considered the most appropriate lens for the research for this book was because of its specificity regarding different subjects, domains, situations, skills, and activities, which distinguishes it from other theories of self-belief. Rotter’s (1966) social learning theory argues that an individual’s behavior in a particular situation is determined by expectancy, reinforcement, and the environment. Bandura’s theory was chosen over Rotter’s because the former refers to particular accomplishments and the specific achievement of specific outcomes. Likewise, the self-efficacy theory of Gibson and Dembo (1984), which is a two-factor model (i.e., self-efficacy and outcome expectancy), was also considered inappropriate because it is less specific. Specificity is significant because it concerns teachers’ self-perceived confidence, and teachers’ self-perceived confidence is domain- and context-specific (Bandura, 1997). This implies the possibility that teachers may, for example, feel confident about teaching certain subjects but not others. Bandura has further suggested that such specificity is a more reliable and consistent predictor of achievement, which is discussed in Chapter 3.

The Organization of the Book, the Research Strategy, and Questions Guiding the Study This book begins by challenging contemporary debates concerning the cultural and contextual perspectives of pedagogical practices in early childhood music education. On the one hand, the main theme of this book has been shaped by the globalization and sociocultural meanings of music teacher education within the education ecosystem. On the other hand, many social and cultural meanings are associated with pedagogical practices, teacher self-efficacy, localization of international education policy, and their implications for music education. Hence, this book discusses the interplay of globalization, sociocultural implications, pedagogical practices, teacher self-efficacy, and education policy in early childhood education.

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This book addresses key questions regarding the development of early childhood music education in postcolonial Hong Kong. Examining the influences of globalization and waves of education reform after the 1997 handover raises some significant questions: What content knowledge, musical skills, and pedagogical competencies are required to effectively implement early childhood music education? How have early childhood teachers responded to the social changes and educational reforms of postcolonial Hong Kong in terms of the pedagogical and educational practices of music education? Additionally, this book addresses local responses to global educational issues. It is of international relevance to learn how Hong Kong has adapted to the global spread of traveling reforms like PBL in the context of music education. These traveling reforms triggered an avalanche of research on why global education policy is adopted in some contexts and resisted in others, and how it is translated into local contexts. This raises the following related questions: Do teachers’ practices and attitudes toward music education resemble global or Western practices? Are these practice and attitudes indigenous to Hong Kong or China? Additionally, the book seeks to understand how Westernization and globalization, on the one hand, and indigenous culture and national power, on the other, have influenced music teacher education in early childhood and, subsequently, early childhood music education in postcolonial Hong Kong. My methodology combines intensive fieldwork in kindergartens, questionnaires, in-depth interviews with early childhood teachers and kindergarten principals, documentary analysis, research on teaching and curricular materials for early childhood music education, and relevant literature. The methodology is interdisciplinary as it bridges musicology, sociology, music education, arts education, early childhood education, cultural studies, and psychology. Significantly, the projects’ empirical findings document the teacher competencies (e.g., content knowledge, musical skills, and pedagogical competencies) required for early childhood music education, and the book will assist student teachers, in-service teachers, teacher educators, and researchers in making informed pedagogical decisions. Although the school-based studies reported in this book can never be wholly representative of early childhood music education in Hong Kong or other contexts, they are an important preliminary step in the investigation of teachers’ and principals’ perspectives on music education and the extent to which education reforms and sociopolitical changes

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have impacted their pedagogical practices and beliefs regarding music education. The first chapter of this book offers the background of the study as well as its scope, research problems, theoretical rationale, purposes, and significance. Turning from the background material presented in this chapter and focusing on new content, Chapter 2 examines the current practices in response to the mandated policy of PBL in global contexts, which emphasizes the development of child-centered practices. Prior scholarship has suggested that cultural and contextual appropriateness should be taken into consideration when advocating creativity in education, and this chapter examines how PBL, the development of creativity, and childcentered practices have been implemented in various parts of the world, in both Western and non-Western contexts. This chapter also discusses the debates between academic and developmental perspectives over the years concerning the value of PBL, and simultaneously it investigates related twenty-first-century Western approaches, including Orff Schulwerk, the Dalcroze approach, and the Kodály method. Furthermore, exemplary plans for play-based approaches in early childhood music education are presented in this chapter. Through this process, I demonstrate how, with reference to research and practices globally, PBL in early childhood music education promotes children’s musical and non-musical development and motivates their autonomy in learning in a stimulating and encouraging environment. Teacher self-efficacy provides a theoretical framework for understanding early childhood teachers’ attitudes, practices, and beliefs about teaching music in the cultural context of postcolonial Hong Kong. Chapter 3 explores the power of self-efficacy for the development of competencies, behavior, and achievements in academic settings. It discusses the role of teacher self-efficacy as a catalyst for effective teaching and a range of achievement behaviors in educational settings. Chapter 4 fleshes out various critical aspects of music teacher education in early childhood. It investigates the practices of music teacher education for generalists across the globe; examines Hong Kong’s reform, policy, contexts, and challenges; and explores how Hong Kong has responded to global trends in education. This is accomplished by adopting Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy to uncover the interplay between music teacher education and in-service early childhood teachers’ self-efficacy regarding teaching music. The empirical study described in this chapter is set in the

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cultural context of Hong Kong, and it fills an important gap in the literature through its discussion of the teacher competencies and attributes required to effectively teach music to young children. Framed by Bandura’s theory of sources of self-efficacy and with the backdrop of ongoing policy change and sociopolitical transformation in Hong Kong, Chapter 5 explores early childhood teachers’ sources of self-efficacy regarding teaching music and discusses the implications and significance of various sources of teacher self-efficacy, including mastery experience, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and physiological and affective states for music teacher education in early childhood. Chapter 6 investigates early childhood practitioners’ attitudes, values, and conceptions of moral education in music education. In particular, given the global practice of early childhood teachers largely training as generalists, this chapter examines how kindergarten principals and early childhood teachers in Hong Kong have responded in the sphere of music education to sociopolitical changes, global educational trends, and the struggle between globalization and nationalization. Weaving these chapters together, Chapter 7 reiterates the book’s overall argument, intention, and contributions. Noting that a paradigm shift from the traditional teacher-oriented Chinese approach to a childcentered approach is a challenging task, the book therefore offers recommendations for a new conceptual framework for music teacher education in Asian contexts and beyond, aiming at developing teachers’ required competencies in teaching music to young children and addressing the pressing professional and cultural needs of early childhood teachers. It also considers the enduring implications of global education reform and well-tailored music teacher education in postcolonial Hong Kong, where the struggle between globalization and nationalization has been evident.

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Sylvia, K., Siraj-Blatchford, I., & Taggart, B. (2003). Assessing quality in the early years: Early Childhood Rating Scale Extensions (ECERS-E). Trentham Books. Tarnowski, S., & Barrett, J. (1997). The beginnings of music for a lifetime: Survey of musical practices in Wisconsin preschools. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 15(2), 6–11. Taylor, M. E., & Boyer, W. (2020). Play-based learning: Evidence-based research to improve children’s learning experiences in the kindergarten classroom. Early Childhood Education Journal, 48(2), 127–133. Trainor, L. J., Shahin, A., & Roberts, L. (2003). Effects of musical training on the auditory cortex in children. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 999, 506–513. Turner, J. (2010). Language in the academy. Multilingual matters. Vander Ark, S. D., Nolin, W. H., & Newman, I. (1980). Relationships between musical attitudes, self-esteem, social status, and grade level of elementary children. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 62, 31–41. Vannatta-Hall, J. (2010). Music education in early childhood teacher education: The impact of a music methods course on pre-service teachers’ perceived confidence and competence to teach music [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Vaughn, K. (2000). Music and mathematics: Modest support for the oft-claimed relationship. Journal of Aesthetic Education, 34(3–4), 149–166. Verger, A., Novelli, M., & Altinyelken, H. K. (2012). Global education policy and international development: An introductory framework. In A. Verger, H. K. Altinyelken, & M. Novelli (Eds.), Global education policy and international development: New agendas, issues and policies (pp. 3–32). Bloomsbury. Vygotsky, L. S. (1979). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press. http://ouleft.org/wp-content/uploads/ Vygotsky-Mind-in-Society.pdf Walsh, G., & Gardner, J. (2005). Assessing the quality of early years learning environments. Early Childhood Research & Practice, 7 (1), n1. Wertheim, C., & Leyser, Y. (2002). Efficacy beliefs, background variables, and differentiated instruction of Israeli prospective teachers. Journal of Educational Research, 96(1), 54–63. Wigfield, A., Faust, L. T., Cambria, J., & Eccles, J. S. (2019). Motivation in education. In R. M. Ryan (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of human motivation (pp. 443–461). Oxford University Press. Wiggins, R. A., & Wiggins, J. (2008). Primary music education in the absence of specialists. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 9(12). http:// www.ijea.org/v9n12/v9n12.pdf Wong, M. W. Y. (2002). Music lessons in the elementary schools of Vancouver and Hong Kong: Content and pedagogy. Asia-Pacific Journal for Arts Education, 1(1), 27–41.

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Yang, K. S., & Bond, M. H. (1986). Chinese personality and its change. In M. H. Bond (Ed.), The Psychology of the Chinese People (pp. 106–170). Oxford University Press. Yim, H. Y., Abd-El-Fattah, S., & Lee, L. W. (2007). A Rasch analysis of the teachers music confidence scale. International Education Journal, 8(2), 260– 269. Young, S. (2008). Lullaby light shows: Everyday musical experience among under-two-year-olds. International Journal of Music Education, 26(1), 33–46. Young, S. (2016). Early childhood music education research: An overview. Research Studies in Music Education, 38(1), 9–21.

CHAPTER 2

The Power of Play in Early Childhood Music Education: From Policy to Practices

Introduction Progressing from background material presented in Chapter 1 and focusing on new content, this chapter concerns the power of play in early childhood education in relation to its musical and non-musical influences. As PBL is the “backbone” that connects the chapters of this book and the underlying theme of the empirical studies of music in early childhood discussed in this book (e.g., music teacher education, sources of teacher self-efficacy, and moral and value education), this chapter examines and analyzes a theoretical and pedagogical understanding of PBL and child development. Further, it critically examines the tension between academic and developmental perspectives on learning and play over the years and the current dilemma of how teachers can best negotiate or choose between child-initiated play, with children allowed to play independently, and teacher-directed play, with teachers leading and directly guiding the children in play contexts. It also examines and analyzes the influential early global approaches to music pedagogy in the twentieth century, which include an abundance of PBL elements in their foundations, philosophies, and methodologies, as well as contemporary controversies concerning this topic. Although scholarly attention to play in relation to children’s

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holistic development has increased (Ashiabi, 2007; Barrett & Wright, 2003; Bergen & Davis, 2020; Bilhartz et al., 1999; Chung, 2021; Fisher et al., 2008; Hewes, 2006; Pramling Samuelsson & Johansson, 2006; Pyle & Danniels, 2017; Van der Aalsvoort et al., 2015), the discourse on the perspectives of musical play is rare in the literature. Moreover, there have been few in-depth, comprehensive, or systematic analyses of PBL in early childhood education that consider policymaking, universal controversies and dilemmas, and cultural and contextual perspectives. This chapter commences by establishing the basic tenets of play in relation to the intense debate on the conceptualization of play in children’s early years. Subsequently, it traces the cultural and contextual perspectives of PBL, revealing the complexities arising from the different cultural perspectives. By reexamining the conceptualization, pedagogical issues, and cultural complexity of play, this chapter serves as a theoretical background for understanding the issues examined by the studies discussed in this book, including the interplay between the centralizing agencies of play in early childhood music education (e.g., teachers and policy), the applicability of play to various education policies (e.g., moral and value education), and the special role that self-efficacy plays in the implementation of PBL in music education in relation to teacher competency, education policy, and social change.

Learning Through Play in the Global Age Play creates a zone of proximal development of the child. In play a child always behaves beyond his average age, above his daily behavior; in play it is as though he were a head taller than himself. (Lev Vygotsky, 1978, p. 102)

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The Elusiveness of Conceptualization Play is officially acknowledged as a universal right of all children (UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2013).1 The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum (DfE, 2017) has officially recommended playbased approaches to teaching and learning in early childhood.2 PBL is child-centered and focuses on children’s academic and socio-emotional development through engagement with developmentally appropriate learning experiences (Taylor & Boyer, 2020). In this model of play and learning, the terms utilized include pedagogical play, learning through play, purposeful play, PBL, playful pedagogies, educational play, developmental pedagogy, and inquiry play. Although PBL has become a cornerstone of early childhood education provision, there is a lack of consensus in research and practice regarding the definitions, approach, and expected outcomes of PBL in early childhood. Many researchers and professionals continue to debate how children’s play should be conceptualized, whether or the extent to which adults should be involved, and how it impacts the learning and development of the children. Ailwood (2003) described play “as an elusive concept that refuses to be pinned down” (p. 288). The European Early Childhood Education Research Association’s 2017 position paper “Rethinking Play” suggested that “play is a broad concept that can be viewed from a range of theoretical strands and may therefore be observed and interpreted in many different ways” (p. 2).3 While many theorists

1 The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the body of 18 independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by its States parties. Its scope includes monitoring the implementation of the Optional Protocols to the Convention, the involvement of children in armed conflict, and the sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography. Over the past decades, it has inspired governments to reformulate laws and policies to enhance the wellbeing of children. 2 The early years foundation stage curriculum sets standards for the learning, development, and care of children from birth to five years in England. All schools and Ofsted-registered early years’ providers are mandated to follow the early years foundation stage, including childminders, preschools, nurseries, and school reception classes. 3 From the website of the European Early Childhood Education Research Associ-

ation (https://www.eecera.org/about/): “EECERA seeks to sustain and develop the rich tradition of European early childhood thought, the legacy of Pestalozzi, Owen, Froebel, Steiner, Vygotsky, Piaget, Malaguzzi and other pioneers, whilst looking forward to encourage the exploration of new paradigms, methodologies, concepts and applications in the ever-changing context of early childhood studies.”

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have argued that it is hard to define “play” in early childhood education because of its multifaceted character (Johnson et al., 2005), most theorists and educators agree that play should embrace intrinsic motivation, freedom of choice, enjoyment, a child-centered approach, and an emphasis on the process rather than the outcome (Campbell & ScottKassner, 2009; Chung, 2019). Further, children’s play has been described as opportunistic, freely chosen, actively engaging, creative, and concerned more with means than ends (Ashiabi, 2007; Sturgess, 2003). Theorists such as Vygotsky, Rousseau, Pestalozzi, and Frobel have maintained that children should learn through play, suggesting that when children manipulate objects, act out roles, or experiment with various materials to explore new ideas or knowledge, they are engaged in learning through play. Play is often defined as a self-initiated activity that is intrinsically satisfying (Hansen et al., 1999). Eberle (2014) argued that in order to “distinguish play from its fellow travelers as well as its opposites, we need to extract a working definition for play that accounts for play as an event that unfolds spontaneously […], that notices the volition of the participants […], and that recognizes its benefits” (pp. 229–230). Scholarship has indicated what the benefits and intended outcomes of play are. Research has demonstrated the development and educational benefits of play in early childhood, especially in the areas of problem solving, language acquisition, literacy, and mathematics, as well as the development of social, physical, and emotional skills (NAEYC, 2009; OME, 2014). Wallerstedt and Pramling (2012) argued that play and learning are interrelated and inseparable in children’s early development. In line with Wallerstedt and Pramling’s (2012) argument, Ashiabi (2007) highlighted that play facilitates children’s learning by allowing them to accumulate and extend their prior knowledge and skills in an interactive and engaging context. Bergen and Mauer (2000) noted that children learn advanced language skills by engaging in pretend play scenarios in which they take on roles, negotiate, and create the direction of play. A wealth of studies has noted that embedding literacy material in play contexts contributes to children’s increased engagement with these materials and the practice of literacy skills, oral language, and narrative ability (e.g., Justice & Pullen, 2003; Lonie, 2010; Nicholson et al., 2008; Paquette & Rieg, 2008a, b; Stone & Christie, 1996). Previous studies further suggest that adult-directed play is overall more effective than direct instruction in early learning (Han et al., 2010; Stipek et al., 1995). With adults’ guidance and scaffolded learning objectives, PBL has been

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demonstrated to positively correlate with children’s reading and math performance (Marcon, 2002). In addition to the academic benefits and outcomes of PBL, scholarship has identified the connection between play and socio-emotional development in children’s early years, which is critical for their later social and academic success. Specifically, research has shown that through various PBL pedagogies, engagement in pretend play offers learners agency in decision-making (Hall & Robinson, 2000); impacts metacognitive and self-regulatory skills like problem-solving (Whitebread et al., 2009); enhances the development of socio-emotional skills, particularly when self-directed speech serves as a mediating variable (Berk & Meyers, 2013); advances concept formation (Fleer & Hedegaard, 2010); and enhances social skills and classroom experience (Barnett et al., 2008). A recent study revealed that a collaborative culture may facilitate various aspects of children’s development through the mediation of teachers’ enactment of play pedagogy in a general education setting and cooperation with other stakeholders (e.g., family) (Keung & Cheung, 2019). Dilemmas of Play: Tensions Between Academic and Developmental Perspectives This book argues that the dilemmas and contemporary controversies of play are largely rooted in the elusive conceptualization and definition of play. While scholars have strived to define the role and use of play in the early years, the abundance of definitional interpretations of play has been problematic both in theory and practice, creating tension between academic and developmental perspectives of learning and play, and it has contributed to debates on the value of PBL over the years. Avgitidou (2001) cautions that scholars and professionals should be skeptical of a common definition of play and pay careful attention to (i) who is defining play, (ii) under what procedures the definition has emerged, and (iii) which structural or functional elements of play are highlighted in the definition and rationale. Considering the outcomes of the different pedagogical approaches (e.g., transmission approach, free play, adult-guided play) currently applied in kindergarten classrooms, teachers often must negotiate or choose between guiding children’s learning and allowing children to play independently. Play is often viewed as a child-directed practice that is not associated with formal learning, whereas learning is a teacher-directed practice and,

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therefore, often perceived to be of a higher priority in classroom settings (Wood, 2010). Nevertheless, some scholars argue that greater direct instruction and more teacher-directed practices are not developmentally appropriate for children. Despite global education policy mandating the use of a play-based pedagogical approach, the schoolification of early childhood education and an (over)emphasis on academic development prevails in many parts of the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Asian countries. In accordance with the OECD’s report Staring Strong 2017 , kindergarten curricula are increasingly more aligned with primary education and acquiring academic knowledge is often promoted at the expense of playful exploration (Fisher et al., 2008). This overemphasis on academic skills and underemphasis on play may threaten the time and resources allocated to play (Hewes, 2006; Van der Aalsvoort et al., 2015), resulting in a shift from child-directed unstructured play to adult-led structured activities (Fisher et al., 2008). These dilemmas may be attributed to the lack of practical definitions and conceptualizations of play in early years. Of the different conceptualizations of play, free play and adult-guided play have increasingly dominated the focus of current research in early childhood education. Free play is frequently considered child-directed, voluntary, and flexible (Holt et al., 2015). Free play often involves sociodramatic play (i.e., “pretend play”) in which children take on different roles in pretend situations (Lindqvist, 2001), and it has often been seen as an exclusively child-directed sub-category of free play (Bergen, 2002; Miller & Almon, 2009). In particular, Vygotsky (1978) connects pretend play to children’s self-regulation development. In pretend play, children’s private speech or self-talk become a self-regulatory tool through which they shift from external regulation (e.g., parents or teachers) to selfregulation. Shanker (2013) highlights that as children integrate language that they have heard into their own private speech, they activate complex cognitive processes like attention, memory, planning, and self-direction. Pascal (2009) suggests that pretend play increases children’s potential to learn as they engage with the people and resources in their environment. Nonetheless, researchers have challenged the vague conceptualization of free play as child-directed because they claim that free play is highly correlated with children’s previous experiences (Wallerstedt & Pramling, 2012), and children’s motivation and interest are introduced by adults rather than arising from innate tendencies (Brooker, 2011). Adultguided play encompasses both direct instruction and free play (Fisher

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et al., 2013), whereas children are the emphasis and locus of control in child-directed practices (Weisberg et al., 2013). Children direct their learning within a play setting, whereas teachers enhance the experience and learning outcomes by playing the role of commenters, co-players, questioners, demonstrators, and facilitators (Fisher et al., 2013; Tsao, 2008). Recent debates on early years’ pedagogy discuss the challenges faced by teachers in light of tensions between academic and developmental perspectives on learning and play over the years, particularly regarding the choice between teaching academic content through a teacher-guided approach or allowing children to learn through engaging in child-directed play. As Vygotsky and Cole (1978) maintained, play “contains all developmental tendencies in a condensed form and is itself a major source of development” (p. 102). Much of the empirical evidence suggests that child-directed and teacher-directed play are two distinct constructs that lead to different learning and developmental outcomes. Researchers have pointed out that child-directed play is beneficial to socio-emotional development (Ashiabi, 2007; Berk & Meyers, 2013), whereas teacherdirected play is beneficial to the development of academic competencies (Tsao, 2008). Despite the skepticism and critical eye of some scholars and professionals concerning the value of PBL, adult-guided play has been widely endorsed as a balanced educational practice that supports children’s cognitive, emotional, and social development in an engaging, pleasurable, and creative play context (Pyle & Danniels, 2017). This chapter thus far has highlighted the problematic nature of defining play and its benefits as a vehicle for children’s academic and socioemotional development; it is also important for the researchers and practitioners to note its limitations. For example, some standardized tests of the formal education mechanism may privilege direct instruction and memorization of facts over exploratory play exercises, leading parents to resist play. While the literature has examined the ways in which teachers and scholars have conceptualized play, to date, studies of parents’ conceptions of and views on PBL are limited. The idea that parents are important partners in children’s learning forms a large part of the foundation of many early childhood scholars’ and professionals’ philosophical positions. Of those studies that concern parents’ attitudes to play, many researchers have indicated the complexity of the relationship between early childhood teachers and parents, highlighting the conflicting understandings of PBL. For example, Dockett (2011) noted that parents’ attitudes to

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play constitute a tremendous barrier to the implementation of play in early childhood education provision. On the other hand, O’Gorman and Ailwood’s (2012) study has revealed parents’ positive views of play, including that it is implicitly linked to learning, children engage in handson activities, and it prepares children for primary school through a strong focus on academic enrichment. Ultimately, it is of crucial importance for early childhood teachers to educate, convince, and communicate with parents about the attributes, functions, and value of PBL in early years.

Cultural Complexities of and Contextual Perspectives on PBL International Studies of PBL Culture and context are integral to the understanding of how play is conceptualized, valued, expressed, and adopted as a pedagogical approach in early childhood education globally. My analysis in this section points toward the cultural complexity of defining, conceptualizing, and implementing play, revealing cultural diversity within the global early childhood education community. Evidence-based research on the benefits of PBL has led to policy formulation and its mandated adoption in many places, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Turkey, Cyprus, Italy, Estonia, Spain, the United States, Greece, Germany, and Hong Kong (Faas et al., 2017; Rentzou et al., 2019). Table 2.1 provides details concerning global policies of and perspectives on PBL in early childhood curricula. In particular, Western European countries and the UK are encountering increasing pressure to formalize a play-based curriculum because of the increasing prevalence of education policy based on PBL. Subsequently, study of play and learning, self-regulation, and associated pedagogical practices for improved child outcomes have become the major research focus in the region (Fleer & Oers, 2018). Roopnarine and Krishnakumar (2015) suggest that despite children’s play reflecting the unique traditions and norms of their culture and society, common themes do exist. While different cultures do share some philosophical understanding and practices, it is crucial to identify and consider the cultural foundations of play as these are highly associated with the conceptualization and implementation about play. Researchers have maintained that though play is a universal activity, it has culturally specific manifestations and conceptions. For example, Roopnarine (2012)

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Table 2.1 The status of play in global early childhood curricula Country

Play and early childhood education and care curricula

Germany

In Germany, play is regarded as an activity without any specific goal, and most definitely, it should not be a tool to accomplish goals set by adults (Senate Department for Education, Youth and Family, 2004, 2022). Hence, free play should be based on a situation-oriented approach in which children can acquire competencies that will help them to meet current and future situations. There has been concern that the position of play in curricular plans may be threatened by the emphasis on academic skills (Scholz, 2017) In Canada, it is stressed that PBL should adopt the inquiry approach, in which educators ask questions that enable students to conduct investigations, make sense of information, and exercise their natural curiosity (The Ontarios Public Service, 2016). Play is recognized as a child’s right, and it is essential to the child’s optimal development. Play is a vehicle for learning and rests at the core of innovation and creativity (The Ontarios Public Service, 2016). Play and academic work are not distinct categories for young children and learning and doing are also inextricably linked for them The 2017 law, which covers six learning areas, is based on the principle that children’s free play must be given space in everyday practices, thus emphasizing children’s entitlement to a childhood in its own right. In order to achieve a “competition society,” (Winther-Lindqvist, 2017) the law was changed, reflecting widespread criticism from professionals and parents that children should not be pushed into academic learning too early (Kragh-Müller, 2017) The Preschool framework (MoNE, 2013) places great emphasis on children’s play. Children are described as “play experts” (MoNE, 2013, p. 47) and play is described as children’s work and language (MoNE, 2013). Play has a twofold aim: (i) to learn skills and (ii) to meet children’s needs. Three types of play are mentioned in the official framework: free play, semi-structured play activities (creative play), and structured play activities (traditional games with rules) (Aras, 2016). Play is subtly woven into the curriculum as a way of promoting learning (Ivrendi & I¸sıko˘glu Erdogan, 2015). The role of the teacher has become one of supporting children’s play by providing appropriate play areas, materials, and opportunities for children to play and learn (Ivrendi & I¸sıko˘glu Erdogan, 2015) Child development and outcomes assessments of children in Italy is not officially regulated. However, when child development is monitored, it generally focuses on a broad set of holistic skills including creativity, literacy and numeracy, science, socio-emotional skills, motor and health development, and autonomy (OECD, 2017; Scuola Italiana di Portland, 2019). Play and language are viewed as the main vehicles for learning and development, and Italian children learn by doing in an informal setting in which communication and verbal exchange are encouraged in order to enhance whole child development. (Cassibba et al., 2000)

Canada

Denmark

Turkey

Italy

(continued)

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Table 2.1 (continued) Country

Play and early childhood education and care curricula

Spain

Play-based activities are one of the cornerstones of Spain’s early childhood education curriculum. It is acknowledged that play can enhance children’ self-esteem and social integration and that through play, children enjoy and develop relationship with others (Ministry of Education and Science, 2007) Play has a secondary role to academics; the primary approach to learning is purposeful play (New York State Educational Department, 2019). Although PBL is still valued and children spend time playing, play is being fostered with specific learning outcomes focused on preparing children for school and less so on children playing solely for its own sake; play allows children to develop their physical, social, emotional, and cognitive skills, which are critical to school success, at their own pace (Elkind, 2007). Four types of play are emphasized and associated with different skill areas: (i) functional or sensorimotor; (ii) sociodramatic, imaginative, or pretend; (iii) constructive; and (iv) games with rules In Greek kindergartens, play is acknowledged as one of the most important learning contexts (Gasparatou & Kampeza, 2012; Sakellariou & Banou, 2020, 2022). According to the Greek Kindergarten Curriculum, outdoor preschool environments are deemed as places of education, training and playing while structured or free plays help children learn, develop, form their personality, interact with peers, adults and environment, confront problems, freely express themselves and experiment on the settings’ materials (Institute of Educational Policy, 2014) In Hong Kong’s official curriculum guide, “learning through play” is positioned as the central pedagogy: Play is an indispensable and important tool for facilitating children’s learning (CDC, 2017). The fundamental principle of play is to stimulate thinking and enable children to express themselves freely. Officially, teachers play five roles during play: provider, observer, participant, intervener, and inspirer (CDC, 2017). Free exploration in play is emphasized in the official early childhood curriculum, which states that free play should involve free-choice activities within a scheduled time frame (Wong et al., 2011)

USA

Greece

Hong Kong

Source Author

highlights that “although accepted as universal, the expression of different forms of play and their meanings are tied to the cultural beliefs and practices that are evident/not so evident in specific ecological settings” (p. 228). Further, Roopnarine et al. (1994) contends that “play is an expression of a particular culture [and] an important context or vehicle for cultural learning/transmission” (p. 5). Given the complexities and abundance of definitions of play that are discussed in this chapter, Hyder

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(2004) suggests that the definitions, theoretical implications, and categorization of play should “resonate with the wider cultural and political themes” (p. 14). Further, research has also revealed cultural differences between parents concerning beliefs and practices associated with play, which subsequently impacts parent–child play (Hyder, 2004). Additionally, research has also demonstrated that the ways that play is implemented differs not only between cultures but also between social environments, districts, schools, and even classrooms. Roopnarine (2012) noted that “internal working models about the role of play in childhood development can influence the structuring of social and cognitive experiences for children, and beliefs about the benefits of play may moderate and/or mediate the influence of play activities on children development” (p. 229). Early Childhood Education Globally: Cross-Cultural Studies of Play Studies have also shown the diversity between Western and non-Western practice in early childhood education. While Asian-heritage families value academic training and devote a great deal of time to academic activities with their children, European heritage families act as play partners with their children (Parmar et al., 2004). As pointed out by Fleer and Veresov (2018), Asian heritage families prefer to engage in pretend play with their children, whereas European families participated in constructive play. Cross-cultural analytic studies have identified that early childhood settings in the southern hemisphere are increasingly becoming more academic because of the pressure on teachers to raise academic standards. For example, in Hong Kong’s play-based programs, children engage in tightly packed teacher-directed activities and subsequently have little time to play with other children in interest corners (Fleer & Veresov, 2018). Wong (2002) conducted a study in which the content and teaching approaches of music classes in Hong Kong and Vancouver were compared by studying 10 cases in each country. The cases in Vancouver revealed play-based, child-centered approaches, with teachers encouraging children’s love for music and creativity. The Hong Kong cases, however, revealed success-oriented, teacher-centered approaches, with knowledge and skill mastery being emphasized by teachers. This may be explained by Canada’s longstanding, consistent, and well-implemented education policy promoting PBL in the early years; the Canadian government has clearly positioned play as an integral part of children’s learning landscape.

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The curricula for kindergartens in four major Canadian provinces direct teachers to “promote high quality, age-appropriate, play-based learning experiences” (Saskatchewan Ministry of Education, 2008, p. 1); “embed intentional opportunities for learning in the physical environment and play activities” (OME, 2010, p. 7); “design play-based, developmentally appropriate interactions, relationships, environments and experiences” (Manitoba Education, 2011, p. 1); and “provide support, space and resources for inquiry, play and imagination” (Alberta Education, 2014, p. 69). Additionally, Faas et al.’s (2017) study uncovered significant variations between German and Hong Kong teachers’ and parents’ concepts of play. The findings of the study indicated that for the Hong Kong participants, the focus of play was on the learning in group settings, whereas only individual activities or activities in small group settings based on the children’s aims and psychic needs were evident in Germany. Kayama and Haight’s (2013) ethnographic research in Japan indicated that there is “respect for children’s autonomy, competence, and basic goodness” (p. 302). Cheung’s (2018) study revealed that during PBL, children in Hong Kong exhibited more creative thinking with a teacher-guided approach than with a hands-off approach, which indicates the significance of cultural appropriateness in implementing the approach. The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement compared early childhood school experiences across the world (Weikart et al., 2003), revealing that young children in Hong Kong mostly engaged in “academic” activities such as writing English letters and Chinese characters and completing math exercises. Edward (2000) investigated children’s play behaviors in six cultures (Kenya, Mexico, the Philippines, Okinawa, India, and the United States) and revealed cultural differences between these contexts. For example, in Kenya, children mainly played within mixed-age kinship groups and integrated their play with work-related activities; in Mexico, children preferred role-play and construction games, but they also actively engaged in simple rule games like tag; and in the Philippines, older children engaged younger children in learning games that introduce rules. Rentzou et al. (2019) conducted a comparative research study exploring the links between PBL and cultures, focusing on definitions and use of play. The findings revealed both similarities and differences in the conceptualization and implementation of PBL across cultures, suggesting

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universal characteristics of play: “‘play supports social/emotional development,’ ‘play as learning,’ ‘play as fun,’ ‘play as creativity,’ ‘play as an opportunity to explore the world,’ and ‘voluntary’” (p. 10). Nonuniversal characteristics include the following: “‘no external goals,’ ‘play as a physical activity,’ ‘rules,’ ‘fundamental,’ ‘play as children’s work,’ ‘play as a recreational activity,’ and ‘overall development’” (p. 10). Rentzou et al.’s (2019) cross-cultural study explored the conceptualization and implementation of play in different parts of the world, and even though inconsistencies in teachers’ self-reported conceptualizations and actual implementation of play were uncovered, the data support that conceptualizations of play are inseparably linked with the cultural-specific nature of play: • Danish early childhood educators consider it inappropriate to use play to attain specific academic goals, emphasizing the importance of play for the socio-emotional development of young children; • In Estonia, play is used relatively equally for fun and educational purposes, yet teachers largely spend more time on play for socioemotional development; • In Turkey, play is used relatively equally for fun and educational purposes, with children spending time equally on play for fun and educational goals; • In Italy, although emphasis is placed on how play supports socioemotional development and on the fun aspects of play, it is largely used for academic purposes; and • In the United States and Italy, play is extensively adopted to achieve academic goals. The literature suggests that cultural diversity not only exists among professionals when it comes to definitions and use of play in early childhood, but it also exerts an influence on parents’ understanding and conceptualizations of play. The notion that parents are pivotal partners in children’s learning forms a crucial basis for many early childhood educators’ philosophical positions. Research has revealed that different cultures perceive parental support for pretend play in different ways; for example, parental support is more valued in the United States, Turkey, and Taiwan than in Mexico and Italy (Haight & Cho, 2015). Marlowe (2005) reported that parent–child play in developing countries is less structured

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and may involve a wider engagement of family members (e.g., parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, and other relatives). Tobin and Kurban (2010) noted that early childhood teachers’ difficulties in communicating with the parents may be a “projection of problems onto immigrants” and a crossing of cultures. In the United States, Fogle and Mendez (2006) investigated African-American parents’ beliefs about play, revealing that the parents held positive attitude toward play and valued its significance. Parmar et al. (2004) compared the ways in which European-American and Asian-American parents valued play, noting that Asian parents preferred academic learning over play-based engagement. Windisch et al. (2003) explored indigenous Australian parents’ attitudes to play and noted that parents placed a high priority on play, particularly play engagement that featured indigenous content. The above examination and analysis outlines the implicit and explicit beliefs about play in children’s early years across different cultures. Conceptualizations of play are culture-specific and inseparably associated with the status of play in that culture. Research suggests that an “ethos of play” is prevalent in some countries but that schoolification prevails in others, resulting in contradictory attitudes toward play (Rentzou et al., 2019). Additionally, early childhood practitioners struggle to achieve an appropriate role for play in diverse early childhood contexts. To date, there have been few systematic studies of cultural perspectives on play in early childhood. Hence, there is a need for further comparative and crosscultural study investigating children’s, teachers’, and parents’ beliefs and conceptualizations of play to complete the puzzle of what play is and how it should be implemented. As Izumi-Taylor et al. (2010) argue (citing Pramling Samuelsson & Fleer, 2008), “Scholars and practitioners in early childhood education have much to learn about play from colleagues in different cultures; such knowledge could be valuable for multicultural communities” (pp. 8–9).

Synergy Between Inquiry-Based Learning and Play-Based Pedagogy: Ontario, Canada Scholars have asserted that the synergy between play-based pedagogy and inquiry-based learning provides the ideal platform for a range of areas in the early years (Marian & Jackson, 2017). In particular, young children often develop social and communication skills through exploration, investigation, questioning, prediction, negotiation, discussion, reasoning,

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and problem-solving, which are strongly linked to science-based process (Fellowes & Oakley, 2010). Jurrow and Creighton (2005) argue that through active exploration during play, children develop knowledge of scientific concepts and the ability to form hypotheses and theories and to generate rationales, which are the building blocks of domain specific knowledge. Throughout the inquiry-based learning, early childhood teachers play a critical role through active interactions and constant engagement with children in a creative collaboration in order to co-construct experience, thinking, and learning. Pacini-Ketchabaw et al. (2009) captured this phenomenon: we must abandon our idea of a static, knowable educator and move on to a view of an educator in a state of constant change and becoming. The role of the educator shifts from a communicator of knowledge to a listener, provocateur, documenter, and negotiator of meaning. (p. 103)

As teachers collaborate with children throughout the process of inquiry learning, including formulating questions, selecting materials, stimulating creativity, solving problems, and documenting learning, teachers should intentionally and purposefully listen, observe, document, analyze documents, make connections to overall expectations, and provide feedback through questions and prompts that effectively extend thinking and learning (OME, 2016). The Canadian Council on Learning’s4 (2006) policy documents emphasize that “[p]lay nourishes every aspect of children’s development. […] Play develops the foundation of intellectual, social, physical, and emotional skills necessary for success in school and life” (p. 2). In Ontario,5 Canada’s most populous province, the Ontario Ministry

4 The Canadian Council on Learning (CCL) is an independent and non-profit organization that promotes and supports research to improve all aspects of learning—across the country and across all walks of life. Funded by Human Resources and Social Development Canada, CCL was established in 2004 following a series of nationwide consultations on innovation. 5 Located in Central Canada, the population of Ontario comprises nearly 40% of Canada’s population. After Quebec, it is the second-largest province. Ontario is Canada’s fourth-largest jurisdiction when the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are included. Toronto is Ontario’s provincial capital.

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of Education6 has strictly mandated the use of PBL in the early years, specifically emphasizing the synergy between play-based pedagogy and inquiry-based learning. The following “Statement on Play-Based Learning” demonstrates how play has been positioned and is valued by the Ontario Ministry of Education (2016): The benefits of play are recognized by the scientific community. There is now evidence that neural pathways in children’s brains are influenced by and advanced in their development through the exploration, thinking skills, problem solving, and language expression that occur during play. Research also demonstrates that play-based learning leads to greater social, emotional, and academic success. Based on such evidence, ministers of education endorse a sustainable pedagogy for the future that does not separate play from learning but brings them together to promote creativity in future generations. In fact, play is considered so essential to healthy development that the United Nations has recognized it as a specific right for all children. […] Given the evidence, the CMEC believes in the intrinsic value and importance of play and its relationship to learning. Educators should intentionally plan and create challenging, dynamic, play-based learning opportunities. Intentional teaching is the opposite of teaching by rote or continuing with traditions simply because things have always been done that way. Intentional teaching involves educators’ being deliberate and purposeful in creating play-based learning environments—because when children are playing, children are learning. (p. 19)

Ontario Ministry of Education (2016) policy explicitly states that through its focus on an inquiry approach, the kindergarten program should enhance the development of higher-order thinking skills by capitalizing on children’s natural curiosity and inquisitiveness, their innate sense of wonder and awe, and their desire to make sense of their environment. The inquiry approach is a mindset of questioning and wondering that supports children’s learning as they exercise their natural curiosity (OME, 2011). It is not limited to a subject area or topic, a project, or a particular time of day, but it is a habit of mind that permeates all thinking and learning throughout their daily lives. As noted in the curriculum 6 The Ontario Ministry of Education oversees Ontario’s publicly funded education system, as well as the child care and early years system. It aims to help children and students develop skills to learn, grow, and reach their full potential. The ministry puts children on a path for life-long learning, aiming to contribute to a prosperous Ontario.

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policy document of the Ontario curriculum, an inquiry approach should be at the heart of learning in all subject areas, by which the educators use their professional knowledge, skills, and creativity to co-construct learning through inquiry with the children. Table 2.2 maps out the inquiry process and interactions between learning behaviors, child engagement, and educators’ interventions. The Ontario Ministry of Education’s emphasis on the inquiry approach in the early years has led to the gradual abandonment of the themebased or unit planning approach which, in the last couple decades, has been widely adopted not only in Ontario but also across the globe. Traditional theme-based or unit planning models required educators to Table 2.2 Inquiry process in the kindergarten classroom Elements of children’s inquiry process

When children are engaged in the inquiry process, they

Initial engagement Noticing, wondering, playing Exploration Exploring, observing, questioning

• Raise questions about • Observe and listen objects and events around them • Explore objects and events • Act as co-learners with around them and observe the children, posing the results of their thoughtful, open-ended explorations questions • Make observations, using all • encourage children to of their senses, and observe and talk among generate questions themselves and to the educators • Gather, compare, sort, • Provide a rich variety of classify, order, interpret, materials and resources describe observable and strategically characteristics and question and observe properties, notice patterns, children to discover, and draw conclusions, using clarify, and expand on a variety of simple tools and the children’s thinking materials • Model how to plan, observe, and reflect • Work individually and with • Listen to the children to others, share and discuss help them make ideas, and listen to ideas connections between what they know and new discoveries

Investigation Planning, using observing, reflecting

Communication Sharing findings, discussing ideas

Source Ontario Ministry of Education (2016, p. 23)

When educators are modeling or supporting the inquiry process, they

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develop “themes” or teaching units alongside a series of lesson plans with objectives or learning outcomes, curriculum learning expectations, and teaching materials. Kindergartens usually change themes on a regular basis, as they are related to students’ daily lives or to seasonal events, and the teachers prepare the relevant teaching resources to support the activities designed according to a theme. While some teachers have found this approach appealing because it was highly manageable and convenient, some researchers have argued that models based on adults’ perceptions of children’s interests and learning have a negative effect on children’s engagement (Edwards et al., 1998; Wells, 2001). An experienced early childhood educator in Ontario reflected on this issue and expressed her reservation concerning the traditional theme-based model: At a recent professional learning session, I began to feel uncomfortable about how closely one of the planning models we were asked to critique aligned with the plans I had been using for several years. As our group began to reflect, we wondered if the way we had always planned made sense from the children’s point of view. I reflected that I had often felt somewhat limited by plans that were based on the monthly calendar. I had always assumed that the children were interested in the monthly topics I had chosen—but had I ever asked them what they were interested in? And were they really able to think deeply and concretely about topics outside their direct experience, such as polar bears and the rainforest? (OME, 2016, p. 26)

Musical Practices in PBL Scholarship is increasingly identifying and highlighting the significant value of musical play in the development of children’s musicality (Gluschankof, 2002; Littleton, 1998; Morin, 2001; Niland, 2009; ScottKassner, 1999; Smithrim, 1997). Littleton (1998) observed children’s musical play and identified five different types: functional, cooperative, constructive, kinesthetic, and games with rules. Playing of musical instruments, creative dance, exploration of sound, spontaneous singing, music drama, ensemble, and improvisation all evince that music is a natural part of children’s play (Niland, 2009). Scholars have suggested through their observational studies that children’s musical play is distinct from the adult world of music making (Barrett, 2006; Campbell, 2010; Gluschankof, 2002; Young, 2008). Studies have also highlighted that musical play provides various long-term non-musical benefits for children,

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such as phonological, emotional, and cognitive development (Campbell & Scott-Kassner, 2009; Niland, 2009; Perani, 2012; Suthers, 2001; Trainor et al., 2003; Vygotsky, 1978). Numerous studies have provided evidence that children’s engagement in musical play stimulates children to think, create, construct knowledge, and gain self-confidence (Campbell & Scott-Kassner, 2009; Niland, 2009). There has long been a philosophical debate about how to strike a balance between musical skill development and creativity in children’s play (Abbs, 2003). Niland (2009) suggested that some creative music pedagogical approaches might also contribute to children’s development of musical understanding and skills. For example, the Kodály approach uses singing games in children’s social context as a foundation for contextual musical literacy, whereas the Orff approach uses body percussion as a foundation for developing children’s rhythmic understanding. The Dalcroze approach advocates the concept of eurhythmics, in which children internalize a wide range of musical elements through purposeful movements. In music classrooms with such joyous, interactive, and engaging dynamics, children are actively engaged, learn, and experience various musical elements by exploring, moving, and singing rather than just playing a passive and “silent” role in the classroom. Importantly, children are able to learn a wide range of musical skills and knowledge (e.g., tonality, rhythmic patterns, graduation of tone, timbre) through play-based pedagogies such as the creative use of Kodály’s rhythmic syllables, Orff’s ensemble activities, and Dalcroze’s eurhythmics. The foundation, philosophical stance, and pedagogical applications of some of the approaches above will be discussed in the following section. While play-based and creative pedagogy have numerous benefits for children’s learning, it is also important for educators to note their limitations. The implementation of a developmentally appropriate play-based pedagogy requires skill, an appropriate attitude, and relevant knowledge, as well as a high level of creativity. Furthermore, children may not be learning the concrete knowledge their parents expect them to learn in a traditional sense, such as music theory or musical performance technique. As such, the use of such pedagogy may make it challenging for teachers to educate and convince parents. In this regard, music teacher education plays a vital role in helping teachers to successfully adopt play-based pedagogy. Ultimately, despite widespread endorsement of learning through play in current early childhood education research and given the inadequate

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pre-service training in music for generalists in different parts of the world, early childhood teachers face considerable challenges to gaining professional knowledge of the subject (e.g., music and teaching skills) and acquiring an understanding of how to integrate music into early childhood education. The challenges of generalist teachers’ teaching music to kindergarteners using a play-based approach are unpacked in the studies presented in this book. Prevalent Western Play-Based Models of Music Education in the Twenty-First Century: Dalcroze Eurhythmics, Orff Schulwerk and the Kodály Method There are numerous different pedagogical strategies and approaches of teaching music to young children. Of these instructional approaches used in music classes for children, many are renowned and have stood the test of time and experience. Three of the best-known pedagogies: Dalcroze eurhythmics, Orff Schulwerk, and the Kodály approach, embrace substantial play elements in the pedagogical practice of music education, and will be discussed in this section. It is critical for the teachers to get familiarized with a variety of different pedagogies and integrate into the early childhood curriculum and adopt the most suitable strategies in different early childhood contexts in developmentally appropriate manners. Dalcroze Eurhythmics Movement in itself is a language in which man’s highest and most fundamental inspiration is expressed.—Jaques-Dalcroze

“Movement with a mission” is a common description of the Dalcroze approach (Campbell & Scott-Kassner, 2006). The Dalcroze approach is three-pronged: a unique and well-known form of rhythmic movement called eurhythmics, ear training (solfege and solfege-rhythmique), and improvisation. The founder of the Dalcroze approach was JaquesDalcroze (1865–1950). Dalcroze was a Swiss musician who served as a professor at the Geneva Conservatory of Music.7 An experienced instrumental teacher, Dalcroze found that it was very difficult for children to 7 Geneva Conservatory of Music is Switzerland’s oldest conservatory, and it was founded in 1835.

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understand musical concepts and elements like staccato versus legato and high versus low through verbal and theoretical explanations. Through experimentation, he found that if the music students began learning different musical concepts through body movements, they understood the concepts in a more concrete way, and thereafter, their performance skills were enhanced. It was Dalcroze’s belief that people are musical when they possess an ensemble of physical and spiritual resources and capacities encompassing the ear, brain, and body (Dalcroze, 1967). Ear training is also a significant component of the Dalcroze approach. Children are taught to understand tones and semitones and their relationships with scales, melodies, and songs. The fixed-do system is adopted by most Dalcroze teachers as Dalcroze believed that the use of the fixed-do system would foster the development of absolute pitch in young children. Furthermore, the Dalcroze approach is often accompanied by hand gestures that show the position of the pitch in space. Improvisation is the third component of the Dalcroze approach and it opens up children to a freedom of expression through movement, rhythmic speech, or instrumental playing (Dalcroze, 1967). Through a variety of experiences in Eurhythmics and ear training, Dalcroze believed that children would eventually build a wide repertory of movement and musical ideas on which they could draw for improvisation. Story is undoubtedly among the most prominent themes across all types of play, and children intrinsically respond to stories with enthusiasm and a desire to act them out. In the Dalcroze approach, teachers tell stories using movements that they improvise to accompany the stories, which motivates children to pay attention to the musical details and to move expressively. Teachers must choose stories with care in order to provide children with the optimal musical experience. The story should invite a variety of movement qualities such as quick, slow, sliding, heavy, plodding, falling, rising, and fluttering. The accompanying music should motivate children’s musical response and expression through body movements. Unquestionably, teachers’ performance technique and improvisational capabilities play a pivotal role in determining the outcomes of this Dalcroze activity as teachers must be competent at storytelling through musical performance and improvisation. The section below exemplifies the musical play that accompanies a story and to which the children respond to teacher’s improvisation, which is usually on the piano, with body movements (Mead, 1994):

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• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Let’s go for a walk. (Insert walking music) It’s such a wonderful day. Look up at those beautiful leaves. (High, fluttering ) But look at all these that have fallen. (Falling, fluttering ) Swish, swish. (Brush hands across black keys, middle register) Let’s go through that pile of leaves. (More excited sound) I like to jump in piles of leaves. (Accented chords for jumping ) Toss them high in the air. (Quick arpeggios, low to high) Wait! (Silence, then, one soft, staccato sound) Do I feel a raindrop? (Then another, and another) Yes, it’s raining. (Many soft, falling staccato sounds ) And it’s beginning to rain harder. (Continue, faster) We’d better go back. Oops! The walk is muddy. (Pedal: thicker and heavier chords ) I’m sliding. (Short glissando) Uh oh! My feet are sticking in the mud. (Settle on one slow, thick, and heavy repeated chord)

Orff Method Since the beginning of time, children have not liked to study. They would much rather play, and if you have their interests at heart, you will let them learn while they play; they will find that what they have mastered is child’s play.—Carl Orff

The Orff method, also known as the Orff approach or Orff Schulwerk, is a developmental approach to music education that aims to enrich the imagination by accelerating children’s psychological activities through musical participation. The Orff method is named for the German composer Carl Orff (1895–1982), whose ideas about music teaching serve as its foundations. The Orff approach is grounded in Orff’s experimentation with musicians and dancers in the 1920s, and so, it strongly associates music with dance and theater. Orff began introducing his approach in music education through collaboration with Dorothee Günther8 in 1924 at the Günther School9 in Munich, where Orff was 8 Günther was a gymnastics teacher, graphic artist, and author. 9 The Günther School in Munich was a training center for gymnastics and dance

founded by Carl Orff, in cooperation with Dorothee Günther.

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himself an educator. The Günther School gained tremendous national and international success, and the success of the school continued until its destruction during the World War II. Nonetheless, the Orff method gained much attention and became increasingly popular in 1948, when Orff and friends presented a series of broadcasts on Bavarian Radio. Orff set out with the music educator Gunild Keetman10 to restore the spirit of integrated music and movement through radio broadcasts, with an emphasis on children’s music education. Rhythm is at the heart of the Orff method. According to Warner (1991), “Orff began with rhythm as the basic element inherent in music, dance, and speech, combining and unifying them into one language” (p. 3). The core of the Orff approach is what is commonly known as “elemental music,” which suggests that the arts should be integrated and that music learning should be interconnected with, for example, dance, drama, and literature. Orff explicitly expressed his ideas about elemental music through a speech in 1962: It is music that one makes oneself, in which one takes part not as a listener, but as a participant. It is unsophisticated, employs no big forms and no big architectural structures, and it uses small sequence forms, ostinato and rondo. Elemental music is near the earth, natural, physical, within the range of everyone to learn it and experience it and suitable for the child.

According to the Orff scholar Konnie K. Saliba, “Orff Schulwerk11 can be defined as a pedagogy to organize elements of music for children through speaking, singing, playing and dancing. Carl Orff described his approach as an ‘idea’ and ‘wild flower’, conveying the thought that through nurturing, a wildflower will flourish yet maintains its identity” (Saliba, 1991, p. vii). Percussion and recorders are the key musical instruments in and vital elements of Orff’s approach to music education. Given the simplicity of pitched percussion instruments (later labeled “Orff instruments”), Orff decided to use them to facilitate improvisation (Cary, 2012). One of the major aims of the Orff method is to foster creativity through improvisational experiences. Also, as there were very few musical instruments 10 Gunild Keetman (1904–1990) was a composer, performer, and educator who played a pivotal role in the development and advocacy of Orff Schulwerk. 11 This is the original German name given to the method by Carl Orff.

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accessible to German children in the early twentieth century, Orff began by exploring recorders, which were rare at the time. Dorothee Günther published method books to facilitate children’s learning the recorder. Further, Orff purposefully developed methods for transforming the xylophone into a musical instrument that children could play at school. These instruments and their features are shown in Table 2.3. In addition to the musical instruments discussed above, Orff has explicitly stressed the importance of creative movements and rhythmic training Table 2.3 Orff instruments

Barred instruments

Instruments

Major features

Xylophone

Produces the mellow, dry sound of wood; of African descent; bass, alto and soprano Produces the mellow, lingering, wet sound of metal; of Indonesian descent; bass, alto, and soprano Produces the sharp, bell-like, crisp sound of metal; of German descent; alto and soprano Soprano in F, soprano in C, alto in F, tenor in C, bass in F

Metallophones

Glockenspiel

Pitched instruments

Recorder

Drums and other percussion instruments

Drum, bass drum, conga drum, bongo drum, snare drum, hand drum, tambourine, timpani, tom-toms Wood block, clave, slit drum, guiro, temple blocks, maracas, wood rattles Crashing cymbals, hanging cymbals, finger cymbals, cowbells, sleighbells, wrist and ankle bells, triangles, metal rattles, wind chimes Double bass, guitar, cello

Woods

Metals

Strings Source Author

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in early childhood music education by stating the following (quoted in Choksy, 2001): I was well aware that rhythmic training should start in early childhood. The unity of music and movement that young children in Germany have to be taught so laboriously is quite natural to a child. It was also clear to me what “Schulwerk” had so far lacked; apart from a start, in the Güntherschule we had not allowed the word or singing voice its fully rightful place. The natural starting point for work with children is the children’s rhyme, the whole riches of the old, appropriate children’s songs. The recognition of this fact gave me the key for the new educational work. (p. 106)

The process of teaching music involves four stages in the Orff method: imitation, exploration, improvisation, and composition. These four stages establish the fundamental building blocks for children to develop musical literacy. In many ways, they substantiate Bloom’s taxonomy12 (Armstrong, 2010), in that they move from a very basic skill set or level of learning to more complex tasks or higher level of learning, such as composition; this is represented in the upper phases of the taxonomy shown in Table 2.4. The four stages of the Orff process can be adopted and applied in the early childhood music classroom as follows: imitation, exploration, literacy, and improvisation. Imitation can occur in different musical activities, such as singing, playing instruments, and musical games. It may be simultaneous or canonic (echo-like or overlapping in a continuous canon). In particular, Orff believed that children were born musical and uninhibited in their expressive movements, and so, creative movement is also a crucial part of children’s engagement in this imitation stage. Exploration attempts to challenge children’s imaginations to find new ways to apply learned knowledge. For example, children have learned certain rhythmic patterns, and teachers may then ask them to clap or move to the rhythm at a faster or slower tempo. Literacy (competence at reading and writing music) is a development of children’s progress toward the use of both 12 Developed by Benjamin Bloom in 1956, Bloom’s Taxonomy is a hierarchical model

used for classification of educational learning outcomes into levels of complexity and specificity. The original sequence of cognitive domain was knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The framework was revised in 2001, and the most significant change to the cognitive domain was the removal of synthesis and the addition of creation as the highest level of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

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Table 2.4 Orff process’s building blocks and Bloom’s taxonomy Bloom’s Taxonomy

Orff Process (Application in Music Education)

Components

Remember

Imitation

Understand

Exploration

Apply

Improvisation

Create

Composition

Through imitation, this stage builds children’s repertoire of rhythms, pitches, meter, tempo, dynamics, and other musical elements. This stage forms a significant foundation for more complex musical tasks Children explore the movements, pitches, rhythms, meter, and the timbre of whatever instrument or voice to which they have access. Orff Instrumentation plays a vital role at this exploration stage After exploration and imitation, children should have developed, to varying extents, an understanding of the musical materials. At this stage, children apply the skills and knowledge they have developed with the possible combinations of rhythms and pitches, form and dynamics, etc., within a musical framework At this stage, children should have developed the analytic skills necessary for the musical materials that they are working with and should be sufficiently prepared for the composition stage, in which they create new pieces

Source Author

graphic and conventional staff notation. Improvisation is the ultimate stage of the Orff process; it is the culminating experience that demonstrates extensive musical knowledge and creative expression. In addition, the Orff process for young children is often complemented by the use of other musical features such as folk dance and ostinato patterns and accompaniment on xylophone or various other percussion instruments.

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The benefits of Orff method are evidenced by previous studies. For example, Yun and Kim (2013) conducted an experiment with 43 elementary school children in South Korea, the results of which demonstrated an increase in children’s self-expression, self-efficacy, and social skills after participating in game-like activities based on the Orff approach. Overall, the Orff approach has in many ways filled the gaps in traditional music education, which focuses largely on musical performance and theory. In particular, traditional music education often overlooks the importance of improvisation, which is essential to developing music literacy and fluency. Additionally, the extensive use of creative movement, which is rarely purposefully or meaningfully adopted in other pedagogical approaches, is another significant strength of the Orff method. Kodály Method Music teaching should be started in the kindergarten, so that the child can grasp the fundamentals of music at an early age.—Kodály

Like Carl Orff, Zoltán Kodály (1882–1967) is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential figures in music education in the twentieth century, and his pedagogical model is one of the most popular approaches in early childhood music education around the globe. Kodály was a composer, ethnomusicologist, and advocate of early childhood music education, but after 1925, he focused solely on music education for young children. Kodály’s ideas on pedagogy motivated generations of musicians and teachers to increase the music potential of their students. Two of his most famous slogans are “Music is for everyone” and “Children must learn to read music when they learn to read.” His educational ideas concerning singing, reading, rhythm, and folk songs crystallized in what is known as the Kodály approach. In particular, his method emphasizes ear training through listening, “Since every instrument imitates a singing tone, the child first has to hear how the tone should be formed on his instrument. This child will be a better performer if he can sing the structural material of the pieces he plays” (Daniel, 1968, pp. 20–24). Further, Kodály held that singing is the best way for children to learn music as the human voice is the most natural instrument, and therefore, singing is the most natural musical activity for children. He also insisted upon the use of authentic folk music for young children, believing that every child should learn how to write and read music in their mother

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tongue and emphasizing the significance of “one’s own national cultural roots as the basis for further cultural development” (Madden, 1983, p. 19). In addition to listening and singing, literacy is also a vital component of the Kodály method because it is only through literacy that musical culture can be achieved. By music literacy, Kodály means the ability to read, write, and comprehend music. The Kodály method consists of three major pedagogical tools. First is the use of tonic sol-fa. Kodály believed that the movable-do system was an effective way for children to gain an understanding of scales. Second is the use of rhythm duration syllables, also known as the Cheve system. The Cheve system of rhythmic mnemonics is a widely known technique for teaching young children rhythmic values in a playful manner. For example, the chanting of “ti-ti ta ta” to indicate a rhythmic pattern is an effective technique for achieving mastery of difficult rhythms regardless of a student’s level. Third is the use of hand signs, which was borrowed from Curwen’s approach to music education. With the Curwen technique each degree of a scale is assigned a hand sign. Kodály added to Curwen’s hand signs to facilitate students’ understanding of pitch. Challenges and Criticism The components, foundations, philosophy, and pedagogical methods of these approaches have been described. Ultimately, this book argues that there is no single pedagogical method for teaching music that meets the needs of all children or encompasses all aspects of music instruction. There have been many criticisms of the pedagogical approaches discussed in this section. One major controversy is that children who are taught using these models (i.e., Orff and Dalcroze approaches) are not as competent and competitive as children who received a traditional music education. People have questioned these children’s sight-reading abilities as they are introduced to a form of rote learning and do not look far enough into a piece of music. Another criticism of these pedagogical models is their overemphasis on singing or vocal development, which is undertaken at the cost of children’s opportunities to learn other musical instruments and other musical techniques. While the use of movement in teaching rhythm is an apparent strength of the Orff method, many practitioners have argued using singing and chanting to the same ends can be problematic. For example, though using lyrics to learn rhythms is natural to children, the lyrics chanted cannot easily be translated into notated

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rhythms. Further, despite the widespread adoption of the Kodály method around the world in the twentieth century, teachers have reported difficulties in applying the method because of its limitations. For example, Kodály’s movable do or tonal sol-fa may create barriers for teachers or students who adopt the fixed-do system, may confuse students who have perfect or absolute pitch, may not work well when modulating in sight-singing, and is not applicable to atonal pieces. Similarly, Dalcroze’s fixed-do system may create challenges for teachers or students who adopt the movable do or tonal sol-fa system. As illustrated in this section, despite discrepancies in intention, approach, and practice, these teaching models have some commonalities. The primary similarities applicable to early childhood music education are that they all believe that music education should begin at a young age and that music education should begin with the voice, which they view as the most natural and expressive musical instrument. I have published a series of books that focus on the pedagogical application of music in early childhood (Chung, 2011, 2013), in which a play-based approach is extensively adopted as the framework for curriculum design. Adopting the three above-mentioned methods as part of the curriculum requires children to take part in constructing their own learning experiences through imaginative and creative music making (e.g., improvisation, choreography, and musical games). Rather more traditional approaches like memorization and routinized exercises (e.g., repeating the same breathing exercises without clear objectives) were abandoned or minimized in this new curriculum. A study conducted by me (Chung, 2017) revealed that an overwhelming majority (92%) of the school teachers regarded this curriculum, with its playbased approach, as more effective at developing children’s enjoyment of learning and promoting their creativity than the “traditional transmission model,” which is often routinized and highly structured, largely involving breathing exercises, pitch practice, and memorization of information and various musical theories. Ultimately, despite existing limitations, the methodological approaches discussed in this section contribute to children’s musical development and offer an abundance of valuable, innovative perspectives to the music classroom. It is recommended that early childhood teachers utilize the best elements of each method in an eclectic approach to achieve various education outcomes. When the strengths of various methods, including Orff,

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Kodály, Dalcroze, and others, are combined, a solid and comprehensive music education results.

Interdisciplinary Play-Based Approach in Early Childhood Music Education: Exemplary Pedagogical Plans To prepare teachers for implementing PBL in early childhood music education, I developed pedagogical plans that exemplifies the use of playbased approaches in early childhood education. These plans have been adopted in the research study which will be reported in Chapter 4. The plans reference previous studies on play-based approaches as well as the goals and objectives of early childhood education stated in the Guide to the Pre-primary Curriculum (CDC, 2006): “enjoy the fun of different creative works through their senses and bodies; enhance their expression and powers of communication through imagination and association; express themselves through different media and materials; and develop creativity” (p. 35). Four major areas are included: (i) music and language; (ii) ensemble playing: singing, body percussion, and ostinato; (iii) hand signs and creative music activities; and (iv) choreography and the use of dance in music classrooms. Music and language. As discussed, a wide range of studies (HillClarke & Robinson, 2003; Paguette & Rieg, 2008a) have suggested the positive relationship between learning music and children’s language development. The purpose of this area of learning is to integrate the use of musical instruments into language arts instruction. The appropriate instruments include percussion instruments (both pitched and non-pitched), body percussion, and found sounds. The participants were taught how to (i) select a short poem or nursery rhyme suitable for children; (ii) use instruments to embellish certain words or phrases in the poem or nursery rhyme; (iii) use different visual aids, such as movement or props (scarf, ball, streamer, etc.), to accompany and enrich the image of the poem or nursery rhyme; and (iv) lead peers in reciting and performing the poem or nursery rhyme in musical ways.

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Ensemble playing : Singing, body percussion, and ostinato. Numerous studies (e.g., Campbell & Scott-Kassner, 2009) have suggested the significance of the experience of making music in an ensemble. Some studies have also suggested the importance of teachers’ own competency at performing in or leading (i.e., as a conductor) an ensemble (Leighton & Lamont, 2006). As such, both performance and conducting skills were covered in this area of the music teacher education program. The purpose of this area of learning is to allow children to learn music through playing in an ensemble. As stated in the Guide to the Pre-primary Curriculum (CDC, 2006), one of the six learning areas through which the objectives for children’s development can be achieved is “Self and Society.” Playing in an ensemble with peers not only enriches children’s musical exposure but also provides excellent opportunities for children to interact with others and enhance their social skills. The participants (i) selected a nursery rhyme suitable for young children and for use in an ensemble activity, (ii) learned how to create and use various types of body percussion to accompany the selected song, (iii) learned how to create an ostinato to accompany the song using the Orff approach, and (iv) led peers in implementing the ensemble activity. Hand signs and creative music activities . Hand signs are effective ways for enhancing singing and singing was one of the most significant components of this course. The emphasis on singing in this course was supported by a wide range of literature (e.g., Campbell & Scott-Kassner, 2009; Gerry et al., 2010) which suggested the various benefits of singing. The purpose of this area of learning is to use the hand signs of the Kodály approach in creative and developmentally appropriate activities for children (Campbell & Scott-Kassner, 2006; Choksy, 2001). Participants had to (i) become familiar with techniques for using hand signs while singing; (ii) compose or select nursery rhymes suitable for integrating the hand signs; (iii) plan and design musical activities to include the hand signs in creative, interesting, and age-appropriate ways; and (iv) lead peers in hand sign activities. Choreography and the use of dance in music classrooms. Choreography was included as one of the main areas of this course based on an after in consideration of numerous studies that have identified the benefits for young children of creative physical movement (e.g., sense of rhythm, physical awareness, multisensory musical processing) (Brown & Parsons, 2008; Campbell & Scott-Kassner, 2006; Cross, 2003; Dalcroze, 1967;

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Phillips-Silver & Trainor, 2005, 2007, 2008; Todd et al., 2007; Trainor, 2008; Zatorre et al., 2007). The purpose of this area was to help the participants learn how to arrange age-appropriate dance steps and patterns so children can experience different elements of music (for example, dynamics, forms, tonality, and pitch) through dancing. The objectives for the participants were to (i) select appropriate music for the dance activities, (ii) create dance steps or patterns that are developmentally appropriate for children, (iii) use creative dance to introduce different elements of music to children, and (iv) lead such dance activities for their peers.

Summing Up: Complexity of Learning Process and Interpretation in Musical Play PBL, which is the focus of this book, reflects the complexities of contemporary early childhood classrooms, sociocultural forces, and the accountability environment. Focusing on the power of PBL in the early years, this chapter has outlined a dialectical understanding of the concepts, dilemmas, cultural values, musical practices, and criticisms of various perspectives of PBL. The theoretical discussion in this chapter is the backbone for understanding the interrelationship between play, globalization, localization, learning, and development among young children. The analysis of PBL is the glue that binds the chapters of this book and the underlying theme of the empirical studies that are presented in this book, including studies of music teacher education, sources of teacher self-efficacy, and moral and value education. Together with an analysis of theoretical applications and practices, it is pivotal to address the potential risks and pitfalls of various approaches (e.g., child- and teacher-directed play-based approaches) and negotiate the advantages and disadvantages of a range of music pedagogical models (e.g., Orff, Dalcroze, and Kodály) in relation to children’s academic, socio-emotional, and musical development. In doing so, educators must enhance PBL by creating environments in which rich play experiences are available. While there is a consensus that music is a regular part of children’s play, I contend that early childhood music educators should endeavor to initiate and encourage musical play as the basis of an emergent, child-centered curriculum in a stimulating and engaging environment. In adopting a play-based, child-centered approach to early childhood music curricula, it is crucial for teachers to structure their repertoire and music experiences

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in collaboration with children according to their interactions with and observations of the children’s responses.

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Tobin, J., & Kurban, F. (2010). Preschool practitioners’ and immigrant parents’ beliefs about academics and play in the early childhood education curriculum in five countries. Orbis Scholae, 4(2), 75–87. Todd, N. P. M., Cousins, L. R., & Lee, C. S. (2007). The contribution of anthropometric factors to individual differences in the perception of rhythm. Empirical Musicology Review, 2, 1–13. Trainor, L. J. (2008). The neural roots of music. Nature, 453, 598–599. Trainor, L. J., Shahin, A., & Roberts, L. (2003). Effects of musical training on the auditory cortex in children. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 999, 506–513. Tsao, Y. L. (2008). Using guided play to enhance children’s conversation, creativity and competence in literacy. Education, 128, 515–520. United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. (2013). United Nations convention on the rights of the child. Retrieved March 3, 2022, from http:// www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CRC.aspx Van der Aalsvoort, G., Prakke, B., Howard, J., König, A., & Parkkinen, T. (2015). Trainee teachers’ perspectives on play characteristics and their role in children’s play: An international comparative study amongst trainees in the Netherlands, Wales, Germany and Finland. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 23(2), 277–292. Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes (Rev. ed.). Harvard University Press. Vygotsky, L. S., & Cole, M. (1978). Mind in society: Development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press. Wallerstedt, C., & Pramling, N. (2012). Learning to play in a goal-directed practice. Early Years, 32, 5–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2011. 593028 Warner, B. (1991). Orff-Schulwerk: Applications for the classroom. Prentice Hall. Weikart, D. P., Olmsted, P. P., & Monite, J. (2003). A world of preschool experience: Observations in 15 countries (The IEA Preprimary Project Phase 2). High Scope Press. Weisberg, D. S., Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R. M. (2013). Guided play: Where curricular goals meet a playful pedagogy. Mind, Brain, and Education, 7 , 104–112. https://doi.org/10.1111/mbe.2013.7.issue-2 Wells, G. (2001). Action, talk, and text: Learning and teaching through inquiry. Teachers College Press. Whitebread, D., Coltman, P., Jameson, H., & Lander, R. (2009). Play, cognition and self-regulation: What exactly are children learning when they learn through play? Educational and Child Psychology, 26(2), 40–52. Windisch, L., Jenvey, V., & Drysdale, M. (2003). Indigenous parents’ ratings of the importance of play, indigenous games and language and early childhood education. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood Education, 28(3), 50–56.

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Winther-Lindqvist, D. A. (2017). The role of play in Danish child care. In G. Kragh-Müller & C. Ringsmose (Eds.), Nordic social pedagogical approach to early years (pp. 95–114). Springer. Wong, M. W. Y. (2002). Music lessons in the elementary schools of Vancouver and Hong Kong: Content and pedagogy. Asia-Pacific Journal for Arts Education, 1(1), 27–41. Wong, S. M., Wang, Z., & Cheng, D. (2011). A play-based curriculum: Hong Kong children’s perception of play and non-play. International Journal of Learning, 17 (10), 165–180. Wood, E. (2010). Developing integrated pedagogical approaches to play and learning. In L. Brooker & S. Edwards (Eds.), Play and learning in the early years: From research to practice (pp. 9–26). Sage. Young, S. (2008). Collaboration between 3- and 4-year-olds in self-initiated play on instruments. International Journal of Educational Research, 47 (1), 3–10. Yun, Y. B., & Kim, J. E. (2013). The effects of the Orff approach on selfexpression, self-efficacy, and social skills of children in low-income families in South Korea. Child Welfare, 92(4), 123–158. Zatorre, R. J., Chen, J. L., & Penhune, V. B. (2007). When the brain plays music: Auditory-motor interactions in music perception and production. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 8, 547–558.

CHAPTER 3

Teacher Self-Efficacy as a Catalyst: Teacher Beliefs, Teaching Behavior, and Music Education

Introduction In the previous chapter, the research lens focused predominantly on children’s learning and development as they play. Through the relational analysis of various dilemmas of play and teachers’ positioning in children’s play, it becomes clear that the play curriculum, practices, and children’s play behaviors are philosophically and pedagogically framed by teachers. Hence, this demonstrates that it is not merely children’s conceptual system that is of importance but also teachers’ cognition, belief systems, and behavior. In a sociocultural view of learning, one can never ignore teachers’ belief systems; they are dialectically related to each other and ultimately influence pedagogical practices and outcomes. In this chapter, the focus of the research lens shifts to the belief systems of teachers and their role in mediating concept formation across teaching and learning phenomena. This chapter is about the power of self-efficacy for the development of teachers’ competency, behavior, and educational achievement. A new understanding of the early childhood practitioners is developed in this chapter, and a perspective theoretically different from that of teachers’ is presented. Specifically, the chapter provides important theoretical foundations and underpinnings for the studies presented in Chapters 4 and 5, which examine and analyze the interrelationship of music teacher education and the development of teacher self-efficacy, and

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teachers’ sources of self-efficacy in relation to education policy reform and sociopolitical changes in Hong Kong. Self-perceptions are powerful; they can impact the cognition and behavior that ultimately influence outcomes. Although scholarly attention to self-efficacy in relation to education has increased, there have been very few in-depth, systematic analyses of the interplay between selfefficacy, competence, and teacher education. In particular, research on self-efficacy and the teaching of music in early childhood settings is a novelty. Thus, this chapter provides a comprehensive overview and critical examination of self-efficacy theory framed within theoretical and historical backgrounds, the social psychology of self-efficacy, sources and measurement of efficacy informing teacher self-efficacy, self-efficacy and student achievement, and the role that self-efficacy plays in the arts and music in early childhood education. This chapter might help readers understand the powerful impact of self-efficacy on education, understand how this impact has influenced teaching practices and educational achievement behaviors in academic settings, and subsequently, inform the practices of teacher education, which is the major topic of inquiry in this book.

The Social Psychology of Self-Efficacy: Self-Efficacy Theory Proficiency performance is partly guided by higher-order self-regulatory skills. These include generic skills for diagnosing task demands, constructing and evaluating alternative courses of action, setting proximal goals to guide one’s efforts, and creating self-incentives to sustain engagement in taxing activities and to manage stress and debilitating intrusive thoughts. Generic self-management strategies developed in one realm of activity are serviceable in other activity domain with resulting co-variation in perceived efficacy among them. (Bandura, 2006, p. 308)

According to Bandura’s self-efficacy theory, a sub-dimension of social learning theory, self-efficacy refers to one’s self-perceived competence rather than one’s actual competence; the self-assurance with which people approach and manage difficult tasks plays a significant role in determining how they make use of their capabilities (Bandura, 1997). Self-efficacy is defined as “beliefs in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments” (Bandura, 1997,

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p. 3). The theory argues that learning cannot be separated from a social context and that an individual’s behaviors are in perpetual interaction with his/her social environment. Bandura (1997) labels this interaction between individuals and environment as reciprocal determinism. Reciprocal determinism suggests that personal factors (e.g., cognitive, affective, and biological events) influence people’s behaviors and environment and that their environment, in turn, influences their behaviors and personal factors (Pajares, 1996). Thus, self-efficacy beliefs play a pivotal role in motivation, well-being, and achievement. Bandura (1986) further suggested that efficacy beliefs can determine how much effort people devote to a particular task and how long they will persist when faced with obstacles and challenges. As such, Bandura (1993) argued that self-efficacy beliefs play a significant role in determining one’s level of achievement and are therefore regarded as excellent predictors of performance and achievement. Significantly, Bandura (1986) suggested that self-efficacy beliefs can change over time. Berry and West (1993) characterized this aspect of self-efficacy as follows: “It is dynamic and malleable, subject to changes in task demands, situational determinants, social context, and individual development” (p. 353). Studies of self-efficacy were first conducted in the field of psychology. Psychologists made efforts to measure self-efficacy in order to assess the effectiveness of psychotherapy on patients’ self-perceptions of their capacities to confront phobias. The concept of self-perception includes selfconcept and self-esteem; self-concept is a set of organized and consistent attitudes about one’s characteristics and capabilities, whereas self-esteem is an emotionally dependent evaluation of one’s self-worth in a specific aspect or area. Bandura and Mischel presented their respective theories of social learning in 1963, which broadened the insights of learning theories via the inclusion of principles of observational learning and vicarious reinforcement. Shortly afterward, Rotter (1966) advanced his own social learning theory, arguing that an individual’s behavior in a particular situation is determined by two variables—expectancy (probability) and reinforcement (behavior). Rotter further explained that more emphasis should be placed on the influence of the environment than on learning experiences. Rotter’s theory mostly emphasized causal beliefs about the relationship between action and outcome as opposed to the individual’s personal efficacy. In this sense, Rotter’s perception is different from Bandura’s self-efficacy perception, which references particular accomplishments and the achievement of specific outcomes, and involves a belief in

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the individual’s capability to systematize and implement specific behaviors so as to achieve those outcomes (Bandura, 1977; Pajares, 1996). In the studies presented in this book, Bandura’s self-efficacy theory was chosen over other self-concept and self-efficacy measures because of its distinct features with regard to the level of the generality of selfjudgments (Pajares, 1996). For example, Gibson and Dembo (1984) developed the Teacher Efficacy Scale to measure teacher efficacy by referencing Bandura’s self-efficacy theory; since the 30-item measure of the Teacher Efficacy Scale yielded two factors, Gibson and Dembo assumed that they denoted the two expectancies (i.e., self-efficacy and outcome expectancy) of Bandura’s self-efficacy theory (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2001). Nonetheless, scholars have argued against the idea of using Gibson and Dembo’s scale to measure teacher efficacy because of the lack of specificity in the scale, its two-factor model, and the reliability and validity of the measurement (Henson et al., 2001; Wheatley, 2005). As such, after considering other self-efficacy and self-concept theories, Bandura’s selfefficacy theory was adopted as the lens for examining teacher competence in early childhood education. Further, as supported by other self-concept research, which recognizes the multidimensional nature of constructs and the need for domain specificity in measuring self-concept (Marsh et al., 1988; Skaalvik & Rankin, 1995), Bandura’s self-efficacy concept differs from other types of self-belief theories in terms of its context-specificity. Bandura’s self-efficacy belief is domain- and context-specific in the sense that an individual may be capable in one domain (e.g., music education) while being incapable in others (e.g., science). This is critical in this book as it concerns the area of music, and teaching music clearly involves substantial specialized pedagogical skills, domain-specific skills, and content knowledge of the subject matter.

Teacher Self-Efficacy as a Powerful Catalyst for Effective Teaching Theoretical and Practical Studies of Self-Efficacy Educational theories have suggested that teachers are one of the most impactful indicators of whether a classroom exhibits high- or low-quality instruction (Desimone et al., 2007; Mashburn et al., 2008). Bandura (2006) suggested that people tend to regulate their own behavior through motivation, thought processes, emotional states, and actions or

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by altering environmental situations according to their self-efficacy beliefs. Hence, in education, self-efficacy plays an important role in teacher candidates’ career choices, teachers’ motivation, and the actual amount of effort teachers invest in performing a teaching task. In accordance with social cognitive theory, for example, teachers who do not expect to be successful with certain students are likely to put less effort into the preparation and delivery of their lessons and give up easily when faced with difficulty, even if they are aware of strategies that might work with those students if applied (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2007). On the other hand, teachers who have good self-efficacy concerning their teaching competency are likely to overcome even complex challenges or obstacles (Tschannen-Moran et al., 1998). As such, self-efficacy beliefs can become self-fulfilling prophesies, validating beliefs of capacity or incapacity. In this light, Bandura (1977) noted that teachers’ slight overestimation of their actual teaching capability may provide sources of drivers and motivation for expending effort and persisting when faced with obstacles, thereby helping them devote all the skills and competencies in their possession. Existing scholarship on teacher efficacy has consistently revealed that teachers’ beliefs regarding their own competence at performing the tasks that teaching requires have a major impact on almost every aspect of teaching behaviors, attitudes, and outcomes. In particular, research has shown that good self-efficacy beliefs are related to teacher behavior, with higher efficacy leading to several positive effects: decreased burnout (Brouwers & Tomic, 2000), increased job satisfaction (Caprara et al., 2003), high levels of commitment in teaching (Coladarci, 1992), greater efficiency in planning and organization (Allinder, 1994), being less critical of students who perform unsatisfactorily (Ashton & Webb, 1986), working more persistently with students who are struggling (Gibson & Dembo, 1984), and using more creative curriculum resources to identify innovative strategies and adopt more creative methods (Ghaith & Yaghi, 1997; Wertheim & Leyser, 2002). As this book concerns how teacher education impacts teacher self-efficacy, it is especially important to note that teacher self-efficacy has proven to be a construct that interacts with teacher’s pedagogical practice (Alger, 2009; Brouwers & Tomic, 2000). Lee et al. (2013) suggested that high self-efficacy levels lead to openness to new ideas in teaching, competence in acting upon pedagogical change, and the incorporation of new evidence-based practices. In a Dutch study of teacher burnout, teacher self-efficacy, and teacher reaction to new pedagogical approaches, it was found that teachers with high self-efficacy were

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more ready to implement new pedagogical approaches than the teachers with low self-efficacy (Evers et al., 2002). Knowles et al.’s (2005) study also identified that in-service teachers are more motivated to learn if the pedagogies can be directly applied to their teaching context, and teachers with high self-efficacy are more capable of seeing the appropriate applications of new pedagogical concepts. In view of the significance of teacher self-efficacy for facilitating teachers’ pedagogical change and improvement, professional development providers and teacher educators should consider the relationship between teacher self-efficacy and pedagogical change in developing teacher education curriculum and instructional interventions. Further, previous studies have identified the factors that might impact the development of teacher self-efficacy. For instance, Hoy and Woolfolk’s (1993) studies suggested that educational credentials and years of experience have been closely linked with teachers’ self-reports of selfefficacy in the United States. Studies in Taiwan (Liaw, 2009) and Australia (Mulholland & Wallace, 2001) have shown that participation in in-service professional development and various aspects of teacher preparation programs are positively associated with changes to or the development of self-efficacy of both primary- and secondary-school teachers. In this light, research on the self-efficacy of science teachers has found that beginning teachers who feel they lack subject knowledge tend to avoid teaching topics about which they feel less confident because they fear being asked questions by the students (Rice & Roychoudhury, 2003; Tosun, 2000). These studies have clearly indicated the significance of teacher education (e.g., professional development and teacher preparation programs) in developing teacher self-efficacy. Four Sources of Efficacy Informing Teacher Self-Efficacy When applied to the field of education and the role of teachers in academic settings, the concept of teacher self-efficacy is defined as the belief that one’s capabilities can bring about desirable changes in students’ behaviors and achievements (Gibson & Dembo, 1984). Dembo and Gibson (1985) suggested that teachers who do not have a strong sense of self-efficacy (that is, they do not believe they are able to positively influence students’ performance) might be unable either to fulfil their responsibility to motivate students or to take the necessary actions to do so. According to Bandura (1977), four sources inform teacher self-efficacy

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beliefs: enactive mastery experience, verbal persuasion, vicarious experiences, and physiological and affective states. These sources of self-efficacy may provide significant implications for music teacher education in terms of framing strategies for developing self-efficacy. Enactive Mastery Experience Mastery experiences are the most influential source of efficacy information because they provide the most authentic evidence of whether one can muster whatever it takes to succeed. Success builds a robust belief in one’s personal efficacy. Failures undermine it, especially if failures occur before a sense of efficacy is firmly established. (Bandura, 1997)

Among the four sources of self-efficacy, Bandura (1997) argues that mastery experience, which is based on one’s past successes or failures in different circumstances and situations, is the greatest contributor to self-efficacy and thereby has the strongest influence on self-efficacy beliefs. Accordingly, the experience of the successful mastery of a relevant task strengthens teacher self-efficacy. In academic settings, self-efficacy beliefs are elevated if a teacher perceives her or his teaching performance to be a success, which then contributes to the expectation that future performances will likely be proficient. On the other hand, efficacy beliefs are lowered if a teacher deems his or her teaching performance a failure, which contributes to the expectation and prediction that future performances will also fail. Vicarious Experience Seeing people similar to oneself succeed by sustained effort raises observers’ beliefs that they too possess the capabilities to master comparable activities to succeed. (Bandura, 1997)

Vicarious experiences are experiences in which the target activity is observed and is modeled by other people (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2007). Schunk et al. (1987) have further suggested that if there are similarities between the person and the role model, the influence of vicarious experience is particularly powerful. On the other hand, Tschannen-Moran and Hoy (2007) posited that when the salient features of the model

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are highly distinct from those of the observer (e.g., level of experience, training, education, age, gender, or race), a competent performance might not influence the self-efficacy beliefs of the observer. Verbal Persuasion Self-efficacy is influenced by encouragement and discouragement pertaining to an individual’s performance or ability to perform. (Redmond, 2010)

According to Bandura (1997), persuasive communication can also serve as an influential means for strengthening one’s belief that one has the ability to achieve one’s objective. Bandura added that although verbal persuasion itself can be limited in its power to facilitate lasting enhancement of self-efficacy, self-change can be strengthened if the positive appraisal is within realistic boundaries. In terms of teacher self-efficacy, verbal persuasion is related to the verbal feedback a teacher receives regarding his or her performance and prospects for success from other important people in the teaching context (e.g., students, school leaders, administrators, colleagues, parents, or members of the community). Physiological and Affective States It is not the sheer intensity of emotional and physical reactions that is important but rather how they are perceived and interpreted. People who have a high sense of efficacy are likely to view their state of affective arousal as an energizing facilitator of performance, whereas those who are beset by self-doubts regard their arousal as a debilitator. (Bandura, 1997)

Bandura (1997) stated that in judging their capabilities, people rely partly on information conveyed by physiological and affective states (e.g., sweating, heartbeat, fatigue, aches, pains, and mood changes). Physiological and affective states related to the task of teaching include levels of excitement or anxiety. The feelings of joy or pleasure a teacher experiences from successfully teaching a class can enhance her or his sense of selfefficacy regarding future teaching. On the other hand, high levels of stress or anxiety associated with teaching tasks (e.g., fear of losing control, lack of confidence regarding the subject matter) can result in low self-efficacy beliefs.

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Self-Efficacy Beliefs in Academic Settings: Self-Efficacy and Achievement Behavior Self-efficacy and achievement behavior have a positive relationship. The powerful impact of teacher self-efficacy in academic settings has been clearly demonstrated by research investigating the relationship between self-efficacy and achievements in different subject areas. In particular, a positive correlation between teachers’ self-efficacy and students’ academic achievement has been clearly identified (Anderson et al., 1988; Armor et al., 1976; Bandura, 1993; Gibson & Dembo, 1984; Goddard et al., 2000; Ross, 1992). For example, Goddard et al.’s (2000) study in the United States found that teacher self-efficacy was strongly related to second-, third-, and fourth-grade pupils’ math and reading outcomes as measured by the Metropolitan Achievement Test. In Canada, Ross (1992) found that teacher self-efficacy positively contributed to the achievements of seventh and eighth graders in social studies. Furthermore, in a study involving 135 classrooms in the United States, teachers’ self-efficacy was identified as a positive and unique predictor of the quality of language teaching in early childhood education (Justice et al., 2008). Significantly, there are also correlations between self-efficacy and a range of achievement behaviors in academic settings, including the impact of students’ self-efficacy beliefs and their performances in academic subjects, selfefficacy and music competency, and the impact of teacher self-efficacy in the specific context of music and arts education. These correlations between self-efficacy and achievement behaviors are discussed below. Self-Efficacy and Students’ Performance in Academic Subjects Research has also evidenced the direct and strong relations between the quality of classrooms and student achievement, especially in the early childhood education setting (Connor et al., 2005; Hamre & Pianta, 2007; Howes et al., 2008; Mashburn et al., 2008). For example, a study in the United States found that teacher self-efficacy and classroom quality served as the most significant and positive predictors of children’s gains in print awareness (Guo et al., 2010). Further, a number of researchers have investigated the relationship between self-efficacy and students’ achievement in mathematics (Lent et al., 1991; Lopez & Lent, 1992; Matsui et al., 1990; Usher & Pajares, 2009). Lopez and Lent’s (1992) US

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study found that self-efficacy scores in mathematics were positively correlated with grades in mathematics (r = 0.50, p < 0.01). In the field of science, a study conducted by Joo et al. (2000) in Korea identified a significant relationship between academic self-efficacy and scores on a science achievement test (r = 0.46, p < 0.001). Similarly, Usher and Pajares’s (2006) study identified a positive relationship between selfefficacy and reading grades (r = 0.32, p < 0.001). These findings are significant because they suggest that higher levels of teacher self-efficacy can positively impact students’ learning outcomes, possibly through the association of such self-efficacy with higher levels of classroom quality (Guo et al., 2010). Self-Efficacy and Music Competency Self-efficacy regarding musical performance, which has been highlighted as a predictor of success, is defined as personal beliefs about and evaluation of the likelihood of obtaining a positive result at a specific task (e.g., playing the piano) (McPherson & McCormick, 2006). For example, music students are likely to perceive and interpret error-free performances, standing ovations, or passing test scores as indicators of success, and error-filled performances or a lack of recognition from an audition as indicators of failure. Ritchie and Williamon (2011) identified two types of musical self-efficacy: learning and performance. Music teacher selfefficacy has been identified as a significant trait of successful teaching in music and a specific variable distinct from, for example, performance self-efficacy. Nonetheless, little attention has been paid to examining the factors that impact self-efficacy regarding music teaching, including instrumental, vocal, and classroom teaching, even though music teacher self-efficacy is an important predictor of teachers’ effectiveness (Klassen & Tze, 2014). As discussed earlier in this chapter, self-efficacy is contextspecific, varying according to educational discipline, area, and setting. Thus, to fill an important gap in the literature’s response to global education trends, the studies in this book explore early childhood teachers’ self-efficacy regarding teaching music. In the international context, a wealth of research investigates the relation between self-efficacy regarding musical competence and students’ achievement. Randles’s (2010) study in the United States found that students who engaged in music composition activities for 12 weeks showed a significant increase in their self-perception of their musical

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ability (r = 0.35, p < 0.01). Further, self-perception of self-efficacy has been found to influence achievement in musical performance. McPherson and McCormick’s (2006) study in the United States and Australia found that self-efficacy regarding performance is the best predictor of performance achievement among students who are children and adolescents. They emphasized, “Students who display high self-efficacy expectations will be more likely to achieve in a difficult performance area, such as a formal music examination, than their peers who display the same level of skill, but lower personal expectations” (p. 37). Hendricks’s (2009) study in the United States found that music students with high self-efficacy beliefs interpreted information related to the sources of self-efficacy differently than students with low self-efficacy beliefs. She discovered that music students with high self-efficacy beliefs reacted strongly to information related to mastery experiences, whereas students with low self-efficacy beliefs were more sensitive to vicarious experiences. Teacher Self-Efficacy and Arts Education in Early Childhood Early childhood arts education is not only limited to musical and artistic development, but it also has a critical influence on children’s cognitive abilities and holistic development (Chung, 2021; Hallam, 2010; Schellenberg, 2005). Thus, the self-efficacy of early childhood teachers in the arts is of vital significance. Although many early childhood teachers have clearly endorsed the importance of music in the early childhood curriculum, including its aesthetic, quality-of-life, and socio-emotional benefits, they do not perceive themselves as sufficiently competent to teach music. A considerable number of early childhood teachers perceive their university education as inadequate for effective music teaching, believing that they are not equipped to adopt different pedagogical approaches in the music classroom. In Australia, Garvis and Pendergast (2010) compared perceived competence in each of the five arts strands (dance, drama, media, visual arts, and music) to perceived competence in math and English, and the results demonstrated that early childhood teachers had greater perceived competence in teaching math and English than they did in any of the arts strands. They also highlighted that for teachers to have strong self-efficacy regarding the teaching of arts, they must have positive sources informing their beliefs during teacher education. This study clearly supports the continued imparting of positive beliefs through ongoing professional development.

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Little research has investigated the role self-efficacy plays in the development of perceived confidence and competence in teaching music among in-service early childhood teachers. Kretchmer (2002) studied the efficacy beliefs of US elementary education majors who were enrolled, as part of their program requirements, in a music pedagogy course. The aim of the study was to measure changes in participants’ beliefs and attitudes regarding the role of music in the elementary curriculum, as well as their self-perceived competency to teach music. The results indicated significant gains in the participants’ self-efficacy beliefs regarding music skills and knowledge about teaching music as a result of their enrollment. Another US study investigated changes in the self-efficacy of elementary education majors upon completing a music pedagogy course (Buckner, 2008). Though the results of the study indicated that elementary education majors’ confidence levels regarding teaching music increased after completing the music pedagogy course, generalists still rated their confidence at the low end of a six-point Likert scale (pre: 3.29; post: 3.78). These results suggested that the teachers had negative confidence levels regarding their capacity to teach music. Pitfalls and Limits of Self-Efficacy in Relation to Student Behavior and Achievement The conceptual framework of self-efficacy certainly has both promise and pitfalls. Considering the significance of self-efficacy in bringing about desirable changes in students’ behaviors and achievements, its limits must be noted. In fact, even high self-efficacy has its pitfalls and might not always lead to desirable learning outcomes (Pajares, 1996). The literature suggests that the development of high self-efficacy may undermine pedagogical change in the light of teachers’ satisfaction with current levels of student performance, which may negatively affect teachers’ actions and make them resistant to new ideas (Linnenbrink & Pintrich, 2003; Pintrich et al., 1993). For example, teachers with high self-efficacy regarding their teaching who are participating in a professional development program may not be motivated to engage in a pedagogical change even if they perceive the program to be effective because they may not have actively identified the problems with their current teaching practices. Bandura also noted other limitations in the concepts of self-efficacy in relation to student behavior: (i) students with high self-efficacy may lack the resources and equipment to perform, therefore self-judged efficacy may

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exceed actual performance (1986); (ii) basing a student’s self-efficacy in regard to a new task on results of previous tasks may be misleading (1986); and (iii) personal factors and distorted memories of previous performance can distort self-efficacy (1983).

Summary This chapter discussed the powerful impacts of teacher self-efficacy and self-efficacy in academic settings, with a focus on the theoretical aspects of self-efficacy, teacher self-efficacy, and the impacts of self-efficacy on student achievement in both academic and musical aspects. In addition, in order to develop a broad understanding of self-efficacy in education, this chapter reviewed literature pertinent to this study that incorporates various viewpoints, which were compared, contrasted, and critiqued. Specifically, the studies presented in this book are framed using Bandura’s social cognitive theory. According to Bandura, human belief systems have a predominant effect on the development of behavior, and self-efficacy beliefs are paramount in this respect. Self-efficacy beliefs influence people’s choices and courses of action, their levels of effort, and their persistence in the face of difficulty. Thus, self-efficacy beliefs can powerfully influence the levels of accomplishment individuals ultimately achieve. Teacher self-efficacy has been a subject of ongoing research over the past three decades. Compelling research evidence indicates that there is a strong relationship between teachers’ beliefs about their own capabilities and students’ motivation and achievement in learning. According to social cognitive theory, teachers who do not expect to be successful with certain students are more likely to give up easily in the face of difficulty. On the other hand, teachers with positive self-efficacy regarding their teaching competencies are more likely to overcome various challenges or obstacles in teaching. Additionally, this chapter also examined the interplay between teachers’ self-efficacy and students’ academic performance in different subject areas. Indeed, the self-perception of self-efficacy has been found to influence individuals’ achievement in musical performance, and it was revealed that music students with high self-efficacy beliefs react strongly to information related to mastery experiences, whereas students with low self-efficacy beliefs are more sensitive to vicarious experiences. With music teacher education and PBL in early childhood as the major topics of enquiry of this book, this chapter concludes by suggesting

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that it is important for teacher educators to enhance early childhood teachers’ musical competence and confidence by considering the four sources of self-efficacy regarding course development and implementation, as suggested by Bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory: (i) enactive mastery experience, (ii) vicarious experience, (iii) verbal persuasion, and (iv) physiological and affective states. Above all, despite the known powerful impacts of self-efficacy in academic settings and the increasing emphasis on PBL in early childhood, very few studies have been conducted that track the development of the teaching self-efficacy constructs of early childhood teachers or the course-based interventions aimed at enhancing teaching efficacy. As such, this book continues to explore this issue through its study of the role and impacts of music teacher education on developing teacher self-efficacy beliefs, with particular focus on the play-based approach in early childhood music education. Specifically, the chapter has provided important theoretical foundations for the studies presented in the succeeding two chapters, which critically examine the link of music teacher education and the development of teacher self-efficacy, as well as teachers’ sources of self-efficacy in relation to education policy reform and sociopolitical changes in Hong Kong.

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CHAPTER 4

Impacts of Music Teacher Education: Developing Generalists’ Self-Efficacy Regarding Teaching Music to Young Children

Introduction The previous chapters have focused on providing the theoretical foundation of this book, which rests on the integral relationships between the globalization of pedagogical practices, localization, and sociocultural perspectives on early childhood music education; this chapter focuses on examining the interplay between music teacher education and the development of teacher self-efficacy regarding teaching music in early childhood. The more we understand the powerful impact of music education on young children’s development in various vital aspects, as discussed in the previous chapters of this book, the more clearly we see the professional need to provide meaningful musical experiences for young children. In particular, music has been mandated to be an essential part of the early childhood curriculum across the globe. In light of this, it is crucial to note that early childhood teachers are the main determiners and facilitators contributing to children’s meaningful access to musical experiences and quality music education. When early childhood teachers effectively plan for and provide appropriate music instruction and a quality environment in which to learn, this helps children develop their musical abilities, but it also produces other important non-musical outcomes, namely, enhancing children’s holistic development and social-emotional © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 F. M. Y. Chung, Music and Play in Early Childhood Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5033-9_4

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well-being and developing a lifelong, passionate engagement with the arts and culture. The vital role that early childhood teachers play in influencing the quality of music education signals, without argument, the pressing need for the provision of high-quality, systematic, and well-tailored music teacher education.

Music Teacher Education for Generalists in the Global Age It is primarily early childhood teachers who facilitate children’s musical experiences and education and who determine the meaningfulness and quality of those experiences and that education. The vital role that early childhood teachers play in influencing the quality of music education calls for high-quality and systematic music teacher education. There is broad evidence that music teacher education can make a tremendous difference in teachers’ confidence about teaching music (Battersby & Cave, 2014; Brown & Danaher, 2008; Colwell, 2008; Propst, 2003; Teicher, 1997). Their planning and implementation of musical activities help children develop their musical abilities, which may ultimately contribute to nurturing a lifelong interest in and passion for music (Hallam, 2010; Wetzel, 2006). In order to achieve the purposes and goals of music education, it is important for teachers to create an appropriate music learning environment (Butler et al., 2007; Gordon, 2003; Lam & Wright, 2004; Willberg, 2002), allowing children to comfortably explore various meaningful experiences in music, such as listening, playing, movement, and musical expression (Campbell & Scott-Kassner, 2009). Scholarly research has defined pedagogy for teacher education programs as the way that teachers are taught how to be effective and to understand and reflect on the complexities of their role in facilitating meaningful learning and teaching. Specifically, it is pivotal that student teachers develop a thorough understanding of different pedagogical and didactical theories related to early childhood music education. Nevertheless, it was identified that many student teachers have difficulties connecting theory with practice (Tryggvason, 2009). Korthagen and Kessels (1999) and Korthagen et al. (2006) have pointed out a lack of transfer among theoretical, pedagogical content and teachers’ practice. Horsley and Bauer (2010) highlighted the significant impacts of teacher education by emphasizing that teachers who are confident in their subject knowledge and skills are more likely to enrich children’s

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learning experiences. Colwell (2006) contended that professional learning for early childhood music teachers should serve the purpose of building up their competencies in music, which includes equipping them with competency in music pedagogy and general education. Richards (1999) argued that music teacher education programs should prepare teachers for a holistic approach to learning and teaching in the classroom and engender positive attitudes about the role of music in children’s lives. Haston (2007) suggested that professional music learning is essential for effective music teaching and quality music education for children, calling for adequate preparation in terms of musical knowledge and skills in professional teacher education. Cullen and Hedges (2005) similarly noted that teachers who are well prepared and well equipped with subject knowledge and skills can implement the appropriate pedagogical strategies and create meaningful learning experiences for children. A wealth of empirical studies has evinced the following. Well-tailored music teacher education programs can make a tremendous difference in teachers’ competencies and confidence regarding music pedagogy and general education (Battersby & Cave, 2014; Chung, 2019; Colwell, 2008; Horsley & Bauer, 2010; Poulter & Cook, 2020; Propst, 2003; Schellenberg, 2005; Teicher, 1997); lifelong professional education in music education is an essential mechanism for filling the gap of pre-service training in which music education was addressed only in limited ways and equipping teachers to be strong assets for early childhood education (Chan, 2012; Circle, 2005; Forsythe et al., 2007); teachers’ subject qualifications and the relevance of their education to the subjects they teach are directly correlated to high-quality early childhood education (Garbett, 2003; Goldhaber, 2002); music teacher education programs can prepare teachers for the prevailing integrated approach to early childhood education and engender positive attitudes toward the role of music in children’s lives (Chung, 2021; Richards, 1999). A major pitfall of the implementation of music education in early childhood settings is that early childhood teachers around the globe are largely trained as generalists. The presence of music specialists in early childhood classrooms is a novelty. While it is common for elementary and secondary schools to hire music specialists to teach music in the global context, it is much less common, however, for kindergartens to hire specialists to teach music. It implies that early childhood teachers, who were largely trained as generalists in the teacher qualifying system, are often required

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to teach a variety of subjects at kindergartens, including more specialized subject areas like music. As generalists, teachers are required to regularly plan curricula and implement musical activities for young children. In early childhood teachers’ pre-service training, they usually receive interdisciplinary education and therefore have very limited expertise in a number of subject areas, including music. Hence, in the global context, early childhood teachers have long faced substantial challenges to gaining professional knowledge on the subject, including musical and pedagogical skills, and to acquiring sufficient understanding of how to integrate music into early childhood education to achieve the various educational goals of early childhood education. In light of this, empirical studies across the globe have reported the lack of confidence about teaching music among early childhood teachers and some early childhood teachers are more reluctant to teach music than other subject areas (e.g., languages and the visual arts). For instance, Seddon and Biasutti’s (2008) research in the United Kingdom found that generalists compare their informally educated music skills with those of music specialists, thereby reinforcing their perceived inadequacies; Cleave and Sharp’s (1986) research in the United Kingdom identified the lack of confidence as a major obstacle to teaching various art forms, including music; Mills’s (1989) study in the United Kingdom and Barr’s (2006) study in the United States found that generalists who lack knowledge of and pedagogical skills for music are reluctant to incorporate it into the curriculum, causing a substantial barrier to young children to receiving quality music education; ScottKassner’s (1999) study revealed that many early childhood teachers in the United States rely too heavily on commercial teaching materials when teaching music because of a lack of confidence and competencies to plan for and tailor the curriculum in a manner suitable to school-based educational needs. Further, various studies in the United States have noted that generalists showed significantly improved comfort levels in integrating music into the curriculum after participating in in-service music pedagogy courses (e.g., Colwell, 2008). It is noteworthy that the content and administration of music teacher education is often a controversial subject, and opinions among interested parties vary considerably across the globe. Different countries across the globe have different certification requirements for early childhood teachers, and surprisingly, many do not even have a formal musical component in the teacher education system that certifies early childhood teachers. In light of the inadequacies of music teacher education

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in early childhood, over the past decades, scholars have made a range of recommendations for attempts to ensure the quality and appropriateness of music teacher education in early childhood. For example, some have urged that teacher education specializing in music should be offered by community colleges and universities for formal certification or degree programs, and these programs should be taught by welleducated musicians with a specialization in overall child development and the musical development of young children (Campbell & Scott-Kassner, 2018). Others have recommended that the complexities of music learning should not be overlooked, and so, the components of music required for early childhood education majors should be more widely covered throughout pre-service teacher preparation and that pre-service teachers should receive instruction concerning music teaching and learning with sufficient depth and breadth (Nardo, 2010).

Standards of Teaching Competency: Content Knowledge, Pedagogical Competencies, and Attributes Thus far, there is no commonly identified and globally agreed-upon set of musical competences required for early childhood teachers, despite the widespread recognition that teachers are the most impactful indicator of whether a classroom exhibits high-or low-quality instruction. Research on teacher competency in early childhood music education is scarce and suggestions in the literature for improving music teacher education are often vague. In the global context, the National Association for Music Education1 (2009) has suggested that early childhood educators should understand the musical nature of young children, the impact of music on young children, how to guide children with special needs, how to select teaching materials for music classes, and the role that music teachers play

1 National Association for Music Education (NAfME), an organization of American

music educators, is one of the world’s largest music education organizations. It has supported music educators at all levels for more than a century. NAfME has been responsible for the establishment of music education as a profession, for the guidance of music study as an integral part of the school curriculum, and for the development of the National Standards for Music Education.

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in early childhood education. The National Association for the Education of Young Children2 (2019) suggested that early childhood teachers should be familiar with a variety of materials and tools for teaching each of the arts. Suši´c’s (2018) study has revealed what some early childhood teachers in Vienna perceive to be necessary musical competencies: music literacy, playing a lead instrument, leading creative music activities, singing songs accompanied by a melodic instrument, active listening to music, playing Orff instruments, leading games involving singing, crafting instruments for children, and working with gifted children. Kelly (1998) and Leu (2003) have proposed general competencies required for early childhood teachers to be able to teach music to children. Some of these musical competencies include music theory, music history, the ability to play a musical instrument, singing with accompaniment, selecting appropriate songs, leading singing activities, developing movement activities, and planning creative music activities. Kelly (1998) believed that early childhood teachers were more comfortable delivering practical learning experiences (e.g., moving, using rhythm instruments, and leading and teaching songs) than the theoretical aspects of music teaching. According to both Leu (2003) and Kelly (1998) (Table 4.1), practical musical skills are more important and beneficial for children than traditional ones (e.g., music history and theory). In Hong Kong, the context of the study presented in this chapter, despite the significance of arts education being officially recognized in the latest official kindergarten curriculum guide, the Education Bureau has not documented the musical competencies required for early childhood teachers. Teaching training institutes in Hong Kong have focused primarily on general musical knowledge and skills, such as music theory and basic singing skills (Chan, 2012). Chung (2019) has reported Hong Kong early childhood teachers’ perceived competencies for implementing the music curriculum in early childhood education, which include not only music competencies but also various pedagogical skills and personal attributes: (i) love young children, (ii) value the importance of early childhood music education, (iii) be interested in different aspects of music, (iv) be confident in one’s own musicianship, (v) be willing to improve 2 The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a professional organization that aims to advocate high-quality early learning for young children, birth through age 8, by connecting practice, policy, and research in early childhood education.

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Table 4.1 List of music competencies for early childhood teachers

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Music theory and reading notation Music history Playing piano or keyboard Playing recorder Playing guitar Singing experiences with teacher accompaniment Singing experiences with recorded accompaniment Characteristics of children’s voices Selecting appropriate songs Leading and teaching songs Using rhythmic instruments Using pitched instruments (e.g., xylophones) Developing movement activities Selecting recordings for children Developing listening lessons Providing creative musical experiences Developing music reading activities Developing music curriculum Using basal music text series Using music to supplement other activities or studies Music improvisation Music composition Integrating music with computer activities

Source Adapted from Leu (2003) and Kelly (1998)

one’s knowledge and skills throughout one’s career development, (vi) be creative and playful in teaching, (vii) understand children’s developmental stages in music, (viii) facilitate an effective and warm learning atmosphere, (ix) be flexible in responding to children’s changing behaviors and needs, and (x) be enthusiastic.

Music Teacher Education in Early Childhood in Hong Kong: Reform, Policy, and Challenges From 1842 to 1997, Hong Kong was a British colony. In light of this unique sociocultural and historical background, the education system in Hong Kong during and after the colonial era is largely based on a Western model through which people were taught to embrace the Western standards and cultural values ingrained in this system, such as

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the development of critical thinking and emphasis on the balance between academic and holistic development. Despite this, as in many non-Western societies, music has still been valued as a non-academic luxury and many people in Hong Kong regard the value of education as an investment for career advancement and financial success. In light of this, historically, music has long been marginalized in Hong Kong’s education system. Since 1997, when Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, a string of education reforms has been introduced into different sectors of the education system, including early childhood education, to improve the quality of education and maintain Hong Kong’s economic competitiveness in the age of globalization. Throughout these reforms, scholars and policymakers have attempted to enhance development and facilitate policy changes related to teacher education concerning early childhood music education. For example, Hiebert (1993) conducted a study of music education provision focusing on music teacher preparation and support from different institutions in Hong Kong; he offered suggestions regarding the qualities a good music teacher should possess and urged the government to prepare a policy paper to address the arts in education, with a focus on school music opportunities in the universities. Kim and So (1997) wrote a descriptive report of music teacher education at the kindergarten, primary, and secondary levels in Korea and Hong Kong, with particular emphasis on the institutions that offered music and music education programs. Specifically, they examined the curricular music subjects, methods of provision, and problems that arose, making suggestions for improvement. For Hong Kong, these suggestions included raising entrance requirements for music electives at the kindergarten level and spreading music modules throughout the semester rather than by block, with additional microteaching opportunities. Thereafter, despite the growing awareness of the significance of music teacher education in the teacher education system, the government of Hong Kong engaged in no further discussions of teacher development in early childhood music education until 2006, when it officially recognized the arts as one of the major learning domains in the early childhood education curriculum for the first time (CDC, 2006). The significance of arts education to the early childhood education curriculum was further emphasized by the Kindergarten Education Curriculum Guide (CDC, 2017), the latest guide of its kind. Significantly, the guide explicitly documents that music instruction should be

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a daily activity in kindergartens and that PBL, in both music and other subjects, should be the focus of the early childhood curriculum. Hong Kong’s educational reforms over the past decade have promoted playbased, child-centered, whole-person learning and have presented teachers with what are undoubtedly highly unfamiliar musical and pedagogical concepts, necessitating further theoretical and practical education. Additionally, other challenges for music teacher education in Hong Kong have included the considerable discrepancies in the musical backgrounds of participants in teacher education programs and the lack of cohesion in such programs, which may have caused teachers to view music teacher education as a checklist of courses entailing the acquisition of discrete skill sets, rather than a holistic progression of experiences that enhances the development of their thinking as teachers. Nevertheless, as in many parts of the world, the professional education to prepare early childhood teachers to teach music is highly insufficient in Hong Kong. Early childhood teachers in Hong Kong have been largely trained as generalists, resulting in teachers having a lack of confidence about teaching music. There are two paths for early childhood teachers to receive professional music education in Hong Kong: (i) formal professional teacher education and (ii) music education in informal professional learning settings. Formal professional teacher education refers to the qualifications that early childhood teachers are required to have and that can be acquired in government-accredited teacher education institutions. Before 2006, all early childhood teachers in Hong Kong were required to possess the qualification of Qualified Kindergarten Teacher. While music was part of such education, only approximately 20 contact hours were allocated for both music fundamentals and pedagogy; the language learning component, however, was allocated more than 60 contact hours (Chan, 2012). Since 2006, with education reforms, all early childhood teachers have been required to obtain a Certificate of Early Childhood Education. Nevertheless, the amount of time spent on music education is similar to what it was with the Qualified Kindergarten Teacher process, which offered only minimal instruction to early childhood teachers (Chan, 2012). Consequently, early childhood teachers have been widely viewed as insufficiently prepared to teach music to young children (Chan, 2012; Lau, 2008). Informal professional teacher education offered by non-government-subsidized organizations or the private sector does not provide the formal qualifications needed to work as a kindergarten teacher. Previous studies have revealed early childhood teachers’ interest

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in continually seeking ways to further develop various aspects of their music teaching skills (e.g., leading singing activities, playing instruments, performing creative dance, and leading drama activities) (Kelly, 1998; Nardo, 1995). With appropriately planned curricula designed to enhance the competencies of early childhood teachers, informal teacher education programs may help, to some extent, supplement the insufficient formal education provided for pre-service early childhood teachers. However, there is currently an insufficient number of such informal professional learning courses offered in Hong Kong.

Research Study3 Aim and Research Questions This project, which has adopted self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 1997) as its theoretical framework, aims to examine the impacts of music teacher education on in-service teachers’ self-efficacy, competencies, and beliefs concerning teaching music in the early childhood education setting. The findings fill an important gap in theoretical and professional knowledge about the development and implementation of music teacher education, which is a notably underexplored area. Significantly, they will provide teacher educators at higher institutions with evidence-based recommendations on the development of a music teacher training framework for addressing kindergarten teachers’ pressing professional needs, with wider implications for other creative arts with play-based elements. Specifically, this study aims at investigating the following research questions. RQ1. What is the impact of a music teacher education program on in-service teachers’ self-efficacy regarding teaching music to young children? RQ2. How does a music teacher education program impact teacher competency and belief regarding various areas of music teaching in

3 Some data in this chapter were first presented at the European Association

for Music in Schools 2016 Conference (Looking for the Unexpected: Creativity and Innovation in Music Education), Vilnius, Lithuania, March 16–19, 2016. Some data in this chapter were reported in the Asia-Pacific Journal of Research in Early Childhood Education in 2021. Data in this chapter were reworked, reported, and discussed.

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early childhood (e.g., music and language, ensemble, choreography, and hand signs)? Procedure and Methods This study employed an exploratory research design. Exploratory research is usually conducted for a problem that is newly identified or data that are difficult to collect, and it helps determine the best research design, data collection method, and means for selecting participants (Shields, 2013). Therefore, even though exploratory research could provide the field with important new insights, the major purpose of such research is not to draw a definitive conclusion. Adopting a sequential explanatory design (Creswell, 2003), I first collected quantitative data using the questionnaire Music Teaching Self-Efficacy Survey (MTSES), which I created based on Bandura’s (1997) self-efficacy theory. The purpose of the MTSES was to understand how a music pedagogy course affected participants’ self-efficacy. Bandura (2006) recommends using a 100-point scale that ranges in 10-unit intervals from 0 (“Cannot do”) through intermediate degrees of assurance (50: “Moderately certain can do”) to 100, which indicates complete assurance (“Highly certain can do”). In addition, Pajares et al. (2001) suggests that a 100-point efficacy scale is a stronger predictor of performance than a 5-point scale. Thus, the music self-efficacy scales employed in this study used the recommended scale structure and descriptors. Moreover, Bandura (2006) suggests that scales that use only a few steps should be avoided, because they are less sensitive and less reliable, and that negative numbers should not be included in self-efficacy scales because there is no lower gradation than complete incapacity (0). Preliminary instructions were created to help participants rate the strength of belief in their personal abilities. Participants were asked to judge their operative abilities, rather than potential or expected future abilities, at the time of filling out the questionnaire. In accordance with Bandura’s (2006) guide for constructing self-efficacy scales, a practice item about the ability to lift objects of increasing weight was used to familiarize participants with the scale gauging the strength of efficacy belief. I then collected qualitative data from the reflective reports the participants returned and the open-ended responses from the MTSES. Such sources of data are in line with Bandura’s (1997) ideas regarding the development of measures of self-efficacy; specifically, efficacy scales

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should be supplemented with structured questionnaires and open-ended responses. The pre- and post-questionnaires of the MTSES (Table 4.2) were designed to be identical in order to examine the changes in participants’ self-efficacy after completing the music pedagogy course. The first four sections of the MTSES measured the participants’ levels of confidence about teaching the four major applied music strategies of the music pedagogy course as discussed in the previous chapter, and the last section measured the participants’ overall levels of confidence regarding teaching music to young children. The draft of questionnaire was pilot tested to ensure the suitability of the items and was reviewed by experienced researchers and practitioners in early childhood education. Constructing scales to assess self-regulation requires preliminary work to identify possible impediments; therefore, pilot questionnaires should be administered and participants should be requested to describe any difficulties they experience in performing the required activities (Bandura, 2006). Pilot surveys were administered to 23 previous enrollees in the music pedagogy course in order to enhance the validity, reliability, and efficiency of the questionnaire. The identified challenges or impediments were built into the self-efficacy items. The 23 pilot participants were informed that their participation was completely voluntary and that their opinions would be used to enhance the design of a questionnaire for a research study. Each item in the questionnaire included a box the pilot participants could check if they found the question unclear. Revisions were made based on pilot survey respondents’ comments. For instance, some questions were reworded to improve clarity of expression. Teacher research was used as an enabling method in this study. Teacher research is a form of action research designed by practitioners to seek practical solutions to issues and problems in their professional practices (Stringer, 2007). Cochran-Smith and Lytle (1999) emphasized that teacher research is a systematic inquiry by teachers with the goals of gaining insights into teaching and learning, becoming reflective educators, effecting changes in classroom teaching, and enhancing the lives of students. Kretchmer (2002) also highlighted that conducting research on the researcher’s own students can provide opportunities to engage in dialogue about a wide range of educational matters specifically related to issues of music learning and teaching that arise from vicarious and participatory experiences. Ferrance (2000) noted that as the teacher research

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Table 4.2 Music Teaching Self-Efficacy Survey (MTSES) questions Music and Language How confident are you at the moment in your ability to: (0%–100%) 1. Play percussion instruments that are commonly found in kindergarten classrooms 2. Use percussion instruments to enhance children’s learning language 3. Use a variety of props (scarf, ball, ribbon sticks, etc.) to enhance children’s learning 4. Read a poem in a rhythmic way 5. Teach children to play percussion instruments that are commonly found in kindergarten classrooms 6. Lead children in reading a poem in a rhythmic and musical way 7. Please add a comment that will help me understand more about your confidence level regarding teaching language through music Ensemble Playing: Singing, body percussion, and ostinato How confident are you at the moment in your ability to: (0%–100%) 1. Demonstrate singing with body percussion in a musical and rhythmic way 2. Teach children how to use body percussion 3. Incorporate the concept of ostinato into music activities for young children 4. Conduct an ensemble activity for young children 5. Please add a comment that will help me understand more about your confidence level regarding leading ensemble activities for young children Hand Signs and Creative Music Activities How confident are you at the moment in your ability to: (0%–100%) 1. Demonstrate the use of hand signs to young children 2. Teach hand signs in music classes for young children in an appropriate way 3. Design music activities by using hand signs in creative and interesting ways 4. Foster children’s interest in singing by using hand signs 5. Please add a comment that will help me understand more about your confidence level regarding the use of hand signs in music activities for young children Choreography and Using Dance to Foster Children’s Learning through Music How confident are you at the moment in your ability to: (0%–100%) 1. Move/dance to music 2. Keep a steady beat in moving/dancing to music 3. Select and/or use appropriate music for dance activities 4. Create interesting movements to the steady beat of music that is developmentally appropriate for young children 5. Teach children different musical concepts (tempo, rhythm, mood, style, etc.) through teaching dance 6. Arouse children’s interest in dance 7. Please add a comment that will help me understand more about your confidence level regarding choreography and teaching dance to young children

(continued)

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Table 4.2 (continued) Overall How confident are you at the moment in your ability to: (0%–100%) 1. Deliver developmentally appropriate music instruction to young children 2. Incorporate a variety of different music activities in music classes for young children 3. Integrate music with other learning domains in an effective manner 4. Design music activities in a creative way 5. Lead music activities effectively through your musical skills 6. Arouse children’s interest in learning through music 7. Please add a comment that will help me understand more about your overall confidence level regarding teaching music to young children

paradigm provides a setting that is comfortable for both the researcher and participants, it can enhance the relevance and validity of the study. Teacher research was adopted in this study with the belief that the true meaning and value of teacher research is to generate reflection on what it means to be a teacher educator and, consequently, change the way teachers relate to students. A possible limitation of teacher research is that the value of teacher research is sometimes called into question because of its personal nature. It is sometimes argued that the authoritative standing of the instructor and the resulting power relations may affect the participants’ ability to be completely honest in their responses. According to Zeni (1998), in order to overcome the limitation of teacher research, it is important to show how the researcher intends to protect the participants, and participants are usually considered free from risks if (i) they are well informed of the nature of the study and what is expected from them, (ii) they are required to give informed consent, (iii) they are informed that they can withdraw without any negative consequences particularly regarding their study, and (iv) they are assured that their anonymity and the confidentiality of their data are protected. I did all that Zeni (1998) suggested in the beginning stage of the research. Participants There was a total of 32 participants (29 females, 3 males), and all were enrolled in the course Music Pedagogy for Young Children. Their ages ranged from 22 to 27, and their teaching experience ranged from one to

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five years. All participants were kindergarten teachers and none held such senior positions as principal or head teacher at the time. Contexts of Study With reference to Hong Kong’s official kindergarten curriculum guide, which strongly emphasizes PBL, and extant studies of early childhood education and music education, the music teacher education program was a collection of applied music strategies with a particular focus on PBL including the following. The learning and teaching activities of the course included (i) workshops, (ii) students’ individual and group oral presentation, (iii) writing lesson plans and preparing teaching materials; (iv) video presentations of model teaching by early childhood music specialists, (v) assigned readings and follow-up discussions, and (vi) reflective writing about class experiences. The main objectives of the music pedagogy course in this study included were (a) to develop participants’ fundamental knowledge and the skills required to teach music to young children, (b) to develop participants’ competencies and creativity in designing developmentally appropriate music activities for young children, (c) to enhance participants’ pedagogical competencies in implementing music classes for young children, and (d) to help participants reflect on a wide range of classroom application issues in various classroom situations. The participants attended the course for 2.5 hours once a week for 13 weeks. Referring the goals of early childhood education stated in the Guide to the Pre-primary Curriculum (CDC, 2006) and scholarship in early childhood music education, the music pedagogy course focused on four areas of early childhood music education, which are each presented below: music and language, ensemble playing (singing, body percussion, and ostinato), hand signs and creative music activities choreography, and the use of dance in music classrooms (see the exemplary pedagogical plans in Chapter 2). All four areas addressed the following objectives specified in the guide (CDC, 2006): enjoy the fun of different creative works through the senses and the body, enhance the expression and power of communication through imagination and association, express oneself through different media and materials, appreciate the beauty of nature and works of art, experience different cultures and develop diversified visions, and develop creativity.

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Findings RQ1. What is the impact of a music teacher education program on in-service teachers’ self-efficacy regarding teaching music to young children? Quantitative Analyses: Impacts of Music Teaching Training on In-Service Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Regarding Teaching Music to Young Children The participants were invited to complete the pre- and post-MTSESs in order to address the first research question. Scales and measurement models were validated. As recommended by Bandura (2006), the internal consistency of the MTSES was examined by computing Cronbach’s alpha (Cronbach, 1951). Reliability statistics were computed for individual items and the 34-item scale. In order to ensure the reliability of the statistics, all MTSES subscales were evaluated for both the preand post-surveys. The minimum reliability was determined to be 0.70 (Orcher, 2007). As shown in Table 4.3, the tests for internal consistency reliability yielded Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of α > 0.9 for all scales except pre-ensemble playing, which yielded a coefficient of 0.763, which is still satisfactory. The high Cronbach’s alpha indicates that the MTSES’s were homogenous. All 34 items in the pre- and post-MTSESs were also aggregated as an average. Then, Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficients were computed for both the pre- and post-MTSESs. The preand post-MTSESs yielded Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of α = 0.975 and α = 0.969, respectively, in the test for internal consistency, indicating excellent internal consistency of the summed items in the scales (George & Mallery, 2003). Furthermore, since homogeneity of items was found in the tests for internal consistency and reliability, the researcher combined the subscales into one overall measure of participants’ music self-efficacy and then computed the mean averages for each subscale to conduct the subsequent analysis. As indicated by the significance tests, there was a significant difference at the 0.05 level for each pairwise comparison of self-efficacy perception. Table 4.4 shows each pairwise comparison of self-efficacy perception for different activities from the preto post-MTSESs. The frequency distributions of the music teaching self-efficacy mean scores on both the pre- and post-MTSES revealed normal distributions.

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Table 4.3 Instrument reliability statistics based on administration time for MTSES subscales (Cronbach’s alpha coefficient) Activity

N

Number of items

Pre-MTSES

Post-MTSES

Music and language Ensemble playing: singing, body, percussion, and ostinato Hand signs and creative music activities Choreography and using dance to foster children’s learning through music Overall confidence about teaching music

32 32

6 4

0.945 0.763

0.927 0.946

32

4

0.956

0.944

32

6

0.956

0.972

32

6

0.950

0.953

Note MTSES: Music Teaching Self-efficacy Survey

Table 4.4 Paired sample tests for pre-MTSES and post-MTSES (n = 32) (Paired differences; 95% confidence interval of the difference)

Music and language Ensemble playing: singing, body, percussion, and ostinato Hand signs and creative music activities Choreography and using dance to foster children’s learning through music Overall confidence about teaching music

M

SD

SE mean

Lower

Upper

T

df

P (2tailed)

−1.72

1.12

0.20

−2.13

−1.30

−8.43

29

0.000

−2.68

1.15

0.21

−3.11

−2.25

−12.78

29

0.000

−2.91

1.79

0.33

−3.58

−2.24

−8.92

29

0.000

−2.24

1.27

0.23

−2.71

−1.76

−9.62

29

0.000

−2.28

1.02

0.19

−2.66

−1.90

−12.26

29

0.000

Note MTSES: Music Teaching Self-Efficacy Survey; M: Mean; SD: Standard Deviation; SE mean: Standard Error Mean; T: Difference represented in units of standard error; df: Degrees of Freedom Deviation; P: Probability of obtaining the truth of null hypothesis

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Figure 4.1 shows the frequency distributions of the mean self-efficacy scores of the pre- and post-MTSES. The quantitative data revealed that there was a significant increase in the overall mean MTSES score, as observed in the pre- and post-MTSES data. The mean score for all 34 question items in the pre-MTSES was 5.0654 (SD = 1.73), while the mean score for the post-MTSES was 7.3474 (SD = 0.92), revealing a 45% increase in self-efficacy scores. In addition, descriptive statistics for the different study area items in the MTSES are presented in Tables 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8, and 4.9. Significant increases in music teaching self-efficacy scores were revealed for each pair of all subscales: (i) music and language, (ii) ensemble playing (singing, body percussion, and ostinato), (iii) hand signs and creative music activities, and (iv) choreography and using dance to foster children’s learning through music. The pairwise comparison for music and language revealed the lowest increase (28.8%) in music teaching self-efficacy, while hand signs and creative music activities revealed the highest (68.7%). The other subscales of the MTSES also revealed satisfactory increases in participants’ self-efficacy—namely, ensemble playing (singing, body percussion, and ostinato) (53.8%) and choreography and the use of dance in fostering children’s learning in music (46.6%). The final subscale of the MTSES also revealed a significant overall increase (43.8%) in participants’ music teaching self-efficacy after completing the music pedagogy course. These data illustrate the significant impact of the music pedagogy course in all of the four main areas being covered. RQ2. How does a music teacher education program impact teacher competency and belief regarding various areas of music teaching in early childhood? Participants’ narrative comments from the MTSES and reflective diaries revealed the powerful impacts of the practical and hands-on experiences gained from the pedagogy classes, which contributed significantly to participants’ increased confidence about teaching music. Participant 1, for example, said the following: We had many opportunities to practice different teaching approaches during the classes. I used to be shy about teaching in front of others, including my colleagues. After having such substantial experiences teaching in front of others, I now feel more confident and less shy about teaching in front of other people … including my colleagues. This is amazing and such a breakthrough in my teaching career.

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Fig. 4.1 Frequency distributions of the mean scores for music teaching self-efficacy, 0 (not confident) to 10 (completely confident): (a) pre-MSTES; (b) post-MSTES

(a)

(b)

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Table 4.5 Descriptive statistics for the Music Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale: Music and language (n = 32)

How confident are you at the moment in your ability to Play percussion instruments Pre Post Use percussion instruments to enhance children’s learning through music Pre Post Use a variety of props to enhance children’s language learning Pre Post Read a poem in a rhythmic way Pre Post Teach children to play percussion instruments Pre Post Lead children in reading a poem in a rhythmic and musical way Pre Post

M

Mdn

SD

6.33 7.80

7.0 8.0

2.264 1.324

5.80 7.70

6.0 8.0

2.041 1.343

5.57 7.57

5.5 8.0

2.315 1.591

6.17 7.80

7.0 8.0

2.379 1.349

6.20 7.73

6.5 8.0

2.074 1.112

5.73 7.50

6.0 8.0

2.033 1.167

Note M: Mean; Mdn: Median; SD: Standard Deviation

Similarly, Participant 2 said, “Before I took the course, I always doubted whether what I taught was right. After receiving so much precious feedback and so many comments from the instructor, I now feel more confident about what I have been doing.” The participants’ narrative comments on the MTSES also revealed that the actual application of what they had learned in class with their kindergarten children contributed significantly to their increased confidence about teaching music. One participant (Participant 3) shared her successful kindergarten teaching experience, noting that the happiness in the children’s faces during classes made her more confident about her teaching:

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Table 4.6 Descriptive statistics for the Music Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale: Ensemble playing (singing, body percussion, and ostinato) (n = 32)

How confident are you at the moment in your ability to Demonstrate singing with body percussion Pre Post Teach children how to use body percussion Pre Post Incorporate the concept of ostinato into music activities Pre Post Conduct an ensemble activity for children Pre Post

M

Mdn

SD

5.97 7.67

6.5 8.0

2.385 1.213

6.40 7.77

7.0 8.0

2.568 1.278

2.80 7.67

2.5 8.0

2.644 1.241

4.77 7.57

5.0 7.5

2.239 1.135

Note M: Mean; Mdn: Median; SD: Standard Deviation

Table 4.7 Descriptive statistics for the Music Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale: Hand signs and creative music activities (n = 32)

How confident are you at the moment in your ability to Demonstrate the use of hand signs Pre Post Teach hand signs in music classes for children Pre Post Design music activities by using hand signs Pre Post Foster children’s interest in singing by using hand signs Pre Post Note M: Mean; Mdn: Median; SD: Standard Deviation

M

Mdn

SD

4.80 7.17

5 7

2.821 1.416

4.23 7.03

4 7

2.687 1.377

3.77 7.23

4 7

2.609 1.251

4.13 7.13

4 7

2.432 1.252

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Table 4.8 Descriptive statistics for the Music Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale: Choreography and using dance to foster children’s learning through music (n = 32)

How confident are you at the moment in your ability to Move/dance to music Pre Post Keep a steady beat in moving/dancing with music Pre Post Select and/or use appropriate music for dance activities Pre Post Create interesting movements to the steady beat of music Pre Post Teach children different music concepts through dance Pre Post Arouse children’s interest in dance Pre Post

M

Mdn

SD

5.00 7.03

5.0 7.0

2.166 1.189

5.37 7.10

5.0 7.0

1.847 1.185

4.67 7.03

5.0 7.0

2.106 1.189

4.57 7.07

5.0 7.0

1.995 1.048

4.70 7.07

5.0 7.0

2.087 1.081

4.50 6.93

4.5 7.0

2.209 1.143

Note M: Mean; Mdn: Median; SD: Standard Deviation

I tried to apply the new pedagogy I learned in the course to my teaching in the kindergarten. Honestly, I was not so confident at the beginning as I doubted whether I be able to implement my lesson plan well. However, after seeing the happiness in the children’s faces, I was confident that I could do it successfully!

Enactive mastery experiences were the most frequently reported experiences in the narrative data of the MTSES. Therefore, mastery experience is likely to be one of the factors that contributed most significantly to the dramatic increase in participants’ self-efficacy scores. That is, the participants gained substantial experience in the music pedagogy course through microteaching in the classes, as well as through on-site practice with their kindergarten students.

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Table 4.9 Descriptive statistics for the Music Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale: Overall confidence about teaching music (n = 32)

How confident are you at the moment in your ability to Deliver developmentally appropriate music instruction Pre Post Incorporate a variety of music activities for children Pre Post Integrate music with other learning domains Pre Post Design music activities in a creative way Pre Post Lead music activities effectively Pre Post Arouse children’s interest in learning through music Pre Post

M

Mdn

SD

4.87 7.17

5 7

1.852 1.147

4.77 7.10

5 7

1.736 1.062

5.03 7.20

5 7

1.884 1.062

4.67 7.17

5 7

1.688 1.117

5.30 7.37

5 7

1.725 1.159

5.60 7.47

6 7

1.831 1.106

Note M: Mean; Mdn: Median; SD: Standard Deviation

Qualitative Analyses: Impacts of Music Teaching Training on Various Areas of Music Teaching in Early Childhood Qualitative data from the pre- and post-MSETSs were also collected and analyzed to determine changes participants’ music teaching self-efficacy in each area. Open-ended comments were also solicited, which supplement the quantitative findings and other qualitative findings. Music and language. This was the first teaching area of the music pedagogy course. Using music as a means to enhance children’s language development was the main objective of this teaching area. In the preand post-MTSESs, participants were asked to “add a comment that will help me understand more about your confidence level regarding teaching language through music.” The comments reveal participants’ increased confidence about the teaching area by the end of the music pedagogy course.

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In the pre-MTSES, Participant 4 wrote, “I think there is a relationship between learning music and learning language, but I just do not know how to do it in the classroom.” In the post-MTSES at the end of the music pedagogy course, the same participant noted, “Now, I know the creative ways to teach language through music.” In the pre-MTSES, Participant 5 expressed, “I am not really confident about using music to teach language. All I know is to let the children learn vocabulary by singing songs. Even though I have been using nursery rhymes to teach language to my children, the activities still do not seem to be very interesting for my children.” This participant then noted in the post-MTSES, “I am confident about teaching children poems using music now. I have learned from the course instructor that I can use different musical means to introduce poems to children in interesting ways.… I feel so good after learning about all of these.” These comments related the participants’ increased self-perceived confidence and competency regarding teaching language through music upon completion of the course. More specifically, the participants’ positive comments on the creative approach to the integration of music with language indicate that the creative approach contributed to the success of the course. Ensemble playing: Singing, body percussion, and ostinato. In the preMTSES, Participant 6 wrote, Frankly, I have no idea what ensemble playing is. [To me,] ensemble playing means orchestral playing or something like a string quartet.… Therefore, ensemble playing that consists of body percussion and ostinato sounds quite interesting to me.… Unfortunately, since I know nothing about this, I have no idea how to teach it in my class.

After completing the course, the same participant wrote, “This is my favorite area of study indeed! The idea of body percussion is amazing and is suitable for children of different ages. Incorporating ostinato into the ensemble is such a good way to enhance children’s sense of rhythm. I am going to bring this idea into my class.” This clearly indicates that the participant made dramatic progress regarding her teaching knowledge. These comments reveal that the music pedagogy course enhanced participants’ knowledge about how to leading an ensemble of young children using body percussion, ostinato, and singing. Additionally, the enhanced knowledge might increase participants’ confidence about using

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new creative teaching ideas in the music classroom. As discussed above, the course included various practical learning opportunities for participants, such as workshops, activity design, and presentations. The qualitative data provide evidence of the powerful impacts of practical and hands-on experiences on teachers’ perceptions of teaching music. Hand signs and creative music activities. Comments on the postMTSES showed that participants “confidence about the use of hand signs in music activities for young children” increased after completing the course. In the pre-MTSES, Participant 7 expressed, “I think that the incorporation of hand signs would not be easy in a kindergarten because of the children’s lack of coordination.” Then, in the post-MTSES, the participant noted, “I like the way the instructor showed us how to use hand signs to teaching music to children. It was so interesting and appropriate for the children. I think it would be fun to teach hands signs using games. The children could learn and play at the same time.” In the pre-MTSES, Participant 8 wrote, “I think the use of hand signs is kind of boring for the children, so I regret to say that I do not really have the confidence to deliver it in an interesting way.” In the postMTSES, the participant noted, “After completing the course I came to realize that there are many different creative ways to teach hand signs. I think I am now more confident about incorporating hand signs in my teaching, especially in game-like styles.” Before taking the music pedagogy course, neither Participant 7 nor Participant 8 felt confident about teaching hand signs in an ageappropriate manner to young children. Afterward, however, they had obviously gained the confidence to teach hand signs in an age-appropriate and interesting manner. Their comments reveal that a professional education course changed their attitudes in positive ways. The participants indicate that this change occurred at least in part because they were given plenty of opportunities to observe others and practice in the microteaching. Also, the qualitative data exemplified how the teaching and learning activities, i.e., observation of music specialists and micro-teaching have contributed to the success of this course. Choreography and using dance to foster children’s learning through music. The survey comments showed that the participants had increased confidence about the “choreography and the use of dance” after the course. Participant 9 wrote in the pre-MTSES, “I am not good at dancing myself, so honestly, I do not have the confidence to teach dance well. I have taught dance at school on occasion just because I was asked by

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the principal to do so. Honestly, my motivation for teaching dance is really low.” In the post-MTSES, however, she indicated a change: “I have learned that choreography is not as difficult as I thought. I think I am now ready to use the elements of dance to foster children’s learning through music.” It is clear from the pre-MTSES that the participant had a very low level of confidence regarding dance prior to taking the music pedagogy course, but the post-MTSES clearly indicates that the participant’s improved confidence concerning not only her own dance skills but also her ability to incorporate dance into the curriculum. Participant 10 also exhibited changed beliefs. In the pre-MTSES, she noted, “I enjoy doing simple movements with the children. However, I am just very bad at dancing in rhythm.” In the post-MTSES, she said, “Now, I have learned the importance of the music selection. If I select the appropriate music, I feel very confident about dancing with the music.” Before the study, many of the participants exhibited very low motivation to and confidence about using dance in class because of their lack of interest and low confidence; after the study, however, both their motivation and confidence levels noticeably increased as they had gained experience and increased their knowledge through the music pedagogy course. As the participants were taught and introduced to choreography comprehensively through various teaching and learning, including workshops for practicing skills and presentations based on their understanding of different concepts and approaches to choreography, the qualitative data illustrates how the teaching and learning activities contributed to the success of the course.

Discussion and Conclusions Data obtained from the MTSES revealed a significant overall increase in participants’ self-efficacy scores after completing a music teacher education program with hands-on and applied music components. Narrative data supported that previous experiences, peer teaching, and teaching practice in music classrooms impact participants’ self-efficacy regarding teaching music. Aligning with Bandura’s (1977, 1986) self-efficacy framework, the findings of this study revealed that mastery experience was an impactful source of music teaching self-efficacy. In this study, the peer teaching experience of applied activities contributed significantly to the development of the mastery experience among the participants. As

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supported by the findings of other studies that promote applied activities (e.g., listening, singing, moving, and playing in an ensemble) in early childhood music education (Niland, 2009), this study has revealed the meaning and significance of applied activities as a major curricular focus when providing teacher education for generalists in early childhood education. Therefore, future music teacher education programs may need to put more emphasis on the practical aspects of the curricula to serve the professional needs of early childhood teachers. Concepts and elements of play were integrated extensively into all four areas of this study’s music pedagogy course. Researchers are increasingly identifying the significant value of musical play in children’s musical and non-musical developments (Niland, 2009; Phillips-Silver & Trainor, 2005, 2007, 2008). However, this study revealed that many in-service early childhood teachers had insufficient content knowledge and pedagogical skills for adopting a play-based approach, which was emphasized in the curriculum guide, before enrolling in the music pedagogy course. As such, this study has implied the pressing needs for providing adequate training in a play-based approach to music for early childhood educators in order to create meaningful and developmentally appropriate learning environments for young children. In addition to mastery experience, this study revealed that observation of and positive reinforcement (e.g., encouragement and comments) from others, including specialists and peers, appeared to be significant for the development of music teaching self-efficacy. In order to maintain in-service early childhood teachers’ high self-efficacy, long-term planning should be structured. In light of the present study’s finding that observation and positive reinforcement had a significant influence on teacher self-efficacy, an advisory teacher could provide vicarious music teaching experiences through demonstrations and provide verbal persuasion when a generalist teaches music. For example, a recommendation concerning advisory arts/music teachers that springs from the Australian National Review of School Music Education4 (Pascoe et al., 2005) may be a 4 The National Review of School Music Education in Australia reports on how Australian schools had provided music education. The key areas for the review included: the quality of music education in Australian schools; examples of effective practice in music education in both Australia and overseas; and recommendations, priorities and principles arising from the first two aspects. It was funded under the Australian Government Quality Outcomes Program and was prompted by an acknowledgment that music is a vital part of every child’s education.

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possible solution for Hong Kong. Such ongoing professional support from advisory teachers could also help generalists accumulate and achieve mastery experiences of teaching music. On the other hand, regarding addressing insufficient pre-service education in music for early childhood teachers, early childhood education generalists worldwide should be provided with regular access to learning opportunities to enrich their educational experiences of music; the provision of such experiences should be supported by a greater level of monitoring and coordination from the higher education sector and early childhood music organizations that are widely recognized at national or regional levels. Moreover, there is also a need for a recognized qualification in early childhood music education, e.g., recognized qualifications awarded through a postgraduate degree or a National Vocational Qualification. For a broader context, different practitioners should develop sets of relevant skills in order to be competent in the early childhood music context; for example, a language support practitioner should benefit from gaining knowledge of children’s musical development, while a music specialist should benefit from gaining knowledge of various approaches to early childhood education. Most significantly, music teacher educators should cautiously note that a “onesize-fits-all” approach is undesirable in early childhood education given the uniqueness and variety of delivery contexts in early childhood education and music education; thus, there is a need for the coordination of and consensus in goals among different skill development areas in order to facilitate effective changes. This study suggested that a well-tailored in-service music teacher education program (e.g., with hands-on experiences and applied music elements) may help enhance generalists’ self-efficacy and competencies regarding teaching music. Hence, the study itself implies that a cohesive music teacher education, with a comprehensive and well-integrated curriculum and a well-defined framework or programmatic orientation is necessary to effect positive change and improvement in music teacher education. That said, it should be noted that some other contextual factors (e.g., teaching resources and interpersonal support) may also influence teachers’ teaching self-efficacy. The recommendations for future research stems from the limitations of this study. This study was relatively small in scale. Nevertheless, this study can be viewed as an important reference for the future development of music teacher education programs. Although this study was conducted with in-service early childhood teachers in Hong Kong, the implications of this study may be

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extended beyond the original context to other countries in the world. It is suggested that future studies include a wider population with samples from other music pedagogy courses for generalists offered by other institutes in Hong Kong and around the globe. Another methodological limitation of this study is the lack of a control group. A no-intervention condition, though desirable, was not feasible at the time of the study and within the confines of this established program. This may limit the ability to infer causation regarding the changes that occurred as a result of participation in the music pedagogy course. Hence, the results reported should be considered preliminary and hypothesis generating. In addition, for music pedagogy courses that follow a similar approach and with similar goals, the results may vary depending on individuals’ background, experience, and attitude. Further, a longitudinal study could be designed to investigate self-efficacy beliefs at different career stages (pre-service, novice, early career, mid-career, and late career) within subject domains. Since teacher self-efficacy is concerned with self-perceived confidence and competency, studies that explore the relationship between teachers’ selfassessments of their own abilities and other more objective measures would be of great value. Teacher self-efficacy is a small idea with a huge impact (Chung, 2021). This study contributes new knowledge by extending our understanding of how teacher education programs have impacted teaching efficacy in music. The findings of this study offer an empirical basis for the higher education institutions and policymakers regarding the future development of teacher education programs based on the professional and academic needs of early childhood teachers.

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CHAPTER 5

Policy Reforms, Pedagogical Practices, and Challenges in Early Childhood Music Education: Sources of Self-Efficacy Regarding Teaching Music

Introduction Related to the waves of education policy reform in postcolonial Hong Kong, this chapter examines the developments specific to early childhood music education. This chapter exemplifies the interplay between policy reforms and teachers’ responses in pedagogical practices through the perspective of postcolonial Hong Kong. I first consider, from a historical and cultural perspective, policy reforms that have impacted early childhood education in Hong Kong. Next, I discuss the challenges to the pursuit of high-quality music education in early childhood. Finally, against the backdrop of the waves of policy reform in postcolonial Hong Kong, I critically examine early childhood teachers’ beliefs in music education, as well as sources of self-efficacy for teaching music based on Bandura’s theory of sources of self-efficacy. Data were drawn from in-depth interviews with early childhood teachers to provide insights into the beliefs and self-efficacy of in-service early childhood teachers regarding teaching music in terms of their own understanding of the goals and purpose, their ability to justify PBL (the mandated approach according to current education policy) to parents and other stakeholders in a non-Western context, their creation or appropriate implementation of curricula, and their own competency to effectively adopt a range of pedagogies in view of current © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 F. M. Y. Chung, Music and Play in Early Childhood Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5033-9_5

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education policy. More specifically, both the level and sources of teacher self-efficacy (e.g., enactive mastery experience, verbal persuasion, vicarious experiences, and physiological and affective states) were examined to gain a deeper understanding of teachers’ implementation of music education in classroom settings.

Historical and Cultural Influences on Music Education in Hong Kong Despite the Hong Kong government officially recognizing arts education as a key area of early childhood education and an increased emphasis on children’s joyful learning through play (CDC, 2017), because of longstanding cultural and historical influences, it has been a great challenge to produce shifts in people’s beliefs and values with regard to education. Traditionally, Hong Kong’s educational system has been geared toward academic excellence and success in examinations (Hui, 2000; Rao et al., 2010; Salili, 2009). Teachers and parents both tend to focus on academic achievement rather than creative development (Wong & Lau, 2001), which creates a challenge for kindergarten teachers trying to implement the Kindergarten Education Curriculum Guide, which emphasizes “creativity” and “learning through play” (CDC, 2017). Music has historically been marginalized in education in Hong Kong. This tendency is attributed to the history and cultural value of the people of Hong Kong. Being part of China, Hong Kong’s culture has been deeply influenced by Confucianism, and many Hong Kong parents hold that education leads to advancement in terms of career and socioeconomic status (Li, 2010). As such, Hong Kong parents still tend to have very high expectations of their children in terms of academic achievement (Fung & Lam, 2011; Leung et al., 2010) and undervalue children’s artistic development. Hong Kong is widely known for its highly competitive and rigid examination orientation, which begins in early childhood education. Studies have revealed that many Hong Kong kindergartens still prefer the transmission model, which utilizes uniform curricula entailing rote learning of factual information, the spelling difficult English vocabulary terms, writing dictation of complex Chinese characters, and structured activities that do not necessarily enhance children’s development of creativity and problem-solving skills or stimulate children’s interest in learning (Lau, 2006). Such modes of learning contradict the emphasis on creativity in childhood stated in current education policy, posing a

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challenge to the implementation of the official curriculum guide, which emphasizes learning through play, the importance of arts education, and the development of creativity. An examination of the historical development of early childhood education in Hong Kong shows that emphasis has not been placed on musical creativity. Kindergarten children are often instructed to imitate teachers’ movements, to play instruments and sing in groups during music classes rather than to engage in play-based musical activities through which they can explore different musical props (e.g., puppets, ribbon sticks, and scarves) and instruments and subsequently use their own creative ideas to further develop their play (Lau & Grieshaber, 2010; Niland, 2009). Hong Kong kindergarten teachers often simply adhere to the directives provided in textbooks when leading music activities, and such activities often comprise routine and highly structured components of the curriculum, such as breathing exercises, pitch practice, and an emphasis on singing technique (Lau, 2008). Musical creativity is generally not valued, and music is usually not integrated across the curriculum or enhanced during children’s free play (Liang & Pang, 1992). As Wong (2002) and Lau (2006) noted, music practice in Hong Kong tends to encourage conformity and discourage creativity. Therefore, despite the Hong Kong government’s stated goals and vision, encouraging musical creativity in kindergarten remains a challenge (Lau, 2006). Consequently, children often end up learning the same songs through repetition until they can perform them well, which is a neither motivating nor stimulating learning process for the children. Thus, Cheung (2004) argued for less rigid systems of teaching and learning to promote enjoyment, suggesting a greater balance in the curriculum between Chinese and Western music and placing greater emphasis on developing children’s creativity.

Education Reform in Postcolonial Hong Kong’s Early Childhood Education: From Rote Learning to PBL The Hong Kong government’s recently-issued Kindergarten Education Curriculum Guide (CDC, 2017) was themed “Joyful Learning through Play” and stated that “play” should be the focus of the curriculum. As discussed in Chapter 2, research has suggested that musical play is a powerful medium for enhancing children’s holistic development. Despite

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arts education being recognized as a key area of the current curriculum framework and music being officially recommended as a daily activity in kindergartens, early childhood teachers in Hong Kong have not received sufficient training in music education and the application of a play-based approach to music education in their pre-service education. The conceptions of music and play among kindergarten teachers may still be vague, which may create challenges for the application of the recommendations made in the curriculum guide. Studies focusing on the implementation of a play-based approach to music in Hong Kong are rare. To address this gap, which is of relatively recent interest, this chapter seeks to investigate the perception and self-efficacy of teachers regarding the implementation of a play-based approach to music. The findings of the study presented in this chapter will contribute to identifying the content knowledge, musical skills, and pedagogical competencies that teachers need to implement music education in kindergarten classrooms. Prior to the 2000 education reform,1 early childhood education operated outside the boundaries of formal government educational policy (Pearson & Rao, 2006). As in many parts of the world, early childhood education has been marginalized within the formal education mechanism. Because the government did not officially recognize or provide policy for early childhood education, teachers in this sector lacked guidance concerning curriculum planning and delivery. Consequently, the planning and implementation of early learning experiences for young children in school settings were often unstructured and segmented during the colonial era. Despite the lack of clear guidelines for the content and curriculum of early childhood music education, music listening, music making, and music creation have been proposed in the curriculum guide as the three main areas of musical development for children (CDC, 1992). The following illuminates the conception of these musical areas: Music listening. Music education scholars have contended that music listening skills are crucial for children’s music learning (Garner, 2009). Gordon (2003) suggested that music listening enhances children’s

1 The Education Commission submitted the “Reform Proposal for the Education System in Hong Kong” to the Hong Kong government in September 2000. In the Policy Address 2000, the Chief Executive endorsed the recommendations. The scope of the reform included the curricula, assessment mechanisms, and the admission systems for different stages of education.

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competency in understanding a wide range of musical elements (e.g., pitch, rhythm, dynamics, tempo, tonality, and timbre). Given the importance of listening for young children, it is important for teachers to create active listening opportunities to engage children in focused and active listening. It is also important for teachers to develop the necessary skills to identify age-appropriate content for teaching (Ballantyne, 2006). Sims and Nolker (2002) argued that openness, curiosity, discovery, and listening on the part of teachers are among the most influential factors for developing children’s concentration and appreciation while listening to music. Music making. Young children’s music-making processes include a broad range of activities, including playing instruments, singing, and moving (Campbell & Scott-Kassner, 2009). Leading these music making activities is often reliant on a teacher’s ability to conduct and perform (Leighton & Lamont, 2006). In kindergarten settings, singing is a common and enjoyable musical activity for young children (Lau, 2006; Tarnowski & Barrett, 1997). Singing not only brings joy to children but also develops their voices and enhances their understanding of various musical elements, such as pitch, tonality, melody contour, rhythm, and form (Gardner, 1983). Given the various benefits of singing, teachers’ competence in leading children to sing and explore their own voices is of great importance (Leighton & Lamont, 2006). Moving with music is also a commonly adopted activity that is considered fun for young children (Gerry et al., 2010). Studies have identified various benefits of movement for young children (e.g., sense of rhythm, motor skills, physical awareness, and multisensory musical processing) (Brown & Parsons, 2008; Cross, 2003; Dalcroze, 1967; Phillips-Silver & Trainor, 2005, 2007, 2008; Todd et al., 2007; Trainor, 2008; Zatorre et al., 2007). Music creation. Composition and improvisation are the components of this music creation (Burnard, 2000). In Hong Kong, creativity has been officially stressed as part of the education policy for early childhood education (CDC, 2006, 2017). In the United States, creating music forms an important part of the early childhood music education curriculum according to national standards (Persellin, 2007). Through the processes of composition and improvisation, children organize, structure, and formulate their musical and non-musical ideas. Thus, it is important that teachers provide abundant opportunities for children to explore and create their own musical products (Welch, 2006). The challenges teachers face in providing opportunities to create music involve

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creating a low-stress learning environment and determining the medium, context, and materials of the lesson (Riveire, 2006). Although syllabi drawn from the official curriculum guide aim to provide a balanced curriculum that involves listening to, performing, and creating music to help promote children’s artistic and aesthetic development, the actual musical elements covered in classes are often determined by the music teachers themselves, who are likely to consider their own musical strengths and competencies when planning and designing their classes (Cheung, 2004). As a result of insufficient pre-service education and teachers’ inadequate competencies in music, the music activities developed by kindergarten teachers are often quite limited in depth and breadth. Thus, Cheung (2004) proposed that given the stimulus of enthusiastic efforts toward educational reform, research should be conducted to “examine separate subject teaching and interdisciplinary teaching, the effects of an integrated curriculum, and the need for less rigid systems of music using a weaker framing approach to promote children’s enjoyment in learning music” (p. 353). In the postcolonial era, the Hong Kong government has taken the initiative to rethink and redefine the value of early childhood education through educational reviews and reforms (Pearson & Rao, 2006). Postcolonial policy reform of early childhood education has marked a significant milestone in Hong Kong’s education development. For the first time, a clear vision for early childhood education was established in 2000 after considerable effort by education authorities (Chan, 2012). In particular, Hong Kong schools have been evolving from teacher-centered, examination-oriented institutes into student-oriented, democratic learning centers, based on the principles outlined in the blueprint for reform published by the government in 2000 (Pearson & Rao, 2006). These principles emphasize that teachers must understand and respect the unique developmental pattern of each child in order to foster his or her knowledge and abilities and bearing in mind that children develop at varying rates and have different interests (CDC, 2017). In the 2000 education reform, the Hong Kong Curriculum Development Council conducted a holistic review of different subjects across the curriculum of early childhood education. Accordingly, the government has officially recognized that music, as an integral part of arts education, contributes significantly to students’ aesthetic development, which is one of the most essential learning experiences for whole-person development (CDC, 2002, 2006). To pursue and implement such reform goals,

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enhancing early childhood teachers’ professional competence in music has become a major concern for the successful implementation of music education for young children because early childhood teachers are largely trained as generalists. Further, in the Guide to the Pre-primary Curriculum (CDC, 2006), the arts were for the first time officially recognized as one of the major areas of early childhood education in Hong Kong. Further, it clearly stated the vision of pre-primary education, namely, to provide a relaxing and pleasurable learning environment that promotes a balanced approach to the various necessary areas (physical, intellectual, linguistic, social, emotional, and aesthetic) of childhood development. Most importantly, the Guide to the Pre-primary Curriculum (CDC, 2006) attempted to shift the pedagogical direction of early childhood education, as for the first time, learning through play became the central and officially recommended pedagogy for Hong Kong pre-primary education. The guide stresses the importance of play, noting that children’s holistic development should be fostered through play and meaningful life experiences as well as through sensory, exploratory, and interesting activities. Nevertheless, the long-standing transmission model posed considerable challenges for kindergarten teachers’ implementation of the guide. With this traditional transmission model, uniform curricula, structured activities, and prescribed resources are utilized; conformity, competition, and rote learning are strongly encouraged (Lau, 2006; Liang & Pang, 1992; Wong & Lau, 2001); and teachers and parents tend to focus on academic achievement (e.g., language and mathematics) rather than creative activities (e.g., music and the visual arts). In particular, the traditional transmission approach requires children to adhere to strict academic objectives that involve dictation, spelling, routine mechanical writing, and examinations (Wong & Lau, 2001). The Hong Kong Education Commission (1999) also acknowledged that children had to “cope with too much homework” (p. 15). Regrettably, children often ended up having very little or no time to engage in musical activities with the traditional transmission approach, causing music to become an at-risk area in many of Hong Kong’s kindergartens (Lau & Grieshaber, 2010). The official kindergarten curriculum guide was revised substantially in 2017 by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government “in light of the changes in society and the needs of children” (p. 6), and the recommended curriculum framework, developmental objectives, and pedagogical approaches were revised. The theme of the Kindergarten

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Education Curriculum Guide (CDC, 2017), “Joyful Learning through Play,” clearly indicates the greater emphasis on play and that it should be the focus of the curriculum across all subjects of early childhood education. Significantly, arts and creativity have been recognized as one of the six major learning areas of the early childhood curriculum framework alongside physical fitness, language, early childhood mathematics, nature and living, and self and society. In addition, music is officially recommended as a daily activity for kindergarteners in this latest curriculum guide. Most notably, the Hong Kong government has explicitly stated that national education and moral education should be integrated into the key areas of the kindergarten curriculum, including music (this will be discussed further in Chapter 6). Despite the increasing recognition of music education in the past two decades since the 2000 education reform, Hong Kong early childhood teachers still do not receive sufficient training in music education or the application of a play-based approach to music education in their preservice education. Notably, music and play remain conceptually vague for kindergarten teachers, which has created colossal challenges for the application of the guide’s recommendations. In light of this, this chapter investigates early childhood teachers’ beliefs and self-efficacy regarding teaching music in early childhood education settings in response to education reform.

Challenges for the Development of Hong Kong Early Childhood Music Education Regarding Policy Reform The influence of changing societal structures on human activity and development is not a deterministic process. It depends on how these changes are perceived and how people cope with them. The recent transition of the global society into a knowledge economy is changing people’s interactions, including their expectations, and the demands that are made on people. (van Oers, 2009, p. 213)

Since the handover of sovereignty from Britain to China in 1997, the early childhood education sector in Hong Kong has entered an exciting yet challenging phase. The implementation of education policy reforms,

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sociopolitical changes, and cultural influences on early childhood education have posed multiple challenges to music education in the following ways: (i) the dilemma between policies and market forces, (ii) teachers’ music competencies for and pedagogical understanding of how to implement the new curriculum guide, and (iii) the need for culturally relevant practices in music education. Dilemma Between Policies and Market Forces The current early childhood education policy lays emphasis on the application of PBL and child-centered approaches. However, market forces in Hong Kong have posed sizeable challenges to the implementation of PBL and child-centered approaches. Kindergartens in Hong Kong are largely privately owned and not included in the 12-year compulsory education system,2 which offers free education to elementary and secondary students. Further, there was a rapid decrease in birth rate after the 1997 political handover, making the early childhood sector an oversupplied market. Therefore, kindergartens in Hong Kong are particularly susceptible to market forces (Chan & Chan, 2003) and experience rigorous competition. As a result, parents, as consumers, play a pivotal role in shaping the educational practices of the early childhood curriculum, creating a push and pull between government monitoring mechanisms and the market, driving the ecology of early childhood education (Ng et al., 2017). In order to attract potential admissions and meet parents’ expectations, many kindergartens are inclined to make academic study the core component of their curriculum, and adopt a drill-and-practice approach to various areas of study, including music. Despite the government’s strong emphasis on PBL and a child-centered approach, pressure from market forces to adopt academically driven curricula persists. This interaction between policy recommendations and market forces is therefore a considerable challenge to the implementation of PBL, resulting in inconsistencies between policy and practice.

2 The Hong Kong government provides 12 years’ free primary and secondary educa-

tion to all children through public sector schools. Starting from the 2008/09 school year, the government has provided full subvention for full-time programs offered by the Vocational Training Council for Secondary 3 school leavers, making available an alternative free avenue for students to further their studies other than through mainstream formal education.

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Teachers’ Music Competencies and Pedagogical Understanding Regarding Implementing the New Curriculum Guide The implementation of education policy reform is highly dependent on the competencies of frontline educators. In particular, the implementation of high-quality music education requires substantial specialized musical skills and knowledge, which generalist teachers lack. While the curriculum guides provide general directions for curriculum development and implementation of PBL and a child-centered approach, “[pre-]primary institutes need to formulate their own curriculum based on this Curriculum Guide, and transform it into appropriate learning experiences for children” (CDC, 2006, p. 10). Cheng (2010) identified that Hong Kong early childhood teachers found it immensely difficult to comprehend and conceptualize “learning through play” and that there is a gap between educators’ espoused theories and actual class practices. In music education, many early childhood generalist teachers tend to adopt learning materials and packages provided by local and other Asian publishers to design activities. In particular, many use the Orff learning packages published in Taiwan, despite reported challenges regarding use of these packages because of linguistic (i.e., Mandarin rather than Cantonese) and cultural barriers for both teachers and students. Many early childhood generalist teachers admit that they are not competent to design music curriculum plans with a play-based approach without curriculum resources and expert guidance. This scenario suggests the need to provide more effective, comprehensive, and accessible pre-service and in-service teacher training in music for early childhood generalist teachers. Culturally Relevant Practices in Music Education: Translating Western Pedagogical Models into a Chinese Society Historically, Hong Kong has been a distinctive blend of East and West. Thus, the use of culturally relevant frameworks in education is particularly important. Given its longstanding colonial influences from Britain, Hong Kong has had long exposure to Western theoretical and pedagogical models of education. Since the education reform in 2000, the Hong Kong government has strived to integrate the best parts of Western pedagogies into educational practices in Hong Kong (Wong & Li, 2010). For example, Western pedagogical models such as the Reggio Emilia approach and the high scope program have been borrowed and “transplanted”

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into the early childhood curriculum3 (Ng et al., 2017). As discussed in Chapter 2, many kindergartens have been incorporated Western pedagogical models for music education, such as the Orff, Dalcroze, and Kodály methods. Researchers have critically examined how these Western educational ideas have been integrated. Cheng (2006) discovered that the adoption of the High/Scope approach4 did not translate into permanent and effective teaching and learning for children. Chung’s (2021) study revealed that the early childhood generalist teachers had low selfefficacy regarding the adoption of Western pedagogical methods (e.g., Orff and Dalcroze). Teachers have reported that they perceived themselves as lacking the creativity and musical expression (e.g., improvisation and creative movements) needed to successfully implement these models, particularly the body movements and body percussion. Importantly, the Western educational idea of learning through play is also officially recommended as the model for the early childhood curriculum in Hong Kong. However, implementation of this model has been challenged by longstanding influences of traditional Chinese values, which stress drills and practice in early learning (Ng & Rao, 2008). Against this background of East meeting West, Ng et al. (2017) argue that the translation of Western educational ideas into Hong Kong’s early childhood curriculum is a phenomenon requiring a holistic understanding of both backgrounds. Li (2004) pointed out that given the Western influence on Hong Kong, Hong Kong teachers should be able to cope simultaneously with three sets of potentially conflicting expectations and orientations in order to teach effectively: their proclaimed vision of early childhood education, Chinese culture, and local constraints.

3 The Reggio Emilia approach is a philosophy and pedagogy focused on early childhood and elementary education. It is a child-centered and constructivist self-guided curriculum that adopts self-directed and experiential learning. The curriculum is based on the core principles of learning through play, discovery, and exploration. 4 The High/Scope approach has roots in constructivist theory. The philosophy of

High/Scope approach is that children construct their own learning by doing and being actively involved in working with people and materials. Based on previous research in child development and early childhood education, High/Scope is an approach to early childhood education that builds on children’s interests and abilities.

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Research Study Aim and Research Questions Against the background discussed above, the wealth of education reform in relation to early childhood music education in postcolonial Hong Kong has provided a particular sociocultural environment for this study, which examines early childhood teachers’ perspectives on music and their selfbelief regarding their music teaching practices. Despite the significance of self-efficacy in terms of achievement in teaching and the development of various musical competence as discussed in Chapter 3, there are very few studies that focus on in-service early childhood teachers’ selfefficacy regarding teaching music, and these studies have largely focused on pre-service elementary teachers (Buckner, 2008; Kretchmer, 2002; Vannatta-Hall, 2010). This study investigates in-service early childhood teachers’ sources of self-efficacy regarding implementing a play-based approach to music education in reference to Bandura’s (1977, 1986) four sources of self-efficacy theory (mastery experience, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and physiological and affective states), as well as teachers’ beliefs about music and teaching music in early childhood education settings. The primary sources of the quantitative and qualitative data used in this study came from a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews with the in-service early childhood teachers. This study posed two interrelated questions: RQ1. In what ways do early childhood generalists value music and its role in early childhood education? RQ2. What is the state of in-service early childhood teachers’ self-efficacy (e.g., level, sources, and weighting of various sources) regarding the adoption of a play-based approach to music education? Procedure and Methods To begin answering the research questions, it is necessary to examine the self-belief and views of early childhood teachers concerning the introduction of music education into the kindergarten curriculum and, in particular, the implementation of a play-based approach in accordance with education policy concerning music classrooms. As such, this study

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included a survey for investigating early childhood teachers’ past experiences and self-beliefs in music and music education. The participants to whom the questionnaire was administered were kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong. In 2019–2020, Hong Kong had 1,049 kindergartens with 14,389 registered early childhood teachers (Education Bureau, 2020). The kindergartens were selected by a cluster sampling approach, which is a technique in which clusters of participants representing a population are included in the sample, and so, this method is economical and suitable for a survey involving institutions (Ahmed, 2009). This sampling method as adopted because the kindergarten teacher population in Hong Kong is quite large and spread over a wide geographical area, and so, this method was deemed efficient and viable. Sixteen schools were selected, with the number selected from each district being in proportion to the total number of kindergartens in that district according to the Hong Kong Education Bureau’s “School list by district” of kindergartens (2019/20) (Education Bureau, 2020). Thus, there were four kindergartens from Hong Kong, six from Kowloon, and six from the New Territories East and West. Questionnaire The teachers involved in the implementation of music teaching at each of the selected kindergartens were invited to participate in the survey. The average time to complete the questionnaires was around 5–10 minutes. Both hard-copy and online questionnaires were prepared in order to maximize the response rate. The majority of early childhood teachers in the selected kindergartens were eligible to participate in this survey since early childhood education in Hong Kong adopts an integrated approach and, therefore, most early childhood teachers are required to teach all subject areas (including music). The study administered an anonymous questionnaire to solicit the views of the sample of kindergarten teachers in the most efficient manner. The survey questionnaire served the purpose of obtaining a broad picture of the participants’ demographic information, various aspects of their musical beliefs, behaviors, musical background, and in-service experience teaching music to young children. The questionnaire was written in Chinese, which was the teachers’ native language. It comprised three sections. The first section collected basic information about the teachers’ gender, qualifications, musical training, and experiences. The second section inquired about how teachers value music in terms of

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its importance, difficulties, and enjoyableness. The third section investigated teachers’ preferences regarding using musical activities in their teaching and how they value music education in early childhood education. The quantitative items used a five-point Likert-type scale, one of the most commonly used scales in quantitative research, allowing respondents to express degree of agreement, frequency, or importance (Losby, 2012). In addition to the quantitative items, the participants were required to respond to four open-ended items on the questionnaire: (i) describe the earliest experience of teaching musical activities that you can recall, (ii) describe the three most important musical experiences that have influenced your current level of confidence about teaching music to young children, (iii) describe one of your most frustrating experiences in teaching music to young children, and (iv) describe one of your most successful experiences in teaching music to young children. These open-ended items provided useful qualitative information about the participants’ musical background, which helped to further address their mastery and the vicarious experiences that influenced their self-efficacy beliefs regarding teaching music. According to Bandura (2006), mastery experience is based on one’s past experiences, including successes or failures at different events and in different situations and is considered to exert the strongest influence on self-efficacy beliefs of the four sources of self-efficacy. As such, participants’ past experiences with, background in, and perceptions of music play a vital role in influencing and, ultimately, determining their self-efficacy beliefs regarding teaching music. Moreover, the demographic and music background information shed light on the replicability of the results of this study, providing important references to facilitate the development of future research. This study used the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software to analyze the questionnaire data, identify patterns in the informants’ responses, and explore interrelationships (Bryman & Cramer, 2002). According to the survey requirements, quantitative analysis (e.g., mean, standard deviation, cross-tabulation description, and the Pearson correlation coefficient) was conducted using SPSS software. Interviews In addition to the questionnaire, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the early childhood teachers, allowing them to converse freely and openly with the interviewer’s in-depth probing for clarification

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and further examination. Sixteen kindergarten teachers who participated in the questionnaire survey were purposively selected from kindergartens with a combination of different sizes (small, medium, and large), program duration (half-day and full-day), and financial structures (non-profit kindergartens and private independent kindergartens). The interviews were intended to explore their perspectives and self-belief regarding teaching music and to clarify their questionnaire responses (Schober et al., 2004). All interviews were conducted in Cantonese, audio-recorded with the consent of the interviewees, and later transcribed for analysis. These interviews were conducted on a one-on-one basis, and each interview session lasted for approximately 30 to 90 minutes. Creswell (2008) suggested that such open-ended questions allow participants to voice their personal experiences unconstrained by the perspectives of the researcher or of past research findings. In addition to certain personal background information, the teacher interviewees were asked open-ended questions about their self-belief and point of views regarding their music teaching in the kindergarten setting. The teacher interviewees were asked questions based on Bandura’s (1984) four self-efficacy sources: past experience in musical participation and teaching music (mastery experience), impact of observation of and reflection from others when the target activity (e.g., music lesson planning and implementation and demonstration of musical skills) is modeled by other people (vicarious experience), experience or impact of receiving encouragement and reinforcing feedback from others (verbal/social persuasion), and experience or impact of anxiety, stress, and fatigue on their music teaching (physiological state). Content analysis was used to examine the interview data by coding the interviewees’ responses (Krippendorff, 2018). Analysis included qualitative responses from both the questionnaire and the interviews. The researcher determined the categories for analysis (Bandura’s four sources of self-efficacy) prior to the process of data collection. In addition to these four sources of self-efficacy, the researcher also carefully recorded all comments by participants in relation to their confidence and competence regarding teaching music. The purpose of analyzing the qualitative data was to provide a richer and more comprehensive picture of the participants’ perceived self-efficacy. Further, part of the analysis entailed frequency count of comments. Frequency count was used, after consideration of other possible approaches, based on the unique nature of this study. According to Chang et al. (2009), converting the qualitative data into quantitative data measures using frequency count is an effective way

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of enhancing data analysis if the sample size is not large. Additionally, frequency count provided a more systematic analysis of the qualitative data and facilitated a comparison of the influences of different sources of self-efficacy. As the study concerns the role of different sources of self-efficacy in relation to teaching music in early childhood education, weighting these sources provides important clues in understanding the development of self-efficacy in the teachers. Analysis of the frequency count of concepts rather than word output (e.g., NVivo) was used because manual frequency counts of comments generated more relevant and specific interpretations of the data in relation to the specific context of this study. Demographic Information Of the questionnaires distributed to the 16 kindergartens, a total of 232 survey questionnaires were returned. Of the 232 respondents, 226 were female (97%) and 6 were male (3%). One hundred eighty-one participants (78%) had a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education (BEd in ECE), 39 participants (17%) obtained a certificate of education in early childhood education (CE in ECE), and 12 participants (5%) had a postgraduate diploma in early childhood education (PGDE in ECE). Fifty-three (23%) teacher informants had been employed as kindergarten teachers for more than 10 years and 107 (46%) for five to nine years, while 72 (31%) informants had one to four years of experience as kindergarten teachers. One hundred thirty-five participants (58%) reported that they had learned to play a musical instrument. The number of piano learners outnumbered the learners of other instruments. Of the participants who had learned to play a musical instrument, most interviewees studied Western musical instruments, such as piano, violin, viola, electronic organ, and flute, whereas only a few studied Chinese instruments, including guzheng (a plucked string instrument) and pipa (a four-stringed plucked instrument). Of those participants who had learned an instrument, 11 (8%) had studied the instrument for less than one year, 62 (46%) had studied for one–two years, 53 (39%) studied three–five years, and 9 (7%) had studied for more than five years. The data demonstrate that most of the participants did not have a strong, solid background and training in music.

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Table 5.1 Frequency counts of participation in music activities during pre-service years

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Activity

N

School choir Church choir Concert band or orchestra Church band Jazz band Rock or pop band Playing music with friends Musicals Private lessons on instrument (including voice) Group lessons on instrument (including voice) Playing for fun on my own Other musical activities

121 74 47 20 20 20 34 27 19 19 13 7

Note n = 232 in-service early childhood teachers who participated in music activities during their pre-service years

Questions about musical activities were asked to obtain descriptive information about the nature of musical activities the participants had engaged in before entering the profession of early childhood education. All participants (n = 232) reported engagement in more than one musical activity during their pre-service years. The data demonstrate that many participants had an interest and experience of singing activities, such as choir. This might explain their interest in delivering various singing activities in their kindergarten music classrooms, as the qualitative data from the interviews will show (Table 5.1). The 16 interviewees were full-time teaching staff of the kindergartens, and they indicated their willingness to participate in the interviews in the questionnaire. As generalists, all interviewees were involved in teaching music. Four teacher informants had been employed as kindergarten teachers for more than 10 years and two for five years, while 10 informants had one to four years of experience as kindergarten teachers. No interviewee held a senior position such as principal or head teacher.

Findings Beliefs and Values Regarding Music and Music Education RQ1. In what ways do early childhood generalists value music and its role in early childhood education?

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Since this study sought to investigate the sources of self-efficacy for early childhood teachers, teachers’ beliefs about music and teaching were considered critical issues. Teachers’ beliefs and values regarding music were measured according to different dimensions (e.g., importance, level of difficulty, and enjoyableness). Participants reported their beliefs and values regarding music in three contexts: (i) current beliefs about the value of music, (ii) beliefs about the value of musical participation in the pre-service years, and (iii) beliefs and values regarding teaching music in early childhood education. This section explores the role of music in the participants’ lives. The participants were asked about how they value the importance, difficulty, and enjoyableness of music, as well as the importance of self-improvement in music. The results are shown in Table 5.2. They were, in general, neutral, with the mean scores ranging from 3.3 to 3.73 (range of scale: 1–5). Bandura (1984) suggests that previous mastery experiences strongly impact the development of self-efficacy. Since all participants (n = 232) reported that they had participated in music activities during their preservice years, their self-belief in the values of musical participation in the pre-service years was also examined in the questionnaire. Table 5.3 shows the role of music in the participants’ pre-service years. The majority of participants, (132, 56.7%), reported that their musical experiences during their pre-service years were either “enjoyable” or “very enjoyable.” Ninety-three participants (40%) said their musical activities during adolescence were either “difficult” or “very difficult.” Another 93 (40%) reported that their adolescent musical experiences made them feel either “confident” or “very confident” about teaching music to children. Table 5.2 Descriptive statistics for role of music in participants’ lives (n = 232) Role of music Importance of music Difficulty of music Enjoyableness of music Importance of self-improvement in music

Mean (range: 1–5) 3.37 3.33 3.73 3.50

Standard deviation 0.809 0.661 0.785 0.974

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Table 5.3 Descriptive statistics for role of music in participants’ adolescence (n = 232) Role of music

Mean (range: 1–5)

Enjoyableness of music Difficulty of music Enhanced confidence regarding teaching music to young children

Table 5.4 Teachers’ levels of interest in teaching different areas of music (n = 232)

3.63 3.47 3.73

Standard deviation 0.615 0.629 0.971

Musical activity

High interest n

Medium interest n

Low interest n

Singing Movement Percussion instruments Dancing Music appreciation Rhythm activity Music theory

209 216 216

23 16 16

0 0 0

46 8

180 220

6 4

31 0

201 0

0 232

Teachers’ Levels of Interest in Teaching Different Areas of Music Teachers’ levels of interest in teaching different areas of music in early childhood were examined in the questionnaire. Participants were asked about their experiences with teaching music to young children to gain descriptive information about their practical experience in that area. Participants were asked to rank, on an eight-point scale (1 = most interested; 8 = least interested), their interest in musical activities whose purpose was to lead music lessons for young children. The data were then further organized into three groups: high interest (1–3), medium interest (4–5), and low interest (6–8). Table 5.4 reports the response frequencies for levels of interest. Participants reported high interest in the following teaching areas: singing (209; 90%), movement (216; 93%), and playing a percussion instrument (216; 93%). Only 46 participants (20%) reported a high interest in dancing, 8 (3.4%) in music appreciation, and 31 (13.4%) in rhythm activity. Meanwhile, it is interesting to note that

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Table 5.5 Descriptive statistics for beliefs and values about teaching music (n = 232) Beliefs and values about teaching music Enjoyableness of teaching music Usefulness of music for children Children’s interest in music

Mean (range: 1–5) 4.03 3.53 3.80

Standard deviation 0.615 0.776 0.714

all 232 participants (100%) reported low interest in music theory as a teaching area. Teachers’ Beliefs and Values Regarding Teaching Music to Young Children Table 5.5 shows participants’ beliefs and values regarding the level of enjoyableness, usefulness, and interest of teaching music in early childhood education. Most participants had positive beliefs about and values regarding teaching music to young children. For example, 193 participants (83.3%) reported that their experiences of teaching music to young children were very enjoyable or enjoyable, 124 participants (53.5%) that music was very useful or useful compared to other subject areas taught at kindergartens, and 162 participants (70%) that music was very interesting or interesting to young children. Teachers’ Sources of Self-Efficacy Regarding Play-Based Approaches to Music: Mastery Experience, Vicarious Experience, Verbal Persuasion, Physiological and Affective States RQ2. What is the state of in-service early childhood teachers’ selfefficacy (e.g., level, sources, and weighting of various sources) regarding the adoption of a play-based approach to music education? The results of this study aligned with Bandura’s social cognitive theory, and all four sources were present.

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Mastery Experience Analysis of the qualitative responses to the questionnaire and the narrative responses from the interviews are consistent with Bandura’s claim that mastery experience is the most significant source of self-efficacy belief, as the frequency counts for participant comments related to enactive mastery experience (43) significantly outnumbered comments related to the other three sources of self-efficacy. The frequency counts for vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and psychological and affective states were 16, 12, and 14, respectively. In the context of this study, enactive mastery experiences consisted of the following: previous relevant experience, peer teaching, and practice in music classrooms. Previous relevant experiences. A number of participants discussed how their previous experiences in music or music education positively affected their self-efficacy beliefs about teaching music; their reasons included the following: As a graduate with a bachelor of arts in music, I feel confident about teaching music in the kindergarten, even though I did not take any music education courses in my undergraduate studies at the time. I believe that my proficiency at piano and good knowledge of music theory would definitely help my lesson planning as well as implementation. Due to my comparatively strong background in music, I always feel confident about my career as an early childhood generalist who is required to teach everything, including music. My previous experiences with piano, church choir, and leading music playgroups have helped increase my confidence level about teaching music to children. That was also the reason why I joined the field of early childhood education.

Other participants noted that as adolescents they learned various musical instruments and had come to love music. As reflected in the questionnaire and interviews, many interviewees participated in various musical activities available at their secondary schools. They believed that these experiences laid a solid musical foundation for them and helped them feel more confident about teaching music. Some participants, however, reported that their confidence levels regarding music and music teaching were extremely low since they had never formally learned any instrument and therefore had only very little

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knowledge of music theory. They found the component of music insufficient in the local formal curriculum. These participants further added that they often tried to avoid teaching music since they felt it was their weakest subject. Peer teaching. Some participants recalled that it was stressful for them to teach in front of their classmates and instructor during their pre-service teacher training. However, all interviewees agreed that peer teaching was an important exercise that gave them an opportunity to practice teaching different areas of music, particularly those music activities with play elements like dance and movement, and that such experiences increased their confidence regarding teaching music. In particular, they generally found peer teaching valuable as a means to identify their strengths and weaknesses: Leading musical activities was a difficult task for me when I was a student teacher. Even during the elective music course, I was still struggling regarding whether I would be able to do it. After smoothly completing all peer teaching, it just felt great that I was able to get through the different challenges of teaching music. These experiences during my preservice training have made me confident about leading different kinds of musical activities. Frankly, I was really bad at dancing. When I was a secondary student, I was always being made fun of for my poor physical coordination and poor sense of rhythm while dancing. However, after the hard work of several years during my pre-service teacher education, practice in class, and peer teaching, I think I have, to a large extent, overcome my fear of dancing. Most importantly, I have also gained confidence about incorporating the element of dance into my teaching.

Practice in music classrooms. Most participants answered affirmatively that putting their prior professional training into practice was advantageous since it gave them useful insight into the feasibility and applicability of the different teaching methods. From these qualitative comments, it is evident that children’s positive responses to and participation in classes significantly increased the participants’ confidence about leading music activities and gave them a sense of satisfaction with teaching music. They believe that solid teaching experience in kindergarten music classrooms helped boost their confidence about teaching music to young children:

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When I was first introduced to the education idea of play-based learning, I felt very confused and puzzled, as I was in no way brought up in a play-based environment. Rather, my childhood education was instead of a rote-learning style. Even the teacher educator tried to explain the concept to me, but I was still very puzzled. However, I gradually grasped the idea about play and learning through application and practices in the kindergarten classroom. When teaching music with a play-based approach, practical teaching experience is extremely important as you need lots of trial-and-error before you really understand and grasp how it can be done effectively. The children were so excited when they were taught to sing with hand signs and participate in ensemble playing in a game-like manner. Even after I finished teaching these activities, they kept asking: “When can we do the hand signs again? Are we going to do the ensemble again? I think this is an important source of not only motivation for teaching, but importantly, also confidence about teaching.

Vicarious Experience Vicarious experiences entailed participants’ observations of music specialists and their peers. Observation of music specialists. Some teacher informants agreed that observations of teaching demonstrations by teacher educators, which occurred during the kindergarten’s professional development day as arranged by the school, provided them with an abundance of new ideas and thus significantly enhanced their confidence regarding teaching music: I feel more confident now about leading ensemble playing after observing the teacher educator’s teaching demonstrations […] Now, I have a better understanding of the teaching techniques for leading ensemble activities for young children that include percussion, movement, and singing.… I have learned how to maintain the children’s concentration and how to give them proper cues.… I am much more confident now since I can really do it. The music teacher educators were indeed excellent role models. I learned from her that being positive, enthusiastic, and encouraging is essential for success in teaching with a play-based approach.

Observing peers teaching. Some of the teacher informants believed that observing their colleagues’ teaching helped them reflect on their own

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teaching, identify possible areas for improvement (e.g., lesson planning, teaching skills, time management, resource management, and interaction with children), and their explanation included the following: Observing my peers’ teaching has armed me with both confidence and ideas. Being creative is a basic requirement for leading play-based activities, regardless of whether it is child-directed or teacher-led, and is considered a general attribute of an early childhood music educator. However, I often feel like I am running out of new ideas after having taught for some years. By observing my peers’ teaching, I have come up with so many innovative and creative ideas for teaching music. Now, I am more confident, especially regarding being a creative early childhood music educator. I have much clearer ideas about the pros and cons of child-centered and teacher-led approaches after watching my peers’ teaching.

Verbal Persuasion According to Bandura (1977, 1997), verbal persuasion is a significant source of self-efficacy belief. People like being praised and encouraged, and for the participants in this study, the primary forms of such verbal persuasion were comments from school leaders and comments from parents. Comments from principal. As shown in the interview data, the comments of the school principals or head teachers exert an influence on participants’ teaching self-efficacy. The interviews revealed that some school leaders conducted class visits or observations regularly and provided verbal feedback to the participants. In addition, evaluation rubrics, along with detailed written comments, were sometimes given to participants, in which school leaders could offer praise, encouragement, or constructive suggestions. Data gathered from the interviews evinced the significance and positive influence of feedback from senior staff or the management/ownership of the school. Many participants noted that school leaders’ positive and encouraging comments made them feel more confident in their ability to teach music to young children: My principal’s comments on my teaching practice are so precise.… She is very concerned about whether we are able to teach according to the curriculum guide. In particular, whether we are adopting a child-centered and play-based approach. She always points out the problems in my

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teaching and gives me appropriate suggestions. Her comments have really boosted my confidence level concerning teaching music. I am so grateful for our head teacher’s appreciation of my dancing talent. Thanks to her continuous encouragement, I have been integrating more dance elements into my teaching of music to young children.

Comments from parents. Data from the interviews showed the impact of parents’ comments on the participants’ teaching self-efficacy: The atmosphere of our school has always been so harmonious, and all the parents that I know are so supportive of the philosophy of our school, that is, joyful learning. After all, all the praise and encouragement given by the parents have boosted our confidence level concerning teaching music. I often give guidance and encourage the parents to enjoy music at home with their children with a play-based approach, such as pretend play. One of the parents shared with me that she had so much fun doing the kind of activities that I recommended to them. She continued that these musical play experiences were not just about musical, cognitive, and knowledge development but also about enhancing the bond between parents and child. I was so happy to receive such feedback from the parents! I am truly grateful to the parents’ trust in me. Hong Kong is a highly competitive city. On one hand, they want their children to focus on the academic aspects, such as music theory and musical instruments, so that their children can be more competitive and admitted into the city’s elite elementary schools; on the other hand, they support our philosophy of teaching according to children’s developmental needs.

Physiological and Affective States According to Bandura’s (1977, 1997) social cognitive theory, one’s physiological and affective states are also among the main sources of selfefficacy. When this theory is applied to music education, the emotional states of teachers impact their perceptions of self-efficacy. Qualitative data from the interviews revealed that music anxiety and fatigue and stress affected teachers’ self-efficacy regarding teaching music. Anxiety in musical performance. The anxiety the teachers expressed was related to music performance skills, for both singing and playing instruments. In particular, the teachers were aware that music was officially recommended as a daily activity for kindergarteners. The majority of informants acknowledged the importance of musical performance skills for implementing successful music lessons. In teaching music in early

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childhood, teachers are generally required to play musical instruments during different types of musical activities, with piano being used most often (e.g., for demonstration and accompaniment). As shown in the quantitative data of this study, the majority of early childhood teachers in this study did not have a solid background in piano or performance on other musical instrumentals, posing a barrier to success in implementing many musical activities. Due to a lack of confidence in their ability to play a musical instrument (e.g., the piano), many of the teacher informants admitted that they intentionally tried to avoid activities that required playing an instrument. A number of participants expressed their anxieties, saying that they felt stressed in all the music activities that required them to play the piano since they were not very adept at the instrument. Some of the participants were aware of the need to improve their performance skills: The curriculum guide has increasingly emphasized aesthetic education, and I realize that music has been officially recommended as a daily kindergarten activity. The importance of music education in early childhood is now much more clearly positioned. In order to increase my level of confidence regarding teaching music, I think there is an urgent need for me to practice piano diligently. Due to my low confidence level concerning playing piano, frankly, I often just play a CD to accompany the children’s singing.… However, I learned from the literature that a teacher’s live performance and demonstration are very important drivers for motivating children to learn music.… Therefore, I will try to practice more so I do not have to rely on a CD too much. I feel so embarrassed when I play and make so many mistakes in front of my colleagues and students. In order to apply a play-based approach to music education, I often want to apply the Dalcroze approach that I learned from the workshops organized by some private music organizations, particularly concerning improvisation. Stemming from my increased knowledge of music pedagogy from these informal classes, I have come to understand the fun and usefulness of stimulating children’s musical responses through piano improvisation. However, creativity and improvisation in music were never emphasized and valued when I was an adolescent or a student teacher. Therefore, I really want to improvise on the piano to stimulate children’s responses to various musical concepts, [but] I am still not that confident about my improvisation skills.

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The interviews also revealed that many participants were anxious about singing while teaching; phrases such as “bad singer,” “bad at singing,” and “tone deaf” occurred quite frequently, indicating the participants’ low confidence levels regarding singing: Indeed, I think formal teacher education is very insufficient concerning music, and it is not aligned with the official curriculum guide published by the Education Bureau. Although I have great interest in using a cappella as advocated by the Kodály approach, I just feel so nervous singing without accompaniment because I am aware of my inept singing. While the philosophy of Kodály was somewhat covered in my pre-service teacher training, we never really practiced in class; therefore, the concepts of the Kodály method still seem vague to me.

Stress and fatigue. Four teacher interviewees reported frequent feelings of stress and fatigue. In particular, some of the interviewees were enrolled in the in-service teacher training program in order to fulfill the new policy regarding the qualification requirements for early childhood teachers (i.e., the Certificate or Bachelor of Education in early childhood), but simultaneously had full-time obligations as kindergarten teachers. So, it is not surprising that they reported stress in managing their time to attend classes and complete assignments, in concert with their heavy teaching duties. Some interviewees noted that even though they greatly enjoyed teaching, their confidence levels as kindergarten teachers were affected by these feelings: The lack of time and energy has caused me to have low confidence in my ability to effectively teach and apply what I have learned from the part-time training programs for early childhood teachers. Due to the insufficient training in music in my pre-service training, I have enrolled in a part-time course that focuses on music pedagogy in early childhood, which was organized by a local university. Although I find the topics of the music teaching course interesting, it was really stressful and tiring to go to school after nine hours of work at the kindergarten. If I did not have a full-time job, I think I would have had more confidence about bettering myself through these music teacher education programs.

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Discussion and Conclusions Although this school-based study can never be representative of early childhood education in Hong Kong, it takes a preliminary step in the investigation of in-service early childhood teachers’ belief in music teaching, preferred teaching activities, and their sources of self-efficacy, against the background of Hong Kong’s policy reform in early childhood education in recent years. Limitations in the semi-structured interviews with early childhood teachers mainly involved the relatively small number of participants in this study, which can hardly be generalized to other early childhood teachers or educational settings. The interview results may be unique only to the relatively small number of practitioners involved in this study regarding the extent to which various sources of self-efficacy were found to be significant for teaching music in early childhood education. Nevertheless, the data collected from the early childhood teachers exemplifies the interrelationship between policy changes and pedagogical implications, and they can facilitate further exploring and examining the dynamics of enhancing the implementation of early childhood music education. This chapter outlines the historical and cultural development, education reform, and challenges of early childhood education in Hong Kong, with a particular focus on music education. It has demonstrated how the development of early childhood music education in Hong Kong has been shaped by local education policy reform in early childhood education, and how early childhood teachers have responded to the changing education policy arising from this reform. This chapter also sought to examine the musical experiences, belief, preferences, and practices of Hong Kong kindergarten teachers. It also focused on teachers’ sources of self-efficacy in relation to their adaptation to the education reforms and teaching music in the formal education system. This discussion and conclusion are based on generalizing from the data collected in regard to two key issues related to the research questions of this Hong Kong study, in relation to the prevailing pedagogical practices and policy in early childhood education: early childhood teachers’ perspectives on the role of music in early childhood education and early childhood teachers’ sources of self-efficacy for teaching music. The case of Hong Kong suggests that all four sources of self-efficacy theorized by Bandura were present among the early childhood teachers

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when it came to the implementation of music with a PBL pedagogical focus (Fig. 5.1). As supported by the findings of this study and consistent with Bandura’s argument, enactive mastery experience was the most influential and prevalent factor of the sources of music teaching self-efficacy. The frequency of qualitative comments on enactive mastery experiences significantly outnumbered the other sources of self-efficacy. Respondents’ reported that enactive mastery experiences included front-line music teaching experiences (e.g., kindergarten, children’s music class, and church choir), as well as peer teaching experiences related to music they had throughout their pre-service and in-service teacher training. The

Sources of SelfEfficacy regarding Music Teaching

Mastery Experience

Vicarious Experience

Verbal Persuasion

Physiological and Affective States

Previous Relevant Experiences

Observation of Music Specialists

Comments from School Leaders

Anxiety in Musical Performance

Peer Teaching

Observation of Peers’ Teaching

Comments from Parents

Stress and Fatigue

Practice in Music Classrooms

Fig. 5.1 Schematic representation of the sources of in-service early childhood teachers’ self-efficacy perception regarding teaching music

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prevalent influence of enactive mastery experience in this study may be attributed to the philosophy of “learning music through activities” having been advocated by arts education policy that strongly emphasizes the link between theory and practice. The findings suggest that prior training in and experience with music and music education were early childhood teachers’ primary sources of self-efficacy, indicating the significance of well-tailored teacher education programs on early childhood music. The findings of this study showed that vicarious experience was the second most influential source of self-efficacy for music teaching. Some interviewees were required by their schools to observe other teachers’ teaching on a regular basis and to write reports as part of the peer learning process. One interviewee commented that the music activities she used to plan were often routine and mechanical because of her lack of creativity. Research has also identified a comparative lack of creativity among teachers in Chinese societies compared with teachers in Western cultures (Chan, 1999; Cheng, 2010). Nevertheless, one teacher interviewee found her colleagues’ teaching demonstrations inspiring, and based on that observation, she was subsequently able to develop an abundance of creative ideas for the design and implementation of music activities (e.g., improvisation on the piano and the use of creative movements). Another respondent of the questionnaire highlighted in the open-ended questions that she found teaching practice was the most useful element in the music teacher training programs (both pre- and in-service), as they presented great opportunities to observe others’ practices and share different ideas for teaching music. In addition to observing peers, the data showed that observing music specialists and teacher educators played a significant role in the development of self-efficacy among the teachers, indicating the importance of teacher educators demonstrating musical skills and teaching rather than merely focusing on theory. In light of this, some participants frequently reported (in both the questionnaire and interviews) that the teacher educators’ influence had a modeling effect on how they taught. After vicarious experience, verbal persuasion was also an influential source of music teaching self-efficacy for the teachers. The qualitative data showed that the comments from school leaders and parents were the major sources of verbal persuasion. In particular, as discussed in this chapter, since the kindergartens in Hong Kong are largely privately owned, the parents, as consumers, play a pivotal role in influencing

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the curriculum and pedagogical practices of the kindergartens. Participants repeatedly shared their joy and sense of satisfaction at receiving praise, recognition, and encouragement from school leaders and parents regarding their music teaching. Physiological and affective states also influenced music teaching selfefficacy. As discussed in this chapter, the sources of physiological and affective states in this study included stress, fatigue, and music anxiety, with the frequency count for anxiety related to musical performance outnumbering the stress and fatigue attributed to the participants’ heavy load of work and study. In fact, only two participants reported stress and fatigue as they struggled to balance work, family, study, and other obligations of life. The majority of the participants did not report such stress and fatigue as major factors affected their level of confidence concerning teaching music. On the other hand, anxiety about musical performance had a more prodigious influence on many of the participants’ self-efficacy regarding teaching music. This may be explained by the increasing emphasis on arts and aesthetic education in early childhood and teachers’ insufficient training regarding implementing the new curriculum guidelines. In this study, the reported causes of anxiety in musical performance included playing piano and singing, given that these are required and commonly used skills in music classrooms. The qualitative data revealed that musical performance skills evoked strong feelings of anxiety for many participants. As shown by the questionnaire, participants’ musical backgrounds were rather limited and weak. It is not surprising that the level of music anxiety of the participants was much lower for those who had studied an instrument for more than two years than for those who had little or no experience. All interviewees believed that playing piano was essential for teaching music to young children. As such, the participants’ weak aptitude, or lack of aptitude, at playing piano had led to their music anxiety. In addition to playing musical instruments, singing was also a source of musical performance anxiety in this study. Vannatta-Hall’s (2010) study of pre-service teachers’ music teaching self-efficacy regarding early childhood music education revealed that singing in front of others caused strong feelings of anxiety among the participants. In the present study, however, the participants’ responses showed that singing in front of children did not produce significant anxiety. Rather, some reported anxiety about singing in front of their peers and school leaders, such as principals and head teachers. Some participants reported that teaching singing

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was their favorite classroom activity. Moreover, the findings revealed that the more experience in early childhood education a teacher had, the less anxiety the teacher felt about singing. Since the participants’ years of teaching experience varied, identifying whether extent of experience had a mediating effect on the findings in any way seemed a worthwhile endeavor. As such, the data obtained from the questionnaire and interviews was analyzed with this intent. The level of influence of mastery experience, vicarious experience, and verbal persuasion were similar for participants even when their years of teaching experience differed. However, the influence of emotional arousal was more prevalent among participants with fewer years of experience. It is interesting to note that all the participants who reported emotional arousal (including stress, fatigue, and anxiety in musical performance) had less than two years of teaching experience. Ultimately, as with other studies of self-efficacy, the self-reporting style of data collection is considered a major limitation of this study. Cook and Campbell (1979) pointed out that participants’ responses can be influenced by social desirability bias, in which participants tend to respond in ways they think the researcher will approve of and in a manner that casts their competency in the specified task in a positive light. In addition, the participants were aware that they were participating in a study conducted by a researcher; therefore, their self-reported responses could have been influenced by their desire to please the researcher or a specialist. The results of this small-scale study invite further examination of the antecedents of confirmatory and disconfirming beliefs of teacher selfefficacy regarding teaching music to young children. Many studies of teacher self-efficacy have been carried out in learning areas other than music. Since teacher self-efficacy is considered situation- and subjectspecific (Bandura, 1997), more research into early childhood teacher self-efficacy in different contexts and subject areas would be of significant value. Such research could help universities and teacher educators gain a holistic view for sake of improved planning and implementation of teacher education programs. Although there is research in the area of music for preschoolers, relevant research on music education for the infant age group is still a novelty (Lonie, 2010).5 As some researchers have 5 The infant age group generally refers to new-born babies from birth to 18 months (NAEYC, 2019). “Pre-schoolers” generally refers to children aged 3 in early childhood education (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015).

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suggested, children are born with marvelous levels of musicality (Trainor et al., 2003). Therefore, further research on the teaching practices of the educators who work with younger children (i.e., aged three and below) is recommended to give insights into the teaching practices of these educators and how music teacher education could be developed and framed to embrace the academic and professional needs of this group of educators.

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CHAPTER 6

Moral Education Through Musical Play: Conceptions, Practices, and Challenges

Introduction One of the most pertinent policies in early childhood education in Hong Kong’s postcolonial era is the rise of moral education (Chan, 2020). Throughout Hong Kong’s history, moral education for preschool children has been strategically important to addressing various societal issues such as adolescent problems and development of national identity, with the belief that applying early educational interventions to preschool children will effectively enhance their value and other character developments. Moral education for young children has been in the spotlight in Hong Kong in recent years, particularly, in association with the waves of cultural and sociopolitical changes. Through in-depth interviews with kindergarten principals and inservice teachers, this chapter addresses the role of music in the implementation of moral education in the early childhood curriculum in Hong Kong, investigating the utilization of music as a path to moral and value development among the young children. This chapter begins by outlining different theories and conceptions about moral development and discussing how the interwoven relationships of music and play facilitate children’s moral development. Subsequently, the chapter will trace historical and recent developments of education policy in enhancing moral development among the young people of Hong Kong. The last section examines how kindergarten principals and early childhood teachers in © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 F. M. Y. Chung, Music and Play in Early Childhood Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5033-9_6

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Hong Kong have conceptualized and responded to the mandated policy concerning moral education, the subsequent demand to utilize musical play to introduce various moral values, and finally, the challenges encountered by schools and teachers in the implementation of this important policy agenda.

Theorizing Moral Development: Development of Moral Values in Early Years Moral values are the building blocks of personality that aid the improvement of one’s character and are significant guiding principles for life based on sociocultural norms and the law. Morality can be defined broadly as making judgments about what one ought and ought not to do, judgments that are dependent on more or less articulated and coherent systems of values (Sjöberg & Winroth, 1986). Moral development can be defined as the process by which individuals internalize and make judgments about right or wrong (Turiel, 2014). Perspectives on moral development include older arguments centered on virtue, such as those of Aristotle and Kant (Carr, 2011), cognitive-developmental perspectives exemplified by Piaget and Kohlberg (Carr, 2011), and neuroscience perspectives (Panksepp, 2007). Piaget (1965) noted the interplay between adult authority, children’s intellectual development, and ethical development: If he [the child] is intellectually passive, he will not know how to be free ethically. Conversely, if his ethics consist exclusively in submission to adult authority, and if the only exchanges that make up the life of the class are those that bind each student individually to a master holding all power, he will not know how to be intellectually active. (Piaget, 1965, p. 107)

Broadly speaking, there are two polar views on moral education—traditionalism and progressivism (Goodman, 2000). Traditionalism claims that moral values are eternal and universal, prioritizing such hard virtues as obedience, courage, discipline, and restraint and valuing directive behavioral instructions with meaningful consequences for rule-following and rule-breaking. Progressivism, on the other hand, tends to claim that moral values are variable and dependent on sociocultural contexts, prioritizing such soft virtues as unselfishness, caring, generosity, and tolerance. Goodman (2000) argues that progressivism is the dominant voice in early

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childhood education and suggests that early childhood programs often do not specify criteria for how to make pedagogical decisions about moral education because of an awareness of the need for balanced curriculum. In light of this, Goodman proposed a blended approach (traditional and progressive) for early childhood education, with the ultimate goal of helping children develop a moral identity and within which teachers can determine when to exercise moral authority, when to negotiate with children, and when to defer to children’s own decision-making. Killen and Smetana (2015) identified several dimensions of moral development, three of which—moral emotion, moral behavior, and moral reasoning—are useful for and relevant to explaining the moral implications of play (Bergen & Davis, 2020), a major theme of this book. As defined by Malti and Ongley (2014), moral emotions are “selfconscious or self-evaluative emotions” that are interrelated with moral reasoning, which is a “process in which individuals, using logic and selfreflection, try to determine why a specific act is right or wrong from a moral perspective” (p. 165). They posited that when supplementing moral development with other complex processes like cognition, moral emotions and reasoning may subsequently influence action; examples of such actions include apologies and acts of appreciation (Fig. 6.1). Bergen and Davis (2020) argue that the interrelationships between moral emotion, reasoning, and behavior is illuminated by many contexts, one of which is play. Piaget (1932) conceptualizes moral development among young children as a constructivist process, through which the interplay between action and thoughts builds moral concepts (i.e., moral reasoning). He suggested two stages of moral reasoning: (i) heteronomous morality (moral realism) and (ii) autonomous morality (moral relativism). The first stage, heteronomous morality, refers to morality imposed from external

Moral Emotion

Moral Reasoning

Other Complex Psychological Processes (e.g., cognition)

Moral Behaviour

Fig. 6.1 Interactions of the dimensions of moral development (Source Developed by author based on previous studies)

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sources such as children regarding morality as obedience to the rules and laws of society. Additionally, children at this stage consider rules made by authoritative figures like their parents and teachers to be absolute and unchangeable and believe that breaking a rule leads to punishments. The second stage, autonomous morality, refers to making more independent moral judgments with children recognizing that there is no absolute right or wrong, that morality is based on intentions and consequences, and that they will not necessarily be punished if they exhibit “wrong” behavior if good intentions underlie the actions. While Piaget (1932) proposed a two-stage process of moral development, Kohlberg extended Piaget’s theory and suggested that moral development is a continual process that occurs throughout a human’s lifespan. Kohlberg (1986) theorized that humans develop their moral judgments in several stages, highlighting that moral development begins in early childhood when morality is intertwined with self-interest and social norms; however, morality as justice displaces social convention as the basis for moral judgment during adulthood (Carpendale, 2000). According to Kohlberg (1976) and Damon (1988), moral development is an incremental process of discovering universal moral principles, observations of others’ actions, receiving feedback from others, discussing moral dilemmas, and is based on a child’s self-reflection and intellectual development.

Play, Music, and Moral Education In the field of education, moral development has become an increasingly prominent concern. Scholars have employed such terms as character education, value education, and moral education interchangeably. Moral education aims to provide students with an internal moral compass by which they can recognize the good, assess it, and act in accordance with it. (Healea, 2006; Katilmis et al., 2011). It contributes to the quality of society. White and Warfa (2011) described moral education as the explicit delivery of mediated learning experiences designed to nurture pro-social attitudes and behavior that supports the development of social competence and a cooperative disposition. Research indicates that moral education improves students’ behaviors, such as decreasing bullying, conflict, and violence, which in turn cultivates students who are more tolerant, sympathetic, kind, compassionate, and forgiving (Bulach, 2002). Berkowitz and Bier (2004) identified that successful implementation of

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moral education results in “reported significant reductions in violence and substance use” (p. 79). White and Warfa’s (2011) study suggests that with the appropriate reinforcement of moral education, children intrinsically come to value self-regulation, self-management, and social cooperation. This chapter addresses the role music plays in the introduction of moral education into the early childhood curriculum in Hong Kong, investigating the utilization of music as a path to moral development for young children. Music education has historically been deeply implicated in cultural politics, and music and other arts have been utilized to build responsible, cohesive, and robust societies in both Western and nonWestern regions of the world (Ho, 2016; Madrid, 2006; Ozgur, 2006). Throughout history, the political ideologies that have driven the inclusion of music in school education around the world have produced social harmony, cohesion, and political order, qualities believed to be optimal for the functioning of society as a whole. Philosophers and scholars throughout history have asserted the robust impact of music on the moral development of the young generation and on the development of a sustainable society. Suzuki (1983), a violinist and music educator, believed that music education in the early years can foster good moral character. Plato, a philosopher, identified the powerful though elusive role of music in shaping individual character and wider society, noting that the primary aim of music is to attach sentiments to deeds and to reinforce the power of the government (Plato, 1941). JeanJacques Rousseau, a philosopher and composer, recognized that music was originally and essentially meant to communicating morality (Scott & Oulton, 1998). The philosophy of the interplay between music and moral development has been supported by other philosophers, including Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Schiller, Herbert Read, and Roger Scruton, all of whom contended that the arts represent the good and are thus crucial for the cultivation of moral attributes (Carr, 2006; Davis, 2005; Jorgensen, 1996). Musical and moral aspects are inseparable from a complex pattern of social, political, educational, and historical phenomena in a wider sociopolitical context. Hence, arts education has been a powerful instrument for creating a cohesive, responsible, and vigorous society in Western and non-Western contexts alike (Ho, 2010). Play is a crucial venue for children’s moral development because it embraces the ideas, needs, and reasoning of other players and generates empathy and reflection on how to treat others. There is widely held agreement that the quality and environment of early education

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play a critical role in supporting children’s moral development (Chung, 2021b; Domitrovich et al., 2012; Ferrer-Wreder et al., 2020). Numerous impactful theorists have discussed how play serves as a medium for moral development in early childhood education settings as well as the potential relationships between various aspects of children’s moral development and play. Confucius (551–479 BC) noted that children’s playful repetition of family members’ roles forms an important foundation for later moral behavior (Yushun, 2010). Rousseau (1762/1974) identified the natural environment as that in which children’s playful actions result in a morally responsible adult. These proposals of Confucius and Rousseau were substantiated by such prominent twentieth-century theorists as Piaget, Erikson, and Vygotsky, who further elaborated on the link between play and moral development in early childhood. Piaget (1965) examined the ways that moral reasoning is shaped through games-withrules play, Erikson (1977) elaborated on how pretense and block provides insights into children’s moral emotions, and Vygotsky (1967) described the role of sociodramatic play in enhancing children’s self-regulation and cooperative behaviors. There is a significant body of research about the interconnection of play and moral development, and the field has grown rapidly over the past decade. Research has attempted to pinpoint how different types, contexts, and implementation of play link to the various dimensions of children’s moral development. DeVries (2015) emphasized the roles of games with rules as an important venue for enhancing children’s moral reasoning towing to the non-existence of adult authority and formal rule systems within the games. Eisenberg (2000; Eisenberg et al., 2002) examined how children’s sharing behaviors learned in play fostered higher levels of moral development. Turiel (2002) investigated how recess play engaged their levels of moral reasoning. Pelligrini (2002) discussed the moral aspects of rough-and-tumble play in relation to aggressive interactions. Further, Davis and Bergen (2014) discovered the interrelationship between various types of play and higher levels of moral reasoning, emotion, and behavior at later stages of life, through a retrospective study of college students’ memories of childhood play. Ultimately, embodiment—the capacity to turn beliefs and reasoning into action or behavior—is a significant quality of play within the phenomenon of moral development. Moral behaviors that are often demonstrated during play include “empathy, sharing, and moral reasoning” (Bergen & Davis, 2020, p. 4); such behaviors are exhibited low-risk environments, in which the

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“consequences of choice about ways to resolve conflicts are salient but not threatening, and boundaries of behavior have moral consequences” (p. 4). While the mechanism of moral education is highly regulated and wellresearched in the context of primary and secondary education, regulation of and research into moral education in early childhood is underexplored and research focusing on the interrelationship between moral development and music education is rarer still. De Vries (2007) suggests that engaging children in quality and continuous music education facilitates children’s moral development, especially in early childhood settings prior to primary schooling. Southcott (2007) identified a strong association between experiential education, moral education, and the Orff approach to music education, and he discusses how the Orff approach represents the principles of both values and experiential education. Lee’s (2016) study revealed that when musical activities are integrated with moral education, children are better equipped to proactively address problems in their daily lives, and her study identified six significant themes concerning the benefits of the integration of music with moral development: “caring for others,” “valuing courage,” “cooperation,” “respect,” “responsibilities,” and “honesty.”

Cultural Perspectives of Moral Development and Education As discussed in Chapter 2, culture is a universal phenomenon that plays a crucial role in determining how people view various pedagogical practices, including PBL. Culture is also a critical factor in the implementation of moral education. For example, early childhood teachers’ perspectives are influenced by their culture, and teachers’ perceptions of what a moral curriculum consists of may subsequently influence children’s classroom experiences. Bergen and Davis (2020) highlighted that every culture has specific information, features, themes, and actors of moral development. Killen et al.’s (2000) study suggests that teachers in the United States and Taiwan believed that kindergartens were important contexts for developing and shaping children’s moral values and that such development subsequently benefits the larger society. Thornberg and Oguz’s (2013) study of 52 Swedish and Turkish early childhood teachers revealed that teachers in these countries valued role-modeling as an effective means of conveying important values to the children, and that concern with

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moral values was a daily practice in their social interactions with children. As noted in Ferrer-Wreder et al.’s (2020) study, in which the Swedish perspective on moral development was investigated, the early childhood education system in Sweden highly valued moral development in early childhood settings (e.g., development of positive values and behaviors) despite an increasing emphasis on academic learning in the national early childhood curriculum. Pedagogically, the aim in Sweden is to help children develop a positive conception of themselves and develop confidence in their own abilities; psychologically, the aim is to help children develop self-regulation, empathy, communication skills, and problemsolving skills. Notably, various facets and processes of the curriculum and pedagogical practices of moral education are related to the political ideology, historical background, and social standards of different cultures. For example, Vietnam’s moral education has been influenced by different social standards and values of Confucianism and Communism; consequently, moral education in present-day Vietnam is incorporated in the formal curriculum and taught as a single subject of study at all levels of its education system, focusing on not only character and personality building but also citizenship education, which emphasizes the concept of socialist citizens (Doan, 2005).

Historical Development of Moral Education in Hong Kong Historically, moral education has been utilized as a catalyst for encouraging integrity and law-abidingness, particularly in response to community-wide protests against bribery in 1973 in Hong Kong. A milestone in moral education, the General Guidelines on Moral Education (Education Department, 1981) has its origins in this period, which also saw the creation of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Cheng, 2004). The general guidelines explicitly assert that moral education is a fundamental and vital function of schooling for all children. In postcolonial Hong Kong, the Education Bureau has been committed to strengthening moral education in order to help students foster a positive attitude toward life and discipline as they confront the wide range of challenges in the global age. Cheng (2004) noted that the interpretation and implementation of moral education in Hong Kong has undergone a phenomenon of transformation from the colonial to the postcolonial. First, the Education Department (now the

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Education Bureau) initiated a “Life-Event Approach” to moral and citizenship education. For example, some schools used the SARS to reflect on the importance of health, life and death, and heroic acts. Second, most teacher education programs in Hong Kong merged moral education with citizenship education, demonstrating the increasing emphasis of helping teachers to become moral educators. Thirdly, the government has assumed a new role in the implementation of moral education. Since the political handover in 1997, the liberal tradition of public administration has been superseded by the culture of “government officials as moral teachers.” For instance, Mrs. Fanny Law, the Permanent Secretary of the Hong Kong Education and Manpower Bureau, has written 10 monthly public letters for young people on moral and civic education, each addressing a specific attitude or value. Fourth, the new moral orientation focuses on the formation of identity, considering the complexity of local changes in Hong Kong resulting from nationalization after 1997 and globalization in the twenty-first century.

Introducing Moral Education to Hong Kong Early Childhood Curriculum The Kindergarten Education Curriculum Guide, the latest official guide for early childhood education, explicitly states that “moral development” must be considered as one of the major developmental objectives of early childhood education alongside “cognitive and language development,” “physical development,” “affective and social development,” and “aesthetic development” (CDC, 2017). Of these five developmental objectives, moral education has been regarded as the most important (Fung, 2019), especially given Hong Kong’s status as a “fast-developing international city” whose traditional values are challenged by “its everchanging social context” and the increased expectations concerning the moral development of Hong Kong’s “next generation” (CDC, 2017, p. 21). Early childhood is a crucial stage for nurturing moral development. In light of this, the Kindergarten Education Curriculum Guide integrates moral education into six major learning areas of early childhood education: (i) arts and creativity, (ii) physical fitness and health, (iii) language, (iv) early childhood mathematics, (v) nature and living, and (vi) self and society (CDC, 2017). The guide further highlights that schools and

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teachers are accountable for employing moral instruction to ensure that children meet the following assessment criteria (CDC, 2017): • Children establish concepts of right and wrong, and demonstrate positive values • Children are confident of themselves and develop an optimistic and positive attitude towards living • Children live in harmony with others, respect the differences between others and themselves, and establish good relationships with others • Children have a basic understanding of their roles and responsibilities in different aspects of life in the family, school, society, country and the world (p. 71). Subsequent to various social circumstances in 2019, the Education Bureau committed to promoting value education at all levels, including kindergartens. The 2021 Values Education Curriculum Framework in 2021 provides “schools with suggestions and exemplars for the planning of their school-based values education curriculum, within and beyond the classroom, in order to cultivate students’ positive values and attitudes from an early age, in preparation for the challenges they face in their studies, in their daily life and while growing up” (CDC, 2021, p. 5). The framework specifically recommends that schools should promote values education by nurturing 10 priority values and attuites in their students: perseverance, respect for others, responsibility, national identity, commitment, integrity, care for others, law-abidingness, empathy, and diligence. Though the Values Education Curriculum Framework (CDC, 2021) coherently links together the major key learning stages of primary and secondary education and provides schools with a systematic framework for promoting values education, it provides no specific guidelines for teaching morals in early childhood settings. Despite moral education for kindergarten children being strategically important for enhancing personal development and given that early childhood is a crucial stage in human development, a consensus concerning the values and character that kindergarten children should develop is lacking (Chan, 2020).

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Methodological Approach Study Context The origin of this investigation came at the prompting of an invitation from the principal of a kindergarten to help its teachers implement moral and value education using music and integrated activities as part of a play-based approach. Additionally, given the Hong Kong government’s increased emphasis on moral and value education in 2021, the principal found that the teachers were encountering substantial challenges in designing and implementing curricula that would meet the expectations of the Education Bureau regarding moral education. A workshop was held to address how to apply to teach morals through music and to elucidate for the teachers and principals the practical relevance of academic theories to the implementation of moral education. In particular, the workshop responded to, on the one hand, the increasing emphasis on moral education in education policy and, on the other hand, many early childhood teachers’ insufficient understanding of the policy and their lack of relevant knowledge and pedagogical understanding. During the workshop, the early childhood teachers were introduced government’s latest official guidelines and framework of moral education, and they learned about the sample lesson plans and resources provided by the government for engaging children in musical activities by adopting the major theme of the guide, learning through play (CDC, 2017). Further, the teachers were also introduced to various moral education concepts in the context of early childhood education, such as curriculum planning, practices, strategies, assessment, and learning environment. In an attempt to emphasize the advocacy of moral education in school education, the Education Bureau developed the theme “Be grateful and treasure what we have, stay positive and optimistic” to promote moral education in early childhood (Education Bureau, 2022). The sample lesson plans and resources were demonstrated during the workshop via a range of musical elements, including singing, listening to music, and playing percussion instruments. By integrating this theme into the kindergarten curriculum, schools are responsible for helping children develop a sense of gratitude, learn to cherish the things they have, and adopt a positive and optimistic attitude about life in order to help them face the challenges of growing up. Upon completion of the workshop, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with the teachers and school leaders. The following questions underpinned this research:

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RQ1. How do kindergarten principals and teachers conceptualize moral education and its application in teaching music? RQ2. What are the characteristics of moral education in the context of musical play in Hong Kong? RQ3. What challenges do early childhood teachers face to the implementation of moral education through musical play? Participants Participants (n = 35) in this study included 32 teachers and 3 principals from three local non-profit kindergartens (kindergartens A, B, and C) in Hong Kong, all of which were affiliated with the same registered charity organization. Ten teachers from kindergarten A, 11 from kindergarten B, 11 from kindergarten C, and the three principals of these schools participated in this study. The researcher conducted a six-hour workshop for these participants in the indoor activity room of kindergarten A. Interviews The aim of this qualitative approach of in-depth semi-structured interviews (Kvale & Brinkman, 2009) was to gain insights into the teachers’ and principals’ experiences and perception of integrating moral education into the kindergarten curriculum via music. Interviews were unitized as an instrument for data collection as this provides a “personal narrative” (Chase, 2005, p. 652) of the interviewees’ lived experience in light of their “insights, perspectives, experiences and understanding” (Beattie, 2000, p. 5). The advantage of semi-structured interviews is their “greater flexibility of coverage,” which allows the interview to explore unfamiliar territory that may produce richer data (Smith, 2003, p. 57). Ethical issues concerning the participants’ anonymity and the confidentiality of their responses were taken into consideration, and prior consent was obtained from all participants. Having obtained ethics clearance, I conducted the interviews onsite at the kindergartens, by phone, or via Zoom, the latter two being necessitated by the government’s social distancing measures in response to COVID-19. The interviews lasted from 30 to 120 minutes and were conducted in Cantonese. After obtaining consent from the participants, I recorded the interviews and transcribed them. Similar to kindergartens in a variety of contexts around the world, the kindergartens in this study had no music specialists to lead musical

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activities or to teach music classes. Thus, the semi-structured interviews were tailored to the concerns of non-specialist early childhood teachers, who were predominantly female. Demographic questions concerning age, years of experience, and professional qualifications were addressed at the beginning of all interviews. The interviews explored the teachers’ concepts and perceptions of moral education, views on using music in moral education, pre-service training in music education, levels of selfconfidence, practices, teaching resources, challenges, and ideas for future development. Interviews with principals focused on music provision in their kindergartens, the principals’ conceptualizations of moral education, their own perceptions of music in early childhood and its application to moral education, their views on the interplay between PBL and moral education, the role of classroom teachers, parental feedback, and challenges, as well as recommendations concerning teachers, music teacher education, and education policy regarding the future implementation of music education. Analysis The semi-structured interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed by the research assistants for this project; I then analyzed the transcripts for emerging themes (Creswell, 2015). Analysis of the interview data was based on the protocol for coding and qualitative analysis developed by Saldaña (2014). First, the 35 interviews were initially coded, followed by refinement of the emerging categories to “cluster similar codes into groups for pattern construction and further analysis” (Saldaña, 2014, p. 587). Second, the analysis was reviewed by two researchers with classroom experience in order to “propose connections within, between, and among the constituent elements of analyzed data” (Saldaña, 2014, p. 588). Finally, I engaged in further discussion with the other two researchers with the aim of developing “summative findings and evaluative conclusions” (Saldaña, 2014, p. 588). Considering the importance of trustworthiness in qualitative research (Huberman, 1995), these procedures were carefully adhered to in order to address this concern, as suggested by Lincoln and Guba (1985). Further, the quotations have been translated into English, and the use of quotes from the participants helps to illustrate the categories and themes articulated and enhances the trustworthiness of the reported findings, as well as that the findings

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are based on participants’ authentic responses and not any potential bias (Cutcliffe & McKenna, 2004).

Findings The themes that emerged from the analysis of the interviews are documented in this section under each of the relevant research questions, and the comments made by the participants are provided as evidence of these themes. First Research Question RQ1. How do kindergarten principals and teachers conceptualize moral education and the application in teaching music? Moral Areas to Be Integrated into the Kindergarten Curriculum All the interviewees were invited to talk about their conceptions of moral education at the beginning of the interview. Specifically, the participants were asked to address the following question: “What moral areas are important to early childhood education and therefore must be integrated into the kindergarten curriculum?”. Every workshop participant (n = 35) responded to this question. Fifteen moral areas emerged and were identified by the participants. These moral areas are: (i) respectfulness, (ii) patience, (iii) sharing with others, (iv) gratitude, (v) politeness, (vi) friendliness, (vii) positivity, (viii) willingness to help others, (ix) caring, (x) good communication skills, (xi) the ability to distinguish between right and wrong, (xii) unbiased judgment, (xiii) civic responsibility, (xiv) four Chinese cardinal principals (lˇı 禮, yì 義, lián 廉, chˇı 恥),1 and (xv) following the norms and order of society.

1 The four fundamental principles of Chinese morality, which are also referred to as the fundamental principles of conduct or four social bonds. They are derived from the Legalist text Guanzi, attributed to the Qi philosopher Guan Zhong. The first principle, propriety, refers to all manner of ritualized cultural life. The second refers to righteousness, the third to integrity, and the fourth to a sense of shame.

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Importance of Integrating Moral Development in the Earliest Curriculum All participants (n = 35) agreed that it is crucial to integrate moral education into early childhood, and they acknowledged that moral education should be delivered in a natural environment and begin at as early an age as possible. Nowadays, many young people in lack a sense of responsibility, so I think it’s very important to develop their sense of responsibility, especially civic responsibility, through moral education. (Principal, kindergarten B) Morality is extremely important for everyone throughout one’s whole life, and this includes the development of respectfulness, day-to-day interactions with other people, and communication with others. (Teacher, kindergarten C) Good moral values and behavior must be cultivated from an early age, as soon as possible in human life. (Teacher, kindergarten B) I truly believe in the importance of integrating moral education into the education system as early as possible. It is especially crucial to develop good citizens for the future of our society. (Principal, kindergarten A)

Music as a Powerful Means to Promote Children’s Moral Development Some teacher informants were aware of the unique role of music in the early childhood curriculum and commented on the powerful impact of music on the implementation of moral education with the understanding that children can learn about various moral values and behavior in a relatively relaxed atmosphere through music. They also noted that teachers’ musical aptitude is an important factor for successful instruction. Most children respond to music and are comfortable with music. Therefore, I think it’s easier for them to grasp the various concepts of morality through music, particularly with the relaxed and stimulating play-based approach that we have been adopting. (Teacher, kindergarten B) I believe that it’s very important to integrate moral education in a natural environment, and that makes music a very appropriate means for introducing the various areas of morality. (Principal, kindergarten A)

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I think teachers should integrate some moral concepts into their daily music classes. For example, through making good use of educational rhymes for children, which are included in our textbooks, children can easily learn various moral concepts, like respectfulness, politeness, caring, and following the rules, in an enjoyable and stress-free dynamic. (Principal, kindergarten B) Well, I do very much agree that music is an effective means for conveying moral values to children. However, it very much depends on the teachers’ competency and understanding of music. And most importantly, whether the teachers know how to apply the various musical elements to the implementation of moral education is very important. (Teacher, kindergarten C) Music is a very ideal means for conveying various moral values. However, teachers need to be well acquainted with how to choose appropriate children’s songs and appropriate repertoire and how to design lesson plans accordingly. (Teacher, kindergarten A)

Second Research Question RQ2. What are the characteristics of moral education in the context of musical play in Hong Kong? Games and Stories as Major Strategies for Implementing Moral Education The interview data revealed that some teachers did not purposefully or structurally plan how to interrelate play and moral education in their teaching, and this despite moral education and PBL being prominent themes in Hong Kong’s early childhood education and a strongly emphasized policy agenda. Of the participants who made attempts to apply play to moral education, the majority identified the importance of integrating games and stories into the moral curriculum. The activities used included role-play, adding movements to the stories, changing lyrics, creating stories, and movement improvisation. Based on a nursery rhyme or a song that children like, we can create a story to introduce some moral values, such as “being caring,” and invite the children to engage in a dramatic activity. (Teacher, kindergarten A)

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We can make use of a variety of storytelling strategies and integrate games and music to help children develop an attitude of positivity. (Teacher, kindergarten B) I think we could find some songs and stories that are embedded with positive moral values. Hopefully, by engaging in these musical and storytelling activities, children will develop some sense of civic responsibility, which many young people lack. (Teacher, kindergarten C)

Resolution of Conflicts and Law-Abidingness Constructivist teachers take an active role in supporting young children in resolving their conflicts and in constructing possible solutions (Hildebrandt & Zan, 2014). Reflecting social and moral dilemmas, both real and hypothetical, are important means for helping children take the perspectives of others and develop a sense of empathy and a grateful attitude. Some teacher informants in this study made attempts to help children reflect on various moral dilemmas through musical plays. They posited that moral education in early childhood should respond to societal needs and help children develop desirable moral behaviors. In view of current social conflicts, I believe that an important part of moral education in Hong Kong is to reduce social disputes. It would be great to start this with our youngest generation and in the earliest curriculum. In light of this, I purposefully integrate this concept into musical play. I asked the children to play out the roles in the drama “Little Red Riding Hood,” with children collaborating and working on solutions to save Little Red. Children’s engagement in this musical play entails the development of various moral values, such as empathy, caring, helping others, and cooperating with others. (Teacher, B) Building on children’s literature and with the integration of other areas like music and the visual arts, I often engage the children in moral discussion. I found much of the children’s literature to have the potential to transport children into the lives of others and help them think from others’ perspectives. (Teacher, kindergarten C) By incorporating rules into the play, I hope the children will understand the importance of law-abidingness and, ultimately, become responsible citizens. (Teacher, kindergarten A)

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National Identity Development The formal school curriculum has stressed the development of students’ national identity since the return of sovereignty. As discussed in this chapter, the Kindergarten Education Curriculum Guide (CDC, 2017) has explicitly listed national identity as one of the 10 priority values and attitudes that must be taught in early childhood education. Thus, some teacher informants have attempted develop children’s cultural and national identities by introducing traditional Chinese art forms like Cantonese opera and other traditional Chinese music in class, though some have encountered substantial difficulties because of their limited knowledge and skills regarding traditional Chinese music genres. I believe that understanding one’s own culture is very important. Chinese opera is the most representative form of Chinese musical theatre through which children can learn about the costumes, music, language, culture, and history of China. And most importantly, develop their cultural identity. Although it may be too challenging for the children to sing or perform this musical genre properly, my objective is to let them get a taste of Chinese opera and help them develop a sense of appreciation of their own culture. (Teacher, kindergarten A) There is a stereotype in Chinese culture in Hong Kong. Some young people have the misconception that Chinese culture, for example, Cantonese opera, is “old-school.” I want to make use of developmentally appropriate musical activities to confront this stereotype and help the children understand that there are elements of Chinese culture like Cantonese opera that they can find interesting and enjoyable. (Teacher, kindergarten C) Well, I tried to teach children to sing Cantonese opera and do some simple movements to imitate Cantonese opera performers, hoping that these learning experiences would enhance their understanding of Chinese culture. However, I never had any training in Cantonese opera and my repertoire is very limited. (Teacher, kindergarten B) I hope that some workshops on teaching Chinese music can be arranged for the kindergarten teachers. I think these workshops would enhance not only teachers’ understanding of how to teach Chinese music but also their confidence concerning teaching Chinese music to children. (Principal, kindergarten A).

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Third Research Question RQ3. What challenges do early childhood teachers face to the implementation of moral education through musical play? Teachers’ Insufficient Knowledge of Both Moral and Music Education Given that Hong Kong early childhood teachers generalist training and thus, limited training in music and music education (Chan, 2012; Chung, 2021a), many participants commented on teachers’ inadequacy regarding teaching music in kindergartens. Further, the majority of teacher informants noted that they received little or even no training on how to deliver moral education in early childhood settings during their pre-service education. Teachers’ skills and knowledge of music are very limited in a variety of respects, such as their musical sense, understanding of rhythm and melody, and knowledge about musical instruments. (Principal, kindergarten A) We are not that well trained at music. So, we are unfamiliar with musical elements and structure and, needless to say, how to integrate moral education into music activities. (Teacher, kindergarten B) Teacher education concerning moral education in the pre-service years is very inadequate or even nonexistent. Indeed, we hope that we will receive some on-the-job training concerning moral education. Even a workshop like the one we attended today would be very helpful. (Teacher, kindergarten C)

Many of the teacher interviewees noted that many moral concepts are simply too abstract for young children to understand, posing a challenge for the implementation of moral education. They just don’t comprehend the meaning. We don’t want to talk about moral concepts directly. We hope to teach the children naturally. However, some students cannot really grasp the ideas. Therefore, I am not sure how I should teach them such moral concepts. (Teacher, kindergarten B) Some moral concepts are particularly difficult to deliver to the children. For example, integrity. (Teacher, kindergarten A)

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It is difficult to create a real scene for the children through which they can learn moral concepts. Everything is done simply by acting and through the imagination. (Teacher, kindergarten C)

The insufficiencies of pre-service teacher education regarding moral education policy were noted by many of the informants. Notably, the concepts of moral education and PBL remained vague. While moral education and play-based learning are strongly emphasized in current education policy, the teacher education framework is not aligned with education policy at all. (Teacher, kindergarten A) In current teacher education programs, most instructors usually just talk a lot and give oral instructions. I find that it doesn’t work very well, especially when it comes to play-based learning. Frankly, I doubt whether they had any experience teaching in actual kindergarten settings and whether they are capable of demonstrating pedagogical or musical skills. (Teacher, kindergarten B)

Teachers’ and Parents’ Attitudes Toward Music Education As discussed above, music is often regarded as a non-academic luxury and many people in non-Western societies like Hong Kong regard the value of education as an investment for financial success. Thus, music education has long been undervalued and marginalized in the formal education system. This study has also revealed that many early childhood teachers value music less than other study areas, and such attitudes may affect the quality of many study areas that are related to music, such as moral education. Some teachers in my school have lower expectations about teaching music than they do about other subject areas. For example, they just sing the songs from the textbook once to get the job done, without looking into the details of how the children can learn the elements of the song or trying to set higher goals for the children. (Principal, kindergarten A) If we want to implement moral education through the application of musical elements, I think the quality of the music is of utmost importance. Teachers often overlook the importance of making learning music an enjoyable process for the children, focusing too much on learning outcomes. (Principal, kindergarten B)

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It’s easy for us, as teachers, to demonstrate academic achievements to the principal and parents, but not easy to demonstrate musical or moral development. Focusing too much on music and moral education would give us no credit, as children’s learning outcomes are not easily quantified. For example, how can we demonstrate how, and to what extent, children’s morality has been promoted through music? (Teacher, kindergarten A) Parents treasure the study of vocabulary more than the study of music. For example, they often just count how many new vocabulary words their children have learned, rather than the number of songs. (Teacher, kindergarten B) It’s ironic that many parents don’t seem to care about their children’s moral development. All they care about is academic development. (Teacher, kindergarten A) Let me share an example that demonstrates parents’ attitudes toward music education. Our school has adopted Orff Schulwerk, a widely used music education approach. We usually give CDs to the children and ask the parents to listen to the CDs and enjoy the music with their children [e.g., by moving in time with the music]. In many cases, we later find that the CDs have not even been unpacked when their younger siblings bring the CDs back to the school. On the other hand, they often take the initiative to read the books right after receiving them at school. (Principal, kindergarten A) From the conversation in the parent meeting, they don’t even care whether there is a music class in the kindergarten. (Principal, kindergarten C) I don’t blame the parents for their attitude toward music education. They are just following society’s norms … music is marginalized and not valued. (Teacher, kindergarten C) Evaluation is a concern. Parents in Hong Kong are always eager to be informed about learning outcomes. We can evaluate whether or how well the children are able to sing the songs or perform other musical tasks, but it’s hard to evaluate and tell the parents or school whether or to what degree our class has enhanced the children’s moral development. (Teacher, kindergarten A)

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Time Constraints in the Kindergarten Curriculum The length of kindergarten classes is usually quite limited in Hong Kong, often ranging from 20 to 40 minutes per class. Hence, some teachers highlighted that this time constraint has substantially limited their capacity to integrate moral education into their lesson. In kindergartens, very often we need to teach the children a new song in 20 minutes. And that’s already very challenging for most of us, so how can we achieve that task while also implementing moral education? Maybe there is a way, but I just find it difficult for me. (Teacher, kindergarten A) The songs that we teach during class need to be evaluated; therefore, we are pressured to push the students to practice to ensure that the children know all the songs. This implies that we can’t afford to “play” much or spend much time on moral education. Often, if the children can’t sing a song, the parents and principal question our teaching ability. (Teacher, kindergarten B)

Some teacher interviewees also noted that because of the brevity of the school day at the kindergarten, the family’s influence bore much import for the children’s moral development, suggesting that the unfairness of the school bearing full responsibility for a child’s moral development. Children only spend a few hours with the teachers a day, compared with the almost 20 hours they spend with their family members. I am not saying that the teacher is unimportant, but a family–school collaboration is required to achieve desirable moral education outcomes. (Teacher, kindergarten C) It could be the case that it is too late to correct a child’s moral values at school because they may already have developed undesirable habits or behavior from the family’s influence. (Teacher, kindergarten B)

Low Confidence Level Regarding PBL Among the Teachers As noted already, the Kindergarten Education Curriculum Guide (CDC, 2017) kindergarten teachers are required to implement moral education in all areas of the curriculum, framing their implementation in a playbased approach. However, approximately one third of the participants (n = 12) reported that they had little confidence in their ability to do so. Three of the teacher informants responded that they were unsure

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how music could be used to augment the children’s moral development; four participants suggested that further training in this particular area was essential. I often try to use games to deliver some moral messages to the children. Sometimes, I find it difficult to balance play and delivering moral messages to children. On the one hand, play-based learning should be fun, but on the other hand, some moral messages or values can be very serious. (Teacher, kindergarten C) Lesson planning for play-based learning is the most challenging part for me. Should the lessons be child-led or teacher-guided? There are few resources or teacher guidebooks on delivering moral education through the arts. How can I teach morality playfully through the arts? It would be really helpful if there were more relevant resources for us to refer to. (Teacher, kindergarten A) According to my observations, the definition of “play” is still vague to many teachers as it applies, needless to say, to the recent emphasis on moral education. Due to their lack of confidence, some teachers may try to avoid implementing moral education with a purposefully designed playbased approach. Rather, they just explain the expected moral behaviors to the children verbally, rather than using an activity-based approach to guide the children’s moral development. (Principal, kindergarten A) When I play with the children, it often involves quite a lot of physical movements. Our school emphasizes evaluation, and I don’t have the confidence and found it very challenging to evaluate physical movements because it is very subjective. (Teacher, kindergarten B)

Need for Space and Resources for PBL As revealed from the interview data presented above, games are a major pedagogical strategy for delivering moral values among the teachers in this study. The significance of space and resources in delivering play in early childhood settings was documented by early childhood scholars (e.g., Peterson et al., 2015; van Oers, 2003), and this study further supports these studies by demonstrating the need for space and resources for introducing moral education through PBL: When we play games with children or adopt a play-based approach that involves substantial activities, this entails the need for sufficient space,

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materials, and resources. In particular, we integrate a lot of drama and activities to demonstrate various moral values and behaviors when implementing moral education. Therefore, in my opinion, we need much more space and many more resources (e.g., props for the dramatic activities) for moral education than for many other learning areas like language. (Teacher, kindergarten C) We need a greater variety of musical instruments for the children to explore and obviously a larger space to play in. Our school is also quite small, so there is a safety concern as well. (Teacher, kindergarten B)

Discussion and Conclusions This chapter outlines the historical development of moral education in Hong Kong, the development of moral values in the early years, and the interrelationship between moral education, musical play, and moral development. It has demonstrated that the development of moral education in Hong Kong was shaped by education policy and sociopolitical influences (Doan, 2005). Responding to the increasing emphasis on moral education in Hong Kong’s formal education system, this study has sought to examine early childhood practitioners’ conceptions, implementations, and challenges in delivering moral education through music. It also focused on the characteristics of moral education in Hong Kong. The participants in this study were selected using convenience sampling (Etikan et al., 2016) and included the principals and teachers of kindergartens where I was invited to conduct a workshop on moral education through musical play. Although this school-based study is not representative of Hong Kong’s implementation of moral education, it takes a preliminary step in the investigation of practitioners’ conceptions and implementation of moral education, with particular focus on the use of music in promoting children’s moral development. Limitations in the semi-structured interviews with principals and teachers primarily concerned the relatively small number of participants, which makes it difficult to generalize to other people or contexts. The interview findings may be unique only to the relatively small number of people in the study. Nevertheless, the data collected in this study shed important light on and facilitated further investigation of the dynamics of implementing moral education policy to promote children’s moral development.

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The discussion and conclusion are based on a generalization of the data collected for this chapter and address the themes of the three research questions: (i) principals’ and teachers’ conceptualization of moral education and the application of musical play to introduce moral concepts, (ii) the characteristics of moral education in Hong Kong’s early childhood education, and (iii) a discussion of the challenges of using musical activities to enhance the moral intelligence of preschoolers. First, moral education was identified as a means for developing children’s core ethical values. All participants in the study agreed that moral education was important and should therefore be integrated into the early childhood curriculum, particularly considering the recent sociopolitical circumstances in Hong Kong. They identified moral education as being able to facilitate the development of a range of important aspects of children’s morality, such as civic responsibility, caring for others, and respect. Further, many of the interviewees suggested that in light of its far-reaching impacts, moral education should be introduced as young as possible, in order to shape character development. As noted by Althof and Berkowitz (2006), moral education should begin in childhood, and schools are paramount contexts for this process, as any democratic society should concern itself with the socialization of its citizens. Culturally, some teachers regarded the four Chinese cardinal principals as important moral areas to be introduced in early childhood education, revealing the cultural influences on moral education. Moreover, many of the informants asserted that music is a powerful means for promoting children’s moral development. In particular, many interviewees suggested that musical play can enhance children’s moral development in a relatively stress-free and relaxed atmosphere. This finding concurs with Lee’s (2016) study in Taiwan, which evinced the effectiveness of integrating musical activities into character education programs to promote core moral values, demonstrating an interdisciplinary approach to character education. However, many of the interviewees also noted that the successful use of music as a means for conveying moral messages also depends on teachers’ musical aptitude and understanding of music. In addition, issues were raised regarding the process of developing the necessary musical curricula, materials, and skills for implementing moral education effectively, particularly whether the musical play should be child-centered or teacher-led. Second, this study identified three main characteristics of implementing moral education through musical play in Hong Kong: (i) extensive use

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of games and stories, (ii) emphasis on resolution of conflicts and lawabidingness, and (iii) development of national identity. Many of the interviewees identified the power of using games and stories as part of the moral curriculum. In particular, they felt that storytelling, drama activities, and musical games had the potency to enhance children’s ability to learn to care for others. It was especially effective if the music was lively and rhythmic, or the songs included lyrics that dealt specifically with the importance of caring. This shows that the choice of materials is pivotal when using musical activities to enhance moral concepts, which suggests that the topic on repertoire selection may need to be addressed in music teacher training programs for early childhood teachers. The interviews also revealed that resolution of conflicts and law-abidingness were two prominent themes of the moral curriculum in this study; the teachers strongly emphasized the value of these two themes. Both real-life and hypothetical social and moral scenarios were presented by the teachers to help the children assume the perspective of others and comply with rules and the law. This may be explained by the longstanding social disputes and political crisis in Hong Kong in recent years, as discussed in this book, which have undeniably impacted teachers’ perspectives on curriculum planning, demonstrating the interplay between pedagogical practices and sociopolitical changes in the formulation of curricula. The emphasis on the development of national identity was another notable characteristic of the implementation of moral education in this study. Many modern countries stress the importance of building a national identity to strengthen loyalty and commitment to the nation state, which can be accomplished by amplifying feelings of national pride, security, and a sense of belonging (He & Guo, 2000; Tse, 2013). All the three principals and most of the teachers in this study agreed that the development of national identity should be an important part of the early childhood curriculum, and they were aware that the development of national identity is a policy agenda prioritized in the Hong Kong government’s education policy. However, most teacher informants had no background in Chinese music, and their training largely focused on Western music owing to the influence from the British colonial rule. This raises the question of how to provide training in music education, both in-service and pre-service, and promote and support high standards of teacher education in traditional Chinese music, which is rarely covered in the music teacher education programs.

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Finally, both the principals and teachers reported challenges in implementing moral education, ranging from issues concerning resources to time constraints, and a range of pedagogical concerns. Both principals and teachers were concerned about teachers’ musical aptitude, pedagogical skills, and conceptual understanding of moral education, but the teachers were also concerned about limited resources, such as a lack of teaching guides, insufficient space for musical play, and too few and inadequate musical instruments. This clearly suggests that in order to fully and effectively implement moral education, further support for early childhood teachers’ implementation of moral education is required. Thorough curriculum plan for teacher education programs must be formulated. By nurturing the new generation of teachers, the higher education institutions should enrich and strengthen the component of moral education in the teacher education framework, tailoring it to the academic and pedagogical needs of the teachers. In particular, the teacher education programs for early childhood teachers should explicitly address the integrated approach adopted by early childhood education, that is, how to integrate various study areas, including music, to promote moral education. In addition, professional development should also be planned extensively for in-service teachers, as professional training in moral education was almost nonexistent during most current in-service teachers’ pre-service training. As highlighted in the related literature, children are more effectively introduced to moral values and better equipped to proactively address problems in their daily lives when judiciously selected and implemented musical activities are combined with moral education (Lee, 2016). With sufficiently and thoroughly developed teacher education programs preparing teachers to competently deliver moral instruction, the integrated programs for developing children’s morality should be implemented throughout the education system, including not only classroom implementation but also extracurricular activities, suffusing children’s daily lives with core personal character values through an enjoyable and play-based approach.

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CHAPTER 7

Conclusions and Implications: Toward a Conceptual Framework for Music Teacher Education

Introduction Weaving the chapters of this book together, this concluding chapter combines the major themes introduced in this book and reiterates its overall arguments, intention, and contributions. This chapter begins by considering the enduring implications of sociocultural change, education policy, and pedagogical practices in the globalized world and particularly how these have played out the context of postcolonial Hong Kong, as a part of China. On the one hand, underlying the trajectory of Hong Kong’s early childhood education is the sociocultural logic of Hong Kong, an active borrower of Western ideas on education; on the other hand, there is the increasing influence of China during the postcolonial era. An analysis of the historical context, political influences, and education ideologies in Hong Kong’s early childhood education subsystem provides fertile ground for a thorough understanding of the meaning and implications of globalization in education at multiple levels. The second part of this chapter offers recommendations for working toward a conceptual framework of music teacher education in direct response to the contemporary needs and challenges in early childhood music education. The basis of these recommendations is the empirical evidence that early childhood generalist teachers across the globe have overwhelmingly low self-efficacy regarding teaching music.

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 F. M. Y. Chung, Music and Play in Early Childhood Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5033-9_7

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This chapter poses two related questions about the future development of early childhood music education and teacher education in music in the global age. First, how will the discourses of nationalization, localization, Confucianism, and cosmopolitanism inform the future development of Hong Kong’s early childhood education? Second, what content knowledge, musical skills, and pedagogical competencies are required to effectively implement early childhood music education against the backdrop of the global spread of “traveling” education reforms? To conclude, the implications and contributions of this book will be discussed.

Dynamics of Interlinking Globalism, Nationalism, Confucianism, and Localism in Early Childhood Music Education Drastic sociocultural and political changes in postcolonial Hong Kong have attracted much attention from both Western and non-Western scholars. On one hand, there is an increasing political and ethnic urge to develop a national identity and patriotic education; on the other hand, Hong Kong has been deeply influenced by Western concepts of education because of the 155 years of British colonial rule. Further, there are emerging social forces pursuing the development of a local cultural identity among Hong Kong’s younger generation. The Hong Kong government holds that children are society’s hope for future and early childhood is a crucial stage of development, stressing that children should develop positive values and an understanding of their responsibilities as citizens of their country and of the world through moral education (Commission on Youth, 2018). In particular, the government explicitly states that music and arts education should be used as vehicles for embracing positive values and personality development (CDC, 2017). This concurs with the education philosophy and practice of the government of China, which holds that music education can, in a holistic way, develop the moral, intellectual, and aesthetic dimensions of a person, thereby enhancing the person as a whole (Ministry of Education, 2012). Against the backdrop of waves of sociopolitical unrest in Hong Kong in recent years (Li & Finkenauer, 2021), China has increasingly empowered the Hong Kong government to proactively promote citizenship through moral education at all levels of the formal education mechanism,

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providing students with the relevant civic knowledge, skills, moral values, and attitudes for functioning and leading responsible lives in the community (Banks, 2004). Scholars have maintained that moral education plays a critical role in developing citizenship, the process should begin from early childhood, and schools should be the key actor throughout the process (e.g., Althof & Berkowitz, 2006). This transformational and challenging relationship between sociopolitical change and education policy has unquestionably entailed a series of apparent dynamics in early childhood music education. This section examines the complicated struggles associated with the reconfiguration of Hong Kong’s national and citizenship education, which have occurred in response to sociocultural and political changes and interactions with globalism, localism, and Confucianism. These struggles stand out as especially impactful in the current milieu of the relationship between Hong Kong and China; they are pivotal in the context of the new curriculum reform in formal education, and their interconnections within music education are dynamic and reciprocal. Ho’s (2016) analysis of music education in China revealed that official music cultures and the selected political ideologies found in the curriculum are a reflection of the sociocultural circumstances of the rapid and profound transformation of Chinese societies. Likewise, education reform in Hong Kong, as a part of China, has embraced moral and citizenship ideologies that clearly reflect its sociocultural and political transformation after the transfer of sovereignty to China. Pedagogically, Vygotsky provided an emergent sociological position, stating that “pedagogics is never and was never politically indifferent1 ” (Vygotsky, 1997, p. 348). In light of the rapid transformation occurring in the global age as well as the unique historical background of Hong Kong, education reforms in Hong Kong must address global, national, and local needs, preparing children for the challenges of an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world. Despite the dynamics of interactions between nationalization, globalization, and localization, it is vital that music education helps provide a unifying vision of the social, political, and cultural purposes and needs of Hong Kong. Unquestionably, the dynamics of these interactions have been transformed into unique contemporary values in Hong Kong. The 1 This was originally written in 1921–1923 by Lev Vygotsky, and published in Vygotsky, L. S. (1997). The collected works of LS Vygotsky: The history of the development of higher mental functions (Vol. 4). Springer Science & Business Media.

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current kindergarten curriculum guide presents policies borrowed from the West and policies that empower Chinese nationalism via national, citizenship, and moral education. Nevertheless, these interactions also produce a confrontation between Confucianism’s outcome orientation, the process-oriented paradigm of Western education concepts like childcenteredness and PBL, and the advocacy of Chinese music genres to develop national identity in the face of parents’ preferences for Western music education because of longstanding British colonial influence. Inarguably, it is of national interest to develop national identity and citizenship values beginning in early childhood when children first begin attending school. In light of this, Cantonese opera has been officially included as one of the music genres in school-based curriculum in Hong Kong as a means to develop national identity (Curriculum Development Council, 2003). The empowerment of the Chinese authority to develop the national identity, including introducing Cantonese opera and other traditional Chinese music genres into the music curriculum, is regarded as a deliberate effort to assert Chinese sovereignty by means of fostering the development of Chinese identity in Hong Kong, especially among the younger generation. Further, with the drastic advancements in information and communications technology in modern society, globalization embraces an intensification of transnational processes, which challenges the classical conception of citizenship by diminishing the significance of borders and national specifics (Law, 2006). This intensification also challenges the development of national identity and makes it increasingly complex for citizens to retain their national identity as a member of a nation state (Smolicz, 1998). Besides the longstanding influence of Westernization owing to British colonial rule, globalization provides individuals with a wider range of ethnic and political identities from which they can select, as well as more opportunities to create their self-identity (Arnett, 2002). Chung’s (2021b) study examines the identity crisis in postcolonial Hong Kong, which embraces multiple identities: Chinese, Hong Kong, Chinese Hong Kong, and Hong Kong Chinese. The 155 years of foreign rule have impacted Hong Kong people’s sense of the development of a cohesive identity that may not be culturally synonymous with that of mainland Chinese (Chung, 2021b). Despite education being expected to play an important role in promoting global cooperation and preparing students to function within and across national borders (UNESCO, 2000), the tension between

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globalization and localization has been widely documented in the education literature. Research has suggested that numerous nation states have adopted multidimensional or multilevel models as they reconfigure their citizenship education curricula (Banks, 2004; Cogan et al., 2002). According to Osler and Vincent (2002), and despite the explicit recognition of the role of global education, the governments of the United Kingdom, Denmark, Ireland, and the Netherlands have not translated their global concerns into practice, promoting global competition more than global cooperation. In contrast, Banks (2004) observed that some citizenship education continues to prepare students to function within a nation state rather than in the globalized world. In China, research indicates significant changes in China’s citizenship and citizenship education in response to globalization. For example, Price (1992) identified that Chinese leaders’ expectations regarding young people’s role in national building have been altered from socialist revolution to international competition. This emergence of institutional or individual competition may give rise to localism, which makes Chinese cities or provinces more significant locales for forming unique local identities than the nation state. Chen and Reid (2002) noted that market reform in China has led to an ideological shift in citizenship education, which moved from the overwhelming domination of collectivism before the 1980s to increased individualism. To break the dichotomy between globalization and local assertions against globalizing trends, scholars have proposed new conceptions and ideologies. Robertson (1995) proposed the concept of “glocalization,” which blends the global and local and recognizes the coexistence of homogenization and heterogenization as complementary and natural process. Banks (2004) argued for the contradictory coexistence of globalization and nationalism and nation states’ divergent responses to globalization. History molds what constitutes a good citizen—patriots, cosmopolitans or others—and this may differ from one era to another (Ljunggren, 2014). As suggested by Morris et al. (2002), citizenship education should foster students with dual citizenship: a “fixed” citizenship, which is specific to their own nation state, and a “flexible” citizenship, which helps them adapt to ever-changing circumstances and contexts throughout their lifespan. The blending and morphing of nationalism and globalism in Hong Kong’s music education has created a contemporary condition of hybridity and multiplicity in the discursive field of formal school music

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education within China (Ho, 2021). In light of this, citizenship education in Hong Kong, which begins with the earliest curriculum (i.e., early childhood education), must help young people both create a national identity and “live together in increasingly diverse local communities and an interdependent world” (Osler & Starkey, 2003, p. 243), in order to achieve the city’s sustainable competitiveness. The promotion of multidimensional or multilevel citizenship may further reinforce the sociocultural distinction of school education and address its complexities.

What Are the Teacher Competencies Required for Music Education Against the Global Spread of Traveling Reforms in Education? Contemporary Challenges, Prejudices, and Barriers in Early Childhood Music Education With the marginalization of music in school education throughout history and the curricular bias toward a “core curriculum” across the world (Welch, 2021), the pre-service and in-service preparation of early childhood teachers often provides inadequate opportunities for engagement in music. As discussed in this book, the early childhood teaching force, which is ill-prepared concerning music education, has led to many negative consequences in the implementation of the early childhood curriculum. The mismatch between the requirements for the wider range of subjects covered by generalists and the core requirements and in-depth knowledge required for teaching music as a specialist is a perennial challenge in teaching music in an early childhood education setting. Hence, it is vital to raise awareness among teacher educators, policymakers, and school leaders around the world about this worrisome reality and urgent need to better prepare early childhood generalist teachers in music education. This section aims to propose sustainable and easily scalable strategies to strengthen early childhood teachers’ preparation for music education. Similar to a wide range of countries and jurisdictions around the around, the studies introduced in this book revealed that early childhood teachers in Hong Kong had overwhelmingly lower self-efficacy regarding teaching music than they did regarding other subject areas in the early childhood curriculum. The results indicating early childhood teachers’ inadequacy of professional training in music are supported by current international studies. Most countries in the world fail to sufficiently

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prepare teachers to meet the music-related expectations of contemporary early childhood curricula, which irrefutably affects young children’s learning and development (Bautista et al., 2022). This inadequacy has been reported in, for example, the United States (Baum, 2017; Hash, 2010), the United Kingdom (Poulter & Cook, 2020; Welch & Henley, 2014), Australia (Barrett, Flynn, et al., 2019), Greece (Koutsoupidou, 2010), Kenya (Andang’o & Mugo, 2007), Taiwan (Liao & Campbell, 2016), Japan (Trainor, 2005), Singapore (Chua & Welch, 2019), and Hong Kong (Bautista et al., 2021; Chen-Hafteck & Zhuoya, 2008; Chung, 2019, 2021a). Given this limited professional preparation, how to initiate and implement appropriate musical activities is always only vaguely understood by early childhood teachers. Thus, this section explores the teacher competencies that early childhood teachers require to effectively implement early childhood music education in Hong Kong and around the world. To reframe the teacher education mechanism in early childhood music, it is crucial to understand the factors that contribute to teachers’ lower confidence regarding teaching music. For Hong Kong’s generalist teachers, this lack of confidence stems from multiple persistent sociocultural and educational prejudices. First, there is a widespread misconception that musical aptitude will be evaluated by the standard of Western classical music, that is, in terms of teachers’ vocal and instrumental performance. One consequence of this prejudice is that many teachers are resistant and feel embarrassed to sing (as is reflected in the studies described in Chapters 4 and 5) because of their self-perceived inaptitude for singing, and so, they tend to contrast their performances with high-quality art songs sung by classical performers. Second, the foundation of general musicianship, as part of formal school education or extracurricular musical activities (e.g., music theory, instrument lessons, choir, band, and ensemble) is rather weak among generalist teachers in Hong Kong prior to enrollment in teacher education programs. A study of 1,019 Hong Kong kindergarten teachers uncovered that only approximately half of the sample had studied a musical instrument, singing, and/or dance for a minimum of two years (Bautista & Ho, 2022). Consistent findings have been reported in other international studies. For example, a study of 46 Australian kindergarten teachers revealed that 46% of teachers had never learned how to play a musical instrument or sing, which inarguably posed tremendous challenges for directing musical activities for children (Barrett, Flynn, et al.,

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2019). Another study revealed that 75% of 108 early childhood student teachers in Greece had no musical training of any kind (Koutsoupidou, 2010). Third, pre-service teacher education in music is highly insufficient in both Western and Eastern countries (Bautista et al., 2022; ChenHafteck & Zhuoya, 2008; Lau & Grieshaber, 2018). In Hong Kong, formal professional teacher training is required to become a qualified early childhood teacher, training offered by government-accredited institutions. Beginning in 2006, all early childhood teachers are required to complete a Certification of Kindergarten Teacher to become a qualified early childhood teacher. In this teacher training framework, only approximately 20 hours are allocated to music, whereas other areas like language are allocated more than 60 hours (Chan, 2012). While certain programs offer courses that integrate music with other creative arts (such as the visual arts, dance, and drama) or include music as a component of a general creativity course (Lau & Grieshaber, 2018), some higher education institutions offer no music training whatsoever to prospective early childhood teachers (Bautista et al., 2022; Chan & Leong, 2007). Moreover, this music training usually only covers rudimentary general knowledge and skills, such as music theory and basic singing technique. Fourth, the relative marginalization of music in the early childhood education curriculum is characterized by its official exclusion from the curriculum model until the Guide to the Pre-primary Curriculum (2006). A related outcome is that there have been comparatively few resources, such as time and physical space, allocated to music instruction. This culminates in children’s engagements with music being often loosely organized and bereft of clear objectives. Fifth, parents are important actors in facilitating children’s development and providing opportunities to engage in play via music (Youm, 2013). Nevertheless, like many Chinese societies, parents in Hong Kong are rather success-oriented and value academic subjects (e.g., mathematics, science, and languages) higher than music (Lau & Grieshaber, 2018). Thus, teachers must then justify the value of music education to parents and who may undervalue the significance of music education in a highly competitive society like Hong Kong. Sixth, early childhood teachers have criticized the quality, duration, and applicability of pre-service teacher education in music (see Chapters 4– 6). Many have reported that teacher training in music is too abbreviated and fragmented, overly theoretical, and lacking in practical opportunities

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(e.g., teaching practice) (Bautista & Ho, 2021). Other findings related to quality of teacher preparation in music education come from studies conducted in the United States (Rajan, 2017), the United Kingdom (Young, 2007), and Greece (Koutsoupidou, 2010). Seventh and finally, the limited provision of music-specific professional development for in-service early childhood teachers in Hong Kong is in line with similar circumstances around the world (Bautista et al., 2016; Yim & Ebbeck, 2011). Bautista and Ho (2021) reported the existence of little to no school or government support for enhancing early childhood teachers’ professional and continuing development in music education in Hong Kong. Consequently, teachers must meet these needs during their personal time and are responsible for all costs incurred for participating in professional development. Ultimately, all the above challenges negatively affect children’s development and learning because of the limited and superficial exposure to music, given that many music-related skills (e.g., auditory and perceptual skills, cognitive functions, and self-regulatory skills) are best developed and acquired during the early years (Williams, 2018). Undoubtedly, music education is one early childhood subject most in need of further support (Chung, 2021a), and so, only attention and concerted effort required will suffice to tackle the challenges. This will include the provision of various initiatives to enhance the quality of teacher preparation in music, and an evidence-based foundation for the development of the early childhood music teacher education programs offered by higher education institutions. These initiatives and music teacher education programs should assure that early childhood teachers have developed sufficient theoretical knowledge and skills concerning the curriculum content, pedagogical competencies, and behavioral traits needed to optimize their effectiveness at teaching music in an early childhood setting, as discussed below. Workplace Mentoring Workplace mentoring has been defined as the interaction between an experienced individual (mentor) and a less experienced individual (mentee) in the workplace, with the aim of supporting the professional growth of the mentee (Kram, 1985). According to Eraut (2011), workplace mentoring typically takes place over an extended period of time and should be multifaceted in design. Kemmis et al. (2014) highlighted three major dimensions of workplace mentoring: namely supervision, support,

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and collaborative self-development. An example of the first dimension is when student teachers work under the supervision of experienced practitioners in an internship experience. A support-style of mentoring entails newly qualified teachers being supported by experienced practitioners who help them develop professional practices in an educational setting (Langdon et al., 2016). In collaborative approaches to workplace mentoring, “mentor and mentee conduct professional discussions as equals, leading to mutual growth” (Barrett, Zhukov, et al., 2019, p. 531). In light of the paradox of many early childhood generalist teachers having limited professional knowledge of how best to organize and implement effective music education and potentially being unaware of how to maximize the wider benefits of music, the resulting systemwide pedagogical shortcomings can be addressed through the provision of classroom-focused mentoring by specialist early-years music educators. The literature has increasingly reported on the positive impacts of workplace mentoring on music education. The Training and Development Agency in England initiated pilot music modules as part of its Primary Initial Teacher Education courses (Hennessy, 2017), aiming to boost the confidence and competency of new teachers regarding music education. Pre-service teachers were required to spend some of the module time in schools, to observe experienced teachers teaching music, to enact their own music activities, and to spend time on related reflection (Welch & Henley, 2014). Evaluations by Initial Teacher Education providers suggested that this local short-term initiative had successfully boosted pre-service teachers’ confidence and competencies regarding teaching music (Hennessy, 2017). In Australia, the National Music Teacher Mentoring Program involved experienced specialist music educators mentoring early childhood classroom teachers in their own schools, in which the foundation of the music curriculum was vocal training but also included some instrumental instruction informed by the Orff and Kodály methods. Mentors participated in a workshop that addressed mentoring skills and music program content, and subsequently, they worked with generalist early childhood teachers one on one over an extended period of time (Barrett, Zhukov, et al., 2019). The results of Barrett, Zhukov, et al.’s (2019) study suggest that it not only boosted generalist teachers’ confidence and competencies regarding teaching music but that it also enriched the schools’ music curricula, and importantly, structured locally relevant music programs for young children.

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It has been reported that the major underlying explanation for gaps in generalists’ confidence and competencies is that they are customarily provided few substantial opportunities for sustained pre-service music education (Bhachu, 2019; Chung, 2019, 2021a; Erhlin & Wallerstedt, 2014; Weinstein, 1989; Welch & Henley, 2014). I propose that one possible solution to this disparity is on-the-job mentoring, which can be seen as a branch of in-service training that enhances teachers’ knowledge, skills, and pedagogical understanding in an ecologically valid way. During workplace mentoring, mentors visit schools for an extended period of time and offer advice to mentees based on specific cultural and school-based needs; the mentees observe the mentors’ teaching music, and mentor and mentee collaborate on lesson plans that address the specific needs of that educational context. The implementation of workplace mentoring in music education can ultimately contribute to developing a culturally relevant music teacher education model wherein the context-specific needs of education are addressed. Moving Forward: Toward a Conceptual Music Teacher Education Framework Given the complexities of teaching music and the significance of teachers’ competence in this regard, standards for competency must be considered in the development of a well-defined structural framework for music teacher education programs. The worldwide movement for competencybased teacher education, which began about 40 years ago, has produced numerous studies aimed at formulating descriptions of essential competencies for delivering effective teaching (Beazley, 1981; Brophy & Good, 1986; Taebel, 1980; Taebel & Coker, 1980). Researchers have attempted to define and measure the qualities and competencies specifically associated with effective music teaching (Chung, 2021a; Hamann, 2003). Several studies have also focused on the perceptions and conceptions of pre-service and in-service teachers regarding various dimensions of teacher effectiveness (e.g., Butler, 2001; Henninger, 2002). Thus, the basis for developing competencies in teaching is rooted in theoretical models, observations, and descriptions of master teachers, and the opinions of experts and practitioners. The directorate general for Teacher Training and Education (DGTTD) in Turkey has attempted to establish a common perspective for teaching

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education and identified six areas of music teacher competency: (i) planning and regulation, (ii) theoretical–applied knowledge and skills, (iii) music culture, (iv) monitoring and evaluation, (v) school–family–society and interdisciplinary cooperation, and (vi) professional development (Çeliktas et al., 2022). Department of Education and Science (1992) in the United Kingdom suggested that an effective early childhood teacher should embrace three kinds of competencies: (i) subject knowledge (expertise in a subject area), (ii) pedagogy (understanding how children learn), and (iii) learning management (the capacity to manage the learning environment, e.g., time, space, and other resources). Schulman’s (1986) framework of teacher knowledge consists of content knowledge, curriculum knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge. Mishra and Koehler (2006) argued that teachers need to acquire fundamental competencies in subject knowledge, skills, and pedagogy to unlock the power and potential positive outcomes of a given subject. With regard to music education, a teacher’s musical competence refers to his or her own musical abilities, understanding, and skills as these are applied to guiding children’s overall experience and understanding of music (Woodward, 2005). According to a publication of the National Association for Music Education (2019), musical competence also refers to a teacher’s ability to integrate a variety of musical knowledge and skills (e.g., creativity, performance, music history, music technology, arts culture, masterpiece appreciation, and aesthetics) to achieve specific objectives in the teaching of music. The literature on topics of competence and standards for competent teaching is expansive and includes studies of general, cross-disciplinary teacher behaviors as well as specific competencies for music instruction (Forsythe et al., 2007; Ladson-Billings, 1995). Colker (2008) identified 12 characteristics of effective early childhood teachers: passion, perseverance, willingness to take risks, pragmatism, patience, flexibility, respect, creativity, authenticity, love of learning, high energy, and a sense of humor. The research literature clearly implies that teachers should also possess certain attributes in order to serve as role models and facilitate children’s development of appropriate attitudes. Teachout (1997) conducted a study in the United States in which he compared the views of pre-service and in-service teachers concerning effective teaching behaviors; he found that many of the top-ranked traits were more general in nature (e.g., enthusiastic and energetic) and that the more musical behaviors (e.g., displaying a high level of musicianship) were ranked higher

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by pre-service teachers than in-service teachers. The findings suggested that beyond issues of music teacher competency, some general teaching behaviors are also considered significant, especially experienced teachers’ perceptions. According to Chung’s (2021a) study, early childhood teachers perceived personal attributes as important as musical competencies when it comes to teaching music to young children. Bigler and Lloyd-Watts (1998) suggested that the positive personal qualities of early childhood music teachers should include a love of children and music, enthusiasm, personal warmth, self-discipline, sensitivity to diverse personalities, the abilities to praise and organize, and good personal music practice habits. Little research has been conducted on the extent to which the behaviors described in teacher education standards are “learnable.” The “nature/nurture” debate (i.e., teachers are “born, not made”) is relevant to teacher education in that both teachers and teacher educators may believe that some behaviors are more learnable than others (Forsythe et al., 2007). In the various studies of teachers’ competencies at teaching music to young children, it is evident that in addition to musical competencies and content knowledge, the importance of the general traits of early childhood teachers, such as a love for children and enthusiasm, have been highlighted in literature. Hence, this book argues that not only are their music competencies, pedagogical and content knowledge possessed by early childhood teachers, but also the professional traits and attitude of early childhood teachers are decisive for the delivery of effective and balanced early music experiences for young children. It is important that teacher educators providing music training to generalists be aware of these specific traits of generalists and make every effort to do the following: (i) encourage and motivate generalists to enhance their competencies in all aspects of music, especially the musical performance skills (i.e., singing and playing instruments) about which they are least confident; (ii) create opportunities for generalists to teach music activities that do not require strong performance skills; (iii) provide pre-service teachers with substantial practicum experiences to develop their competency and confidence about teaching, especially when teaching or performing in front of other people; and (iv) have realistic expectations of generalists’ knowledge and competency at music, recognizing their deep understanding of early childhood education and the educational value of their musical instruction.

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In view of the worrisome situation in early childhood music education described in the previous section, I offer suggestions for teacher educators in the following. To tackle the complexities of the global age that were critically examined and analyzed in this book, what is urgently needed is a more encompassing music teacher education framework that addresses the local, national, and international challenges of ensuring effective early childhood music education by non-specialists. Such a framework should encompass the development of the following competencies: (i) lesson and curriculum planning, (ii) theoretical–applied music knowledge and skills, (iii) music culture, (iv) management of learning, and (v) professional and personal attributes. Figure 7.1 summarizes the proposed framework, which should be supported by continuous in-service professional development and workplace mentorship to ensure the high-quality and sustained professional and academic development of early childhood teachers. Lesson and curriculum planning. It is imperative for teachers to develop a solid and dialectical understanding of the conceptions, dilemmas, cultural values, local education policies, and criticism of music practices in relation to various perspectives of child development and learning; examples of such practices include PBL, child-centeredness, and creativity. Together with an analysis of theoretical applications and practices, a pivotal foundation of music teacher education is addressing the potential risks and pitfalls of various approaches to music education (e.g., child-led and teacher-directed play-based approaches) and negotiating the advantages and shortcomings of a range of music pedagogical models. In particular, given the evidence of the benefits of play and the subsequent emphasis and mandated use of PBL all over the world, teacher education should equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary for effectively integrating PBL musical activities into the curriculum. For example, teachers should be competent at creating stimulating and engaging environments in which rich play experiences are available. Teacher education should increase the quantity and quality of students’ exposure to all types of musical play given their significance to child-centered curricula and the limited time typically allotted to this area in teacher education programs around the world (García Gil et al., 2021). It is also of crucial importance for teacher education programs to equip students with competencies so that they can select and structure a broad range of repertoires, material, and resources, which will then be integrated into various musical activities in order to optimize early childhood curricula and children’s learning experiences.

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Lesson and curriculum planning

Workplace mentorship

Continuous professional development

Fig. 7.1 Teacher education framework for music in early childhood curricula (Source Developed by the author)

Theoretical–applied music knowledge and skills. Teachers should be able to utilize the methods and techniques described in the curriculum while conveying theoretical knowledge; this ability serves as the foundation for music teaching. Given that the majority of student teachers enrolled in early childhood teacher training programs have very little or no background in music or playing musical instruments (Chung, 2021a), the hours devoted to music theory courses should be increased to strengthen their theoretical foundation and enhance their understanding of the curriculum and the music resources available. Further, early childhood student teachers should also be encouraged to learn how to play a musical instrument (e.g., piano and ukulele) to enrich their musicianship and because of the applicability to the music classroom. Enhancement

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in accompaniment skills is also crucial for early childhood teachers’ professional applicability. As discussed in Chapter 2, certain methodological approaches to early childhood music education, (i.e., the Orff, Dalcroze, and Kodály methods), if implemented appropriately, can contribute to children’s musical and non-musical development in multifaceted ways and yield an abundance of valuable innovative perspectives for the music classroom (Jung & Jin, 2015). It is recommended that the early childhood teacher education programs support the students by providing theoretical and practical insights into how to best utilize each method in an eclectic manner in order to achieve various education outcomes. It is hoped that ultimately, when the strengths of these pedagogical methods are combined, a solid and comprehensive music education will result. Early childhood education curricula across the world emphasize playbased approaches that entail substantial movement-based, creative dance, and drama activities (Campbell & Scott-Kassner, 2009), and so, the movement-based components of teacher training programs should be increased and enriched to suit the increasing professional demands of early childhood education. Further, drama and dance education should be included in the teacher education framework. After all, it is of utmost importance that pre-service teachers be provided with sufficient opportunities to gain experience in early childhood settings (e.g., practicums or internships) where they can practice and understand the applicability of these music-related skills essential for early childhood education. Music culture. Despite the global spread of traveling reforms in education, it is vital for culturally relevant music teacher education curricula to be developed in reference to sociocultural influences and in terms of repertoire, curricula, and educational ideologies. Thus, early childhood teachers should develop subject-specific cultural competence (Morrison et al., 2008). The cultural match or mismatch between education and culture has been a topic of interest to education scholars for the last few decades (Bond, 2017). Early childhood teachers must gain a dialectical understanding of the cultural complexity of defining, conceptualizing, and implementing music, education, and music education. For example, as discussed in Chapter 2, Western and Eastern cultures may conceptualize and interpret early childhood PBL differently. Early childhood teachers in contexts with strong cultural traditions and heritages may also need to develop knowledge about their own traditional music and skills related to it, including instrumental and vocal

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techniques, in addition to knowledge about world music. For example, as discussed in Chapter 6, there is a drive at the national and local level to develop young Hong Kong children’s national identity beginning in the earliest curriculum through an exposure to traditional Chinese music (e.g., Chinese opera), and the development of a national and cultural identity has been explicitly included as a component of moral education in early childhood (Leung & Leung, 2017). Similarly, in Turkey, many teachers maintain that it is important that their students have some experience with ba˘glama, plucked string instruments, like lutes, that are used in traditional Turkish music (Çeliktas et al., 2022). Management of learning . It is well documented that many early childhood teachers feel unprepared to handle the broad range of classroom management challenges they face (Gettinger & Fischer, 2015). Classroom management is a complex skill that refers to the ability to create an environment that facilitates socio-emotional, academic, and behavioral learning and success (Poznanski et al., 2018). It entails utilizing behavioral and instructional strategies that enhance classroom-wide ontask behavior and address student misbehavior as it arises in various forms (Greenberg et al., 2013; Oliver et al., 2011). Yet, worldwide, little is covered in teacher education programs concerning how teachers should strategize classroom management in an early childhood, playbased context. Nonetheless, it is crucial that early childhood teachers are competent at organizing the learning environment in terms of time, physical space, and resources (Poznanski et al., 2018). In particular, in the play-based and child-centered approach that is predominantly employed in early childhood curricula, which involves substantial movements and child-led and child-initiated activities, class management competence requires theoretical and psychological understanding of how children learn. McDaniel (1985) suggests that children are appropriately motivated if teachers embrace constructs for managing students in which they design an interesting curriculum, set clear goals, communicate high expectations, employ positive reinforcement, invite success, teach cooperation, demonstrate enthusiasm, personalize instruction, introduce a readiness to learn, and encourage student response. In this regard, student teachers must be equipped with the foundations of theoretical understanding about how to manage children’s behaviors so as to nurture positive social and academic learning through various musical engagements (Campbell & Scott-Kassner, 2009).

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Professional and personal attribute. International research suggests that pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, and school leaders consider that early childhood teachers’ professional and personal attributes are as crucial as their professional skills (Sherwood & Reifel, 2010). In addition to professional competence, early childhood teachers are also expected to demonstrate certain professional attributes when teaching music. Competent teachers should embrace such traits as creativity, openness to and cognizance of the teaching methodologies of early childhood music, and awareness of the diversity of their students’ musical preferences and backgrounds. Further, research suggests that both pre-service and in-service early childhood teachers view particular affective qualities as vital for early childhood teachers (Mashburn et al., 2008). For example, there is common agreement that competent early childhood teachers should be “child-centered” (Georgeson et al., 2015; Witcher et al., 2001), which entails being optimistic, supportive, caring, and patient (Weinstein, 1990). Another frequently cited affective quality is enthusiasm (Colker, 2008; Crompton et al., 2018; Witcher et al., 2001). This affective quality is particularly important for teachers’ when demonstrating creative movements, singing, and playing musical instruments as it directly influences the level and quality of children’s musical engagement. Further, early childhood teachers should be able to structure their music activities such that the music experience is enjoyable, personable (Minor et al., 2000), and highly self-efficacious (Chung, 2019). As discussed in this book, some parents and stakeholders in non-Western contexts are predominantly success- and academics-oriented (Chung, 2021a), which indicates that school–family–society collaboration is significant (Xue & Li, 2021). In light of this, it is particularly important for teachers in these cultural contexts to be equipped with communication skills and the ability to justify the value of music education to parents based on a solid theoretical understanding of music in relation to children’s development and learning. There is a pressing need for continuous professional development for early childhood teachers to renew their knowledge and skills, keep pace with ongoing changes, and broaden their vision to adopt excellent teaching practices that nurture the holistic development of young children. The powerful impact of music education on young children’s holistic development should also be acknowledged. Acquiring the necessary musical skills, knowledge, and related professional attributes required

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to teach music takes years of study, practice, observation, and reflection (Vannatta-Hall, 2010). As extensively examined and analyzed in this book, the provision of music teacher training in the pre-service teacher education system is decidedly insufficient. Hence, the irrefutable significance of providing continuous in-service teacher training in music must be addressed (Çeliktas et al., 2022). Such a platform of contextualization and continued support after graduation will offer a way for teacher educators to develop and implement purposeful and effective teacher education programs for early childhood teachers, which will in turn serve as an important step in enhancing the professional development perspectives of early childhood teachers and the quality of classroom teaching practices (Chung, 2021a). Regrettably, in-service training in music for early childhood generalists has historically been inadequate around the world. Studies have identified teachers’ professional needs and preferences regarding such topics as playing musical instruments, vocal training, health care for musicians, and music curricula for in-service professional development (Chung, 2021a; Dursun, 2015). In-service music teacher education can take various forms, including structured music teacher education programs offered by higher education institutions or the workplace mentorship in music education discussed in the previous section (Eraut, 2011; Kemmis et al., 2014); both forms address the contemporary challenges and are suited to the professional needs of early childhood teachers. In-service music teacher education programs must be practical and hands-on, fostering in-service teachers’ active and sustained engagement in music making and teaching and, ultimately, leading to higher teacher self-efficacy and a sense of empowerment regarding teaching music in early childhood settings (Ebbeck et al., 2008; Swain & BodkinAllen, 2014).

Summary This book has offered a historical, theoretical, and empirical analysis, the aim of which was to elucidate the trajectory of Hong Kong’s early childhood music education in relation to the external forces of global education policy and increasing national influence from China. It intended humbly to contribute to various fields of study. First and foremost, it contributes to the field of comparative education, particularly in its elucidation of the globalization of the policy and practices of early childhood music education. Taken in tandem, the chapters of this book

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examine the trajectory of the music’s in Hong Kong’s early childhood education system in light of its complex relationship with such external forces as colonization and globalization, focusing in particular on policy, pedagogical practices, and practitioners’ beliefs. This case study of Hong Kong, an inalienable part of China, can be read on its own as a lens for understanding an important subsystem of China or as a comparative study of early childhood music education in different cultures. Many of the empirical-based discussions in this book, with their different accents and contours, reflect the ideologies, pedagogical trends, and practices of early childhood music education globally. The field of Hong Kong studies has attracted enormous scholarly attention internationally and grown exponentially in the past two decades of the postcolonial era, as insights into the multifaceted and plural nature of education in Hong Kong have expanded and deepened. Nevertheless, knowledge about and a critical understanding of the complexities of the early childhood music education system remains limited, and these limitations concern, for example, the cultural implications of this system, the dilemmas and tensions of various pedagogical approaches, disputable teacher training mechanisms, teacher belief systems, and self-efficacy in the face of a broad range of challenges related to waves of education reform. This book offers insights into Hong Kong’s changing sociocultural landscape and the growing emphasis on the provision of quality of early childhood music education worldwide. In response to globalized early childhood education practices, throughout the book, musical play has been discussed as a mandated policy and as the dominant activity of preschool children in many cultural communities across the globe. This book makes visible the theoretical problems and conceptual challenges of early childhood education (e.g., PBL) that have arisen for school leaders, policymakers, teacher educators, and early childhood teachers. The theoretical analysis, critical examination of relevant literature, and empirical findings presented in this book serve as the basis for its proposed conceptual model for music teacher education. This conceptual model was developed in direct response to the contemporary challenges facing early childhood practitioners in Hong Kong and the world. This book has been driven by the academic ambition to analyze and understand the trajectory of Hong Kong’s early childhood education system, with a particular interest in music education and its intersection with Western models and values in both the colonial and postcolonial

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eras. Nevertheless, this ambition is bounded by multiple limitations. One can employ a variety of theoretical presumptions to examine the logic and structure of Hong Kong’s early childhood music education, as well as to examine the implications of this logic and structure for reframing music teacher education. This book offers one such theoretical possibility—self-efficacy. In addition, globalization, colonization, and nationalization provide a useful conceptual framework for understanding how sociocultural and political changes have contributed to Hong Kong and China studies, because the transformational and challenging relationship between sociocultural changes and educational practices exist outside Hong Kong. Owing to its inclusiveness and generality, concepts of early childhood music education provide an accommodating framework for understanding the complicated relationship between sociocultural changes and education practice. When carefully crafted and implemented, early childhood music education can and does support children’s learning and development in multifaceted ways. This requires the collaborative effort of various stakeholders working together within a supportive and effective framework.

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Index

A Absolute pitch, 55, 63 Absolute right or wrong, 172 Academic achievement, 87, 132, 137, 189 Academic competencies, 41 Academic development, 40, 189, 214 Academic enrichment, 42 Academic goals, 47 Academic outcomes, 11 Academic subjects, 87, 208 Accompaniment skills, 216 Achievement behavior, 87 Achievement behaviors in educational settings, 23, 80, 87 Action research, 108 Activity-based approach, 191 Adolescent problems, 169 Adolescents, 89, 151 Adult authority, 170, 174 Adult-guided play, 39–41 Adult-led structured activities, 40 Adults, 37, 38, 40, 43, 44, 52 Aesthetic benefits, 89

Aesthetics, 212 Affective state, 24, 85, 86, 92, 132, 142, 151, 155, 161 African-American parents’ beliefs, 48 African descent, 58 Age-appropriate, 46, 65, 66, 121, 135 Alberta Education, 46 Alto, 58 Anxiety, 86, 148, 155, 156, 161, 162 Anxiety in musical performance, 155, 159, 161, 162 Applied music, 108, 111, 122, 124 Approach, 11, 23, 24, 35, 37, 41, 43, 44, 46, 52, 54, 56, 61–63, 66, 80, 122, 124, 125, 131, 143, 145, 171, 214 Aptitude, 161, 183, 193, 195, 207 Aristotle, 170 Artistic development, 89, 132 Arts, 2, 17, 57, 80, 89, 98, 102, 104, 123, 137, 138, 151, 173, 191 Arts and creativity, 16, 138, 177 Arts and culture, 98 Arts culture, 212

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 F. M. Y. Chung, Music and Play in Early Childhood Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5033-9

231

232

INDEX

Arts education, 17, 22, 87, 89, 102, 104, 132–134, 133, 160, 173, 202 Art songs, 207 Asian-American parents, 48 Asian countries, 40 Asian-heritage families, 45 Asian parents, 48 Attention, 2, 4, 6, 15, 16, 35, 39, 40, 55, 57, 80, 88, 202, 209, 220 Attributes, 11, 12, 17, 24, 42, 101, 102, 173, 212–214, 218 Auditory and perceptual skills, 209 Auditory cortex, 6 Auditory cortical representation, 6 Australia, 7, 9, 84, 89, 207, 210 Australian kindergarten teachers, 207 Australian National Review of School Music Education, 123 Authenticity, 212 Autonomous morality, 171, 172 Autonomy, 23, 46

B Ba˘glama, 217 Balanced curriculum, 136, 171 Balanced educational practice, 41 Bandura, A., 19–21, 23, 24, 80–87, 91, 92, 106–108, 112, 122, 131, 142, 144, 145, 148, 150, 151, 154, 155, 158, 159, 162 Bandura’s self-efficacy theory, 21, 80, 82 Bandura’s social cognitive theory, 19, 91, 150 Barred instruments, 58 Barriers in Early Childhood Music Education, 206 Bass, 58 Bass drum, 58 Bavarian Radio, 57

Behavior, 4, 23, 79–82, 91, 171, 172, 174, 175, 183, 190, 217 Behavioral traits, 209 Benefits of play, 38, 45, 50, 214 Best time for learning, 4 Big band, 7 Bloom’s taxonomy, 59, 60 Body movements, 55, 141 Body percussion, 53, 64, 65, 109, 111, 113, 114, 117, 120, 141 Bongo drum, 58 Brain, 4, 6, 50, 55 Brain development, 4 Breathing exercises, 63, 133 Bribery, 15, 16176 British colonial rule, 15, 194, 202, 204

C Canada, 42, 43, 48, 49, 87 Canadian Council on Learning (CCL), 49 Canadian government, 45 Canonic, 7, 59 Cantonese, 2, 14, 140, 145, 180 Cantonese opera, 2, 14, 15, 186, 204 Capabilities, 18, 19, 55, 80, 81, 84–86, 91 Career advancement, 104 Career stages, 125 Care for others, 15, 178, 194 Cello, 58 Certificate of Early Childhood Education, 105 Certification of Kindergarten Teacher, 10, 208 Challenges, 3, 8, 16, 23, 41, 62, 63, 81, 83, 91, 100, 103, 105, 108, 131, 134, 135, 137–140, 152, 158, 169, 170, 176, 178–181, 187, 192, 193, 195, 201, 203,

INDEX

204, 206, 207, 209, 214, 217, 219, 220 Challenges of generalist teachers’ teaching music, 54 Chants, 6 Character education, 172, 193 Cheve system, 62 Cheve system of rhythmic mnemonics, 62 Chief Executive, 12, 14, 134 Child-centered approach, 8, 11, 38, 45, 66, 139, 140, 217 Child-centered curriculum, 66 Child-centeredness, 1, 214 Child development, 35, 43, 101, 141, 214 Child-directed practice, 39, 41 Child-directed unstructured play, 40 Child engagement, 51 Children, 3–9, 14–18, 20, 23, 24, 35–67, 79, 87, 89, 97–124, 132–137, 139–144, 148–156, 159, 161, 163, 170–176, 178, 179, 183–195, 202–204, 207–210, 212, 213, 216–218, 220, 221 Children’s development and learning, 209, 218 Children’s holistic development, 5, 36, 97, 133, 137, 218 Children’s literature, 185 Children’s play, 37, 38, 42, 43, 46, 52, 53, 56, 66, 79, 174 Children’s previous experiences, 40 China, 1, 2, 13, 22, 104, 132, 138, 186, 201–203, 205, 206, 219–221 China’s 56 ethnic groups, 13 Chinese cardinal principals, 182, 193 Chinese culture, 11, 12, 14, 141, 186 Chinese government, 12, 13 Chinese identity, 204

233

Chinese musical genres, 13 Chinese musical theatre, 186 Chinese opera, 2, 13, 14, 186, 217 Chinese society(ies), 2, 12, 140, 160, 203, 208 Chinese sovereignty, 3, 12, 204 Choir, 147, 207 Choreography, 2, 63–65, 107, 111, 113, 114, 122 Citizenship education, 176, 177, 203, 205, 206 Citizenship education curricula, 205 Citizenship ideologies, 203 Civic-affiliated, 13 Civic education, 12, 16, 177 Civic knowledge, 202 Civic morality, 15 Civic responsibility, 182, 183, 185, 193 Civilized behavior, 15 Classical music, 7, 207 Classical performers, 207 Classroom management, 217 Classroom quality, 87, 88 Clave, 58 Cluster sampling approach, 143 Cognitive abilities, 89 Cognitive development, 18, 53 Cognitive-developmental perspectives, 170 Cognitive processing mechanism, 17 Cognitive skills, 6, 44 Collaborative self-development, 210 Collectivism, 205 Colonial influence, 140, 204 Colonization, 13, 220, 221 Comments from parents, 154, 155, 159 Comments from principal, 154 Commitment, 15, 83, 178, 194 Commitment to teaching, 20

234

INDEX

Communication skills, 48, 176, 182, 218 Communism, 176 Comparative education, 219 Comparative research study, 46 Competence in teaching, 20, 89, 90 Composition, 59, 60, 135 Compulsory education, 15, 139 Conceptual framework, 19, 24, 90, 201–221 Conceptualizations of play, 40, 47, 48 Confidence, 7, 21, 86, 92, 99, 100, 105, 108, 113, 114, 116, 120–122, 125, 144, 145, 152–154, 161, 181, 186, 190, 191, 207, 210, 211, 213 Confidence levels, 90, 109, 110, 119, 122, 151, 155–157 Confucian heritage, 11 Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC), 11 Confucianism, 11, 132, 176, 202–204 Confucian tradition, 2, 10 Confucian values, 11 Confucius, 174 Conga drum, 58 Constructive play, 45 Constructivist paradigm, 18 Constructivist process, 171 Constructivist teachers, 185 Constructivist theory, 18, 141 Construct knowledge, 18, 53 Contemporary early childhood classrooms, 66 Content analysis, 145 Content knowledge, 22, 82, 101–103, 123, 134, 202, 212, 213 Context-specificity, 82 Contextual perspective, 21, 36, 42 Controversy, 2, 62 Convenience sampling, 192 Core curriculum, 206

Core ethical values, 193 Cosmopolitanism, 202 Cosmopolitans, 205 Cowbells, 58 Crashing cymbals, 58 Creative arts, 7, 106, 208 Creative curriculum, 20, 83 Creative dance, 52, 66, 106, 216 Creative development, 132 Creative movement, 7, 58, 59, 61, 141, 160, 218 Creative music activities, 64, 65, 102, 109, 111, 113, 117 Creative pedagogy, 53 Creative play context, 41 Creativity, 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 11, 16, 43, 45, 49, 51, 53, 57, 63, 64, 111, 132, 133, 135, 138, 141, 156, 160, 208, 212 Creativity in education, 23 Critical thinking, 11, 104 Criticism, 43, 62, 66, 214 Cronbach’s alpha, 112 Cronbach’s alpha coefficients, 112, 113 Cross-cultural analytic studies, 45 Cross-cultural study(ies), 45, 47 Cross-disciplinary teacher behaviors, 212 Cross-tabulation description, 144 Cultural and contextual appropriateness, 23 Cultural appropriateness, 46 Cultural beliefs, 44 Cultural competence, 216 Cultural complexity, 42, 216 Cultural complexity of play, 36 Cultural differences, 8, 45, 46 Cultural diversity, 42, 47 Cultural foundations of play, 42 Cultural heritage, 13

INDEX

Cultural identity, 13, 14, 186, 202, 217 Cultural influences, 132, 139, 193, 216 Culturally relevant frameworks in education, 140 Culturally relevant music teacher education, 211, 216 Culturally relevant practices, 139, 140 Cultural match, 216 Cultural needs of early childhood teachers, 24 Cultural perspective, 2, 36, 48, 97, 131, 175 Cultural politics, 2, 173 Cultural practices, 3–5 Cultural-specific nature of play, 47 Cultural studies, 22 Cultural traditions, 216 Cultural values, 2, 11, 66, 103, 214 Culture, 2, 11–15, 18, 22, 39, 42, 44–48, 62, 98, 160, 175–177, 186, 203, 216, 220 Current practices, 23 Curricula for kindergartens, 46 Curriculum, 2, 3, 7, 15, 16, 20, 43, 50, 63, 83, 100, 122, 134, 136, 139, 152, 161, 171, 175, 179, 185, 206, 209, 214 Curriculum policy document, 50–51 Curwen’s approach, 62 Curwen’s hand signs, 62 Curwen technique, 62 Cyprus, 42

D Dalcroze approach, 23, 53–55, 62, 156 Dalcroze Eurhythmics , 54 Dance, 52, 56, 57, 60, 64–66, 89, 106, 109, 111, 113, 114, 118,

235

121, 122, 152, 155, 207, 208, 216 Danish, 47 Data collection, 107, 145, 162, 180 Debate, 8, 21, 23, 36, 37, 39, 41, 53, 213 Decolonization, 13 Definitions, 37, 39, 45–47 Demographic information, 143, 146 Denmark, 42, 43, 205 Descriptive statistics, 114, 116–119, 148–150 Developing countries, 47 Developmental approach, 56 Developmentally appropriate, 18, 37, 40, 53, 54, 65, 66, 109–111, 119, 123 Developmentally appropriate interactions, 46 Developmentally appropriate musical activities, 186 Developmentally appropriate play-based pedagogy, 53 Developmental objectives, 16, 137, 177 Developmental pedagogy, 37 Development of teachers’ competency, 79 Dilemmas of Play, 39 Diligence, 15, 178 Direct instruction, 38, 40, 41 Directive behavioral instructions, 170 Disney music, 7 Documentary analysis, 22 Domain specific knowledge, 49 Domain-specific stimulation, 4 Dorothee Günther, 56, 58 Double bass, 58 Drama, 7, 18, 57, 89, 106, 185, 190, 194, 208, 216 Drill-and-practice approach, 139

236

INDEX

Drills and practice in early learning, 141 Drum, 58 Drums and other percussion instruments, 58 Dual citizenship, 205 Dutch, 83 Dynamics, 7, 53, 60, 66, 135, 158, 192, 202, 203

E Earliest curriculum, 183, 185, 206, 217 Early childhood curriculum, 8, 10, 54, 89, 97, 105, 138, 139, 141, 169, 173, 176, 193, 206 education, 2–4, 6–8, 15, 16, 20–22, 35–38, 40, 42, 44, 45, 47, 53, 64, 80, 82, 87, 99, 101, 102, 104, 108, 111, 123, 124, 131–139, 141, 143, 146–148, 150, 151, 158, 162, 169, 171, 174, 176, 177, 179, 182, 184, 186, 193, 201, 202, 206, 213, 216, 220 education community, 42 education curriculum, 8, 44, 104, 208 music curricula, 6, 66, 102, 210 music education, 3, 4, 6, 20–24, 36, 59, 61, 63, 64, 92, 97, 98, 101, 102, 104, 105, 111, 123, 124, 131, 134, 138–140, 142, 156, 158–161, 201–203, 206, 207, 214, 216, 219–221 teachers, 9–11, 14, 20, 22–24, 41, 42, 48, 49, 54, 98, 63, 88–90, 92, 97–103, 105, 106, 123–125, 134, 137, 138, 140, 142, 143, 147, 156–160, 162,

169, 175, 179–181, 187, 188, 194, 195, 206–210, 212–220 Early childhood education provision, 37, 42 Early childhood mathematics, 16, 138, 177 Early childhood practitioners, 24, 48, 79, 192, 220 Early childhood teachers, 3, 7–11, 14, 20, 22–24, 41, 42, 48, 49, 54, 63, 88–90, 92, 97–103, 105, 106, 123–125, 131, 134, 137, 138, 140, 142–144, 147, 148, 150, 156–160, 169, 175, 179–181, 187, 188, 194, 195, 206–210, 212–214, 216–220 Early development, 5, 38 Early education play, 173–174 Early years, 36, 39–42, 45, 48, 50, 51, 66, 170, 173, 192, 209 Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum, 37 Ear training, 54, 55, 61 Eastern countries, 208 East meeting West, 141 Ecology of early childhood education, 139 Economic competitiveness, 104 Education, 3, 10, 13, 15, 36, 45, 63, 80, 83, 84, 86, 91, 98, 99, 111, 204, 211, 216 Educational context, 211 Educational play, 37 Educational politics, 13 Educational prejudices, 207 Educational theories, 82 Education Bureau, 16, 102, 143, 157, 176–179 Education Department, 15, 176 Education ideologies, 201 Education policy, 1, 3, 21, 36, 42, 131, 132, 135, 142, 158, 160,

INDEX

169, 179, 181, 188, 192, 201, 203 Education policymaking, 1 Education policy reform, 80, 92, 131, 138, 140, 158 Education Reform in Early Childhood Music Education, 1 Educators’ interventions, 51 Effective music teaching, 89, 99, 211 Effective teaching, 23, 82, 141, 211, 212 Efficacy beliefs, 81 sources of, 84 Elemental music, 57 Elementary school, 61, 155 Emotional well-being, 3, 5 Empathy, 15, 173, 174, 176, 178, 185 Empirical analysis, 1, 219 Empowerment, 204, 219 Enactive mastery experience, 85, 92, 118, 132, 151, 159, 160 England, 37, 210 Enjoyment, 6, 38, 63, 133, 136 Ensemble, 8, 52, 53, 55, 65, 107, 120, 123, 207 Ensemble playing, 64, 65, 109, 111, 113, 114, 117, 120, 153 Enthusiasm, 9, 55, 213, 217, 218 Environment, 5, 6, 18, 19, 21, 23, 40, 44, 46, 50, 66, 81, 97, 136, 137, 173, 214, 217 Erikson, E.H., 174 Estonia, 42, 47 Ethical development, 170 Ethnographic research, 46 Ethnomusicologist, 61 Ethos of play, 48 Eurhythmics, 53–55 European-American, 48

237

European Early Childhood Education Research Association, 37 European families, 45 European heritage families, 45 Examination-oriented, 136 Expectancy, 21, 81, 82 Expected outcomes, 37 Expert guidance, 140 Exploration, 4, 18, 37, 48–51, 59, 60 Exploration of sound, 52 Exploratory play, 41 Exploratory research, 107 Expression, 7, 14, 17, 44, 55, 60, 64, 108, 111 Extracurricular musical activities, 207 F Family–school collaboration, 190 Fieldwork, 22 Financial success, 104, 188 Finger cymbals, 58 Fixed-do system, 55, 63 Folk, 7, 14, 60, 61 Formal education, 10, 13–15, 41, 106, 139, 158, 188, 192 Formal education mechanism, 134, 202, 203 Formal learning, 39 Formal professional teacher education, 10, 105 Formal school system, 14 Four sources of self-efficacy, 85, 92, 142, 144, 145, 158 Four stages in the Orff method, 59 Freedom of choice, 38 Free play, 18, 39, 40, 43, 44, 133 Frequency count of comments, 145 Frobel, Friedrich, 17, 38 G Game-like activities, 61

238

INDEX

Games, 43, 44, 46, 52, 102, 121, 184, 185, 191, 194 Games-with-rules play, 174 General education setting, 39 General Guidelines on Moral Education, 176 General Guidelines on Moral Education in Schools, 15 Generalist(s), 3, 8, 9, 20, 23, 24, 54, 98–100, 105, 123–125, 137, 147, 151, 206, 211, 213, 219 classroom, 8 teachers, 8, 9, 19, 54, 99, 100, 140–142, 187, 201, 206, 207, 210 General musical knowledge, 102 General musicianship, 207 Generic skills, 80 Geneva Conservatory of Music, 54 German descent, 58 Germany, 42, 43, 46, 59 Gifted children, 102 Global Age, 3, 36, 98, 176, 202, 203, 214 Global competition, 205 Global contexts, 23 Global cooperation, 204, 205 Global early childhood curricula, 43 Global educational trends, 24 Global education policy, 1, 2, 22, 40, 219 Global education reform, 2, 24 Globalism, 202, 203, 205 Globalization, 1, 21, 22, 24, 66, 97, 104, 177, 201, 203–205, 219–221 Globalization of Education Policy, 1 Globalization of the policy, 219 Globalized early childhood education, 220 Global practice, 6, 8, 24

Global spread of traveling reforms, 22, 206, 216 Glocalization, 205 Glockenspiel, 58 Government, 10, 12–14, 16, 17, 37, 104, 105, 134, 136, 139, 173, 177, 179, 202, 205, 208, 209 Government-accredited institutions, 208 Government-accredited teacher-training institutions, 10 Gradation of tone, 7 Greece, 42, 44, 207–209 Guangdong Province, 14 Guide to the Pre-primary Curriculum, 64, 65, 111, 137, 208 Guiro, 58 Guitar, 58, 103 Gunild Keetman, 57 Günther School, 56, 57

H Hand drum, 58 Handover of sovereignty, 138 Hand signs, 62, 64, 65, 107, 109, 111, 113, 114, 117, 121, 153 Hands-off approach, 46 Hands-on activities, 42 Hanging cymbals, 58 Hard virtues, 170 Heritages, 216 Heterogenization, 205 Heteronomous morality, 171 High/Scope approach, 141 Higher education institutions, 125, 195, 208, 209, 219 Higher-order self-regulatory skills, 80 Higher-order thinking, 50 High-quality music education, 131, 140 High scope program, 140

INDEX

Historical and Cultural Influences, 132 Historical backgrounds, 80 Historical development, 133, 176, 192 History, 12, 14, 17, 132, 169, 173, 186, 205, 206 Holistic development, 5, 36, 89, 97, 104, 133, 137, 218 Holistic skills, 43 Homogenization, 205 Hong Kong, 1–3, 8–16, 19–24, 42, 44–46, 80, 92, 102–106, 111, 124, 125, 131–143, 155, 158, 160, 169, 170, 173, 176, 177, 179, 180, 184–190, 192–194, 201–209, 217, 219–221 Hong Kong’s history, 169 Hong Kong’s kindergartens, 132, 133, 137, 158, 207 Hong Kong Education Commission, 137 Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, 137 Human development, 4, 178 Human Intangible Cultural Heritage, 14 Humanity, 17 Human’s lifespan, 172

I Identity, 13, 57, 177 Identity crisis, 204 Imagination, 59, 60 Imitation, 59, 60 Implementation of a play-based approach to music, 134, 142 Implementation of moral education through musical play, 180, 187 Implicit and explicit beliefs about play, 48

239

Improvisation, 52, 54, 55, 57, 59–63, 135, 141, 156 improvisation on the piano, 160 Independent Commission Against Corruption, 15, 176 In-depth semi-structured interviews, 179, 180 India, 46 Indigenous content, 48 Indigenous culture, 22 Individualism, 205 Indonesian descent, 58 Informal professional learning, 10, 105, 106 Informal professional teacher education, 10, 105 Inquiry approach, 43, 50, 51 Inquiry-Based Learning, 48–50 Inquiry learning, 49 Inquiry play, 37, 46 In-service music pedagogy courses, 100 Instructional interventions, 84 Instructional strategies, 217 Instrumental performance, 207 Instrumental playing, 55 Insufficient training in music, 3, 157 Integrity, 15, 16, 176, 178, 182, 187 Intellectual development, 5, 16, 170, 172 Interdisciplinary education, 8, 100 Interdisciplinary Play-based Approach, 64 Internal consistency reliability, 112 International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, 46 International challenges, 214 International education policy, 21 International relevance, 22 Internship, 210, 216

240

INDEX

Interviews, 22, 131, 142, 144, 145, 147, 151, 154, 155, 157, 158, 160, 162, 169, 179–182, 192, 194 Intrinsic motivation, 38 Ireland, 205 Italy, 42, 43, 47

K Kant, Immanuel, 17, 170, 173 Kenya, 46, 207 Kindergarten classroom, 39, 51, 109, 134, 153 Kindergarten curricula, 40 Kindergarten Curriculum Guide, 3, 16, 102, 111, 137, 203 Kindergarten Education Curriculum Guide, 2, 104, 132, 133, 177, 186, 190 Kindergarten principals, 22, 24, 169, 180, 182 Kindergarten program, 50 Kodály, 61, 62, 66, 157 Kodály’s rhythmic syllables, 53 Kodály method, 23, 35, 53, 54, 61–65, 141, 210, 216 Kohlberg, L., 170, 172 Korea, 88, 104 Kowloon, 143

Language, 4, 5, 8, 16, 43, 50, 54, 57, 64, 100, 107, 109, 111, 113, 114, 116, 119, 120, 124, 137, 138, 143, 177, 186, 192, 208 development, 5, 119 teaching, 87 Language acquisition, 6, 38 Law-abidingness, 15, 16, 176, 178, 185, 194 Learning and development, 17, 18, 37, 43, 66, 79, 207, 221 Learning and developmental outcomes, 41 Learning behaviors, 11, 51 Learning by doing, 5, 141 Learning outcomes, 41, 52, 59, 88, 90, 188, 189 Learning process, 4, 6, 10, 19, 66, 133, 160 Learning through play, 1, 5, 36–38, 44, 53, 132, 133, 137, 140, 141, 179 Learn through play, 38 Life-Event Approach, 177 Likert-type scale, 144 Listening, 6, 7, 61, 62, 98, 102, 103, 123, 135, 136, 179 Literacy, 38, 43, 59, 62 Literature, 8, 13, 14, 22, 24, 36, 41, 47, 57, 65, 88, 90, 91, 101, 156, 195, 205, 210, 212, 213, 220 Local contexts, 22 Localism, 202, 203, 205 Localization, 1, 66, 97, 202, 203, 205 Locally relevant music programs, 210 Local non-profit kindergartens, 180 Local responses to global educational issues, 22

L Lack of confidence, 86, 100, 156, 191, 207

M Macau, 14 Major Canadian provinces, 46

J Japan, 46, 207 Jaques-Dalcroze, 54 Jazz, 7, 147 Job satisfaction, 20, 83 Joyful Learning through Play, 2, 132, 133, 138

INDEX

Major learning areas of early childhood education, 16, 177 Management of learning, 214, 217 Mandarin, 140 Mandated policy, 23, 170, 220 Maracas, 58 Marginalization of music, 206 Market forces, 139 Masterpiece appreciation, 212 Mathematics, 16, 38, 87, 88, 137, 138, 177, 208 Mean, 144 Measurement of efficacy, 80 Media, 64, 89, 111 Mellow, 58 Memorization, 63 Memorization of facts, 41 Memory, 6, 40 Mentee, 209–211 Mentor, 209–211 Metacognitive and self-regulatory skills, 39 Metallophones, 58 Metal rattles, 58 Metals, 58 Methodology, 3, 22 Metropolitan Achievement Test, 87 Mexico, 46, 47 Ministry of Education, 13, 44, 202 Misconception, 186, 207 Mixed-age kinship groups, 46 Mood regulation, 6 Moral and civic education, 16, 177 Moral areas, 182, 193 Moral attributes, 17, 173 Moral authority, 171 Moral behavior, 171, 174 Moral concepts, 171, 184, 187, 188, 193, 194 Moral curriculum, 175, 184, 194 Moral development, 16, 17, 169–177, 183, 189–193

241

Moral dilemmas, 172, 185 Moral discussion, 185 Moral education, 3, 15, 169–195 Moral education outcomes, 190 Moral education policy, 188, 192 Moral educators, 177 Moral emotions, 171, 174 Moral intelligence, 193 Morality, 15, 17, 170–173, 183, 189, 191, 193, 195 Moral judgements, 172 Moral messages, 15, 191, 193 Moral principles, 172 Moral realism, 171 Moral reasoning, 171, 174 Moral relativism, 171 Moral scenarios, 194 Moral values, 170, 175, 176, 183–185, 190–193, 195, 202 Mother tongue, 61–62 Motivation, 2, 19, 20, 40, 81–83, 91, 122, 153 Motor and health development, 43 Motor skills, 135 Movement-based components, 216 Movement with a mission, 54 Multicultural communities, 48 Multilevel citizenship, 206 Multisensory musical processing, 65, 135 Munich, 56 Music and movement, 59 culture, 214 drama, 52 education in the twentieth century, 61 history, 102 instruction, 8 music engagement, 5 programs, 7 specialists, 8

242

INDEX

teacher education, 35, 98 teaching training, 119 theory, 102 Musical activity, 5, 7, 61, 135, 147, 149 Musical competence, 7, 20, 88, 92, 101, 212 Musical creativity, 133 Musical culture, 62 Musical development, 66, 101, 134 Musical elements, 7, 20, 53, 60, 135, 136, 179, 184, 187, 188 Musical engagements, 217 Musical experience, 55, 97, 144, 148, 158 Musical games, 59, 63, 194 Musical instruments, 13, 14, 52, 57, 58, 62, 64, 151, 155, 156, 161, 187, 192, 195, 215, 218, 219 Musicality, 52, 163 Musical literacy, 53, 59 Musical participation, 56, 145, 148 Musical performance, 55, 61, 88, 89, 91, 155, 159, 161, 162, 213 Musical performance technique, 53 Musical play, 36, 52, 53, 66, 123, 133, 155, 170, 180, 185, 192, 193, 195, 214, 220 Musical practices, 52, 66 Musical preference, 13, 218 Musical response, 55, 156 Musical self-efficacy, 88 Musical skill development, 53 Musical understanding, 53 Music classrooms, 8, 53, 64, 65, 111, 122, 142, 147, 151, 152, 159, 161 Music creation, 134, 135 Music culture, 203, 212, 214, 216 Music Education, 1–6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 19–22, 36, 54, 56, 57, 59–64, 79, 82, 92, 97–102, 104, 105,

111, 123, 124, 131, 132, 134, 135, 137–144, 147, 150, 151, 155, 156, 158, 160–162, 173, 175, 181, 187–189, 197, 201–212, 214, 216, 218–221 Musicianship, 102, 207, 212, 215 Music is for everyone, 61 Music listening, 134 Music making, 7, 52, 63, 134, 135, 219 Music-making processes, 135 Musicology, 22 Music-related skills, 209, 216 Music specialists, 8, 9, 20, 99, 100, 121, 153, 159, 160, 180 Music teacher education framework, 3, 213, 214 Music teacher education program, 65, 99, 106, 111, 112, 114, 122–124, 157, 194, 209, 211, 219 Music teacher self-efficacy, 88 Music Teaching Self-Efficacy Survey, 107, 109, 113 Music theory, 53, 102, 103, 149–152, 155, 207, 208, 215 N Narrative comments, 114, 116 National Association for Music Education, 5, 101, 212 National Association for the Education of Young Children, 46, 102, National cultural roots, 62 National identity, 3, 12, 1316, 169, 178, 186, 194, 202, 204, 206, 217 National Identity Development, 186 National influence, 1, 219 Nationalization, 1, 24, 177, 202, 203, 221

INDEX

National Music Teacher Mentoring Program, 210 National power, 22 National pride, 13, 194 National Survey of Music in Early Childhood, 6, 7 National Vocational Qualification, 124 Nation-oriented, 13 Nation state, 194, 204, 205 Native language, 6, 143 Natural curiosity, 43, 50 Nature and living, 16, 138, 177 Netherlands, 205 Neuroanatomical abilities, 5 Neuroscience perspectives, 170 New Territories East and West, 143 Non-academic luxury, 104, 188 Non-government-subsidized organizations, 10, 105 Non-Western context, 8, 13, 17, 23, 131, 173, 218 Non-Western societies, 104 norms, 11, 13, 42, 170, 172, 182, 189 Numeracy, 5, 43 Nursery rhymes, 7, 64, 65, 120, 184 O Observation of music specialists, 121, 153 Observing peers teaching, 153 Okinawa, 46 “One-size-fits-all” approach, 124 Ontario, 48, 49, 51, 52 Ontario curriculum, 51 Ontario Ministry of Education (OME), 49–51 On-the-job mentoring, 211 Open-ended responses, 107, 108 Oral language skill development, 6 Orff approach, 53, 56, 57, 61, 65, 175

243

Orff, Carl, 56, 57, 61 Orff instruments, 57, 58, 102 Orff learning packages, 140 Orff method, 56, 57, 59, 61, 62 Orff process, 59, 60 Orff Schulwerk, 23, 54, 56, 57, 59, 189 Ostinato, 57, 60, 64, 65, 109, 111, 113, 114, 117, 120 Outcome expectancy, 21, 82 Outcomes of the different pedagogical approaches, 39 P Pairwise comparison of self-efficacy perception, 112 Parent–child play, 45, 47 Parental support, 47 Parents, 6, 16, 40–43, 45–48, 53, 86, 131, 132, 137, 139, 154, 155, 159–161, 172, 189, 190, 204, 208, 218 Parents’ attitudes, 188, 189 Parents’ attitudes to play, 41–42, 48 Parents’ conceptions, 41 Parents’ understanding, 47 Past experiences, 143, 144 Patriotic education, 202 Patriotism, 12, 13, 15 Patriots, 205 Pearson correlation coefficient, 144 Pedagogical approaches, 11, 39, 53, 61, 62, 83, 84, 89, 137, 220 Pedagogical competencies, 22, 101, 111, 134, 202, 209 Pedagogical decisions, 22, 171 Pedagogical play, 37 Pedagogical practices, 1, 3, 11, 21, 23, 42, 79, 97, 131–163, 175, 176, 194, 201, 220 Pedagogy, 10, 35, 37, 39, 41, 44, 48, 50, 53, 57, 61, 90, 98–100, 105,

244

INDEX

107, 108, 110, 111, 114, 118, 119, 125, 137, 141, 156, 157, 212 Peer teaching, 122, 151, 152, 159 People’s Republic of China, 104 Percussion, 8, 57, 58, 60, 64, 113, 149, 153, 179 Perseverance, 15, 16, 178, 212 Philippines, 46 Philosophers, 17, 173 Philosophical positions, 41, 47 Philosophies, 35 Phobias, 81 Phonological, 53 Physical awareness, 65, 135 Physical fitness and health, 16, 177 Physical space, 208, 217 Physiological state, 145 Piaget, J., 5, 18, 19, 37, 170–172, 174 Piano, 55, 88, 103, 146, 151, 156, 160, 161, 215 Pilot questionnaires, 108 Pilot test, 108 Pitched instruments, 58, 103 Pitched percussion instruments, 57 Pitch practice, 63, 133 Plato, 17, 173 Play activities, 18, 45, 46 behaviors, 46, 79 conceptualizations of, 40, 47, 48 curriculum, 79 definitions of, 44, 46 dilemmas of, 39, 79 engagement, 48 use of, 46 Play activities, 18, 45, 46 Play and learning, 17, 37, 38, 42, 153 Play-based approach, 3, 23, 37, 54, 63, 64, 66, 92, 123, 134, 138,

140, 142, 150, 153–156, 179, 183, 191, 195, 214 Play-based context, 217 Play-based curriculum, 42 Play-based learning experiences, 46 Play-based models, 54 Play-based pedagogical approach, 40 Play-based pedagogy, 48, 50, 53 Play-based programs, 45 Play behaviors, 46, 79 Play contexts, 35, 38 Playful exploration, 40 Playful pedagogies, 37 Play independently, 35, 39 Play pedagogy, 39 Play setting, 41 Poetry, 6, 14 Policy agenda, 170, 184, 194 changes, 24, 104, 158 formulation, 42 reform, 9, 80, 92, 131–163 Policy Address, 14, 134 Policymakers, 104, 125, 206, 220 Policymaking, 36 Political handover, 2, 13, 139, 177 Politics, 2, 12–14 Positive reinforcement, 123, 217 Positive values and attitudes, 16, 178 Postcolonial era, 136, 169, 201, 220 Postcolonial Hong Kong, 1, 3, 15, 16, 19, 21–24, 131, 133, 142, 176, 201, 202, 204 Power of play, 35–67 Practice in music classrooms, 122, 151, 152 Practicum, 213, 216 Pragmatism, 212 Pre- and post-questionnaires, 108 Preliminary work, 108 Preschool children, 169, 220

INDEX

Preschoolers’ engagement with music, 6 Preschool framework, 43 Pre-service teacher preparation, 101 Pre-service teachers, 101, 161, 210, 213, 216, 218 Pre-service training, 54, 99, 100, 157, 181, 195 Pretend play, 38–40, 45, 47, 155 Previous relevant experiences, 151, 159 Primary education, 40, 137 Primary schooling, 175 Principals’ perspectives, 22 Probability, 81 Problem solving, 38, 39, 49, 50, 132 Process of data collection, 145 Process-oriented paradigm, 204 Professional and personal attribute, 214, 218 Professional development, 3, 84, 89, 90, 153, 195, 209, 212, 214, 215, 218, 219 Professional development program, 90 Professional knowledge, 8, 51, 54, 100, 106, 210 Professional practices, 108, 210 Professional requirements, 9 Progressivism, 170 Psychological understanding of how children learn, 217 Psychologists, 81 Psychology, 16, 22, 81 Psychotherapy, 81 Purposeful movements, 53 Purposeful play, 37, 44 Q Qualified early childhood teacher, 9, 208 Qualified Kindergarten Teacher, 10, 105

245

Qualitative data, 107, 119, 121, 122, 142, 145–147, 155, 160, 161 Qualitative responses, 145, 151 Quality-of-life, 89 Quality of society, 172 Quantitative analysis, 144 Questionnaires, 22, 108, 143, 146 R Read, Herbert, 17, 173 Reading grades, 88 Recorders, 57, 58 Reflective diaries, 114 Reflective reports, 107 Reform, 23, 103, 104, 136, 158, 203, 205 Reggio Emilia approach, 140, 141 Reinforcement, 21, 81, 123, 173, 217 Reliability and validity of the measurement, 82 Reliability statistics, 112, 113 Religious music, 7 Repertoire, 12, 60, 66, 184, 186, 194, 214, 216 Researchers, 22, 37, 40–42, 52, 87, 108, 123, 141, 162, 181, 211 Research lens, 19, 79 Resolution of conflicts, 185, 194 Resources, 12, 20, 40, 46, 51, 55, 83, 90, 124, 137, 140, 179, 181, 191, 192, 195, 208, 212, 214, 217 Respect for others, 15, 16, 178 Response rate, 143 Responsibility, 15, 84, 178, 182, 183, 185, 190 Responsible citizens, 185 Rhythm, 7, 57, 59, 61, 62, 65, 102, 109, 120, 122, 135, 149, 152, 187 Rhythm duration syllables, 62 Rhythmic speech, 55

246

INDEX

Rhythmic training, 58, 59 Rhythmic understanding, 53 Role-play, 46, 184 Rondo, 57 Rote learning, 62, 132, 133, 137, 153 Rough-and-tumble play, 174 Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 17, 38, 173, 174 Routinized exercises, 63 S Scales and measurement models, 112 Schiller, Friedrich, 17, 173 School–family–society collaboration, 218 School-based studies, 22, 158, 192 School education, 12–14, 16, 173, 179, 206, 207 Schoolification, 40, 48 School leaders, 86, 154, 160, 161, 179, 206, 218, 220 School songs, 7 Science, 4, 8, 43, 44, 82, 84, 88, 208 Science-based process, 49 Scruton, Roger, 17, 173 Secondary school, 14, 16, 99, 151 Secondary-school teachers, 84 Second language, 7 Self and society, 16, 65, 138, 177 Self-belief, 9, 19, 21, 142, 143, 145, 148 Self-belief theories, 82 Self-concept, 19, 20, 81 Self-concept research, 82 Self-concept theories, 82 Self-confidence, 19, 53 Self-directed free play, 18 Self-directed speech, 39 Self-direction, 40 Self-efficacy sources of, 24, 80, 85, 89, 92, 131–163

theory, 19, 21, 80, 82, 106, 107, 142, 158 Self-Efficacy and Music Competency, 88 Self-Efficacy Beliefs in Academic Settings, 87 Self-esteem, 6, 44, 81 Self-expression, 61 Self-initiated activity, 38 Self-judgments, 82 Self-management, 80, 173 Self-perceived competence, 80 Self-perceptions, 80, 81 Self-worth, 81 Semi-structured interviews, 142, 144, 158, 179, 180, 181, 192 Semi-structured play activities, 43 Sequence forms, 57 Sequential explanatory design, 107 Sight-reading, 62 Singapore, 207 Singing, 2, 7, 8, 12, 14, 18, 52, 53, 57, 59, 61–65, 102, 103, 106, 111, 113, 114, 117, 123, 135, 147, 149, 153, 155–157, 161, 162, 179, 207, 213, 218 Singing games, 53 Singing technique, 133, 208 Skill mastery, 8, 45 Sleighbells, 58 Slit drum, 58 Snare drum, 58 Social changes, 1, 22, 36 Social cognitive theory, 19, 83, 91, 92, 150, 155 Social cognitive theory of motivation, 19 Social cohesion, 13, 15 Social context, 15, 16, 53, 81 Social convention, 172 Social cooperation, 173 Social-cultural identity, 14

INDEX

Social environments, 45, 81 Social harmony, 3, 10, 12, 173 Social integration, 44 Social learning theories, 21 Social learning theory, 21, 80, 81 Social norms, 172 Social phenomenon, 18 Social psychology, 80 Social psychology of self-efficacy, 80 Social skills, 8, 39, 61, 65 Society, 12, 16, 17, 42, 137, 138, 172, 175, 177, 178, 182, 183, 189, 193, 202, 204, 208, 218 Sociocultural circumstances, 203 Sociocultural norms, 170 Sociocultural perspectives, 97 Sociocultural theories, 17, 18 Sociocultural view of learning, 79 Socio-developmental theory, 17, 18 Sociodramatic play, 40, 174 Socio-emotional benefits, 89 Socio-emotional development, 37, 39, 41, 47 Socio-emotional skills, 39, 43 Socio-emotional well-being, 6 Sociology, 22 Sociopolitical changes, 3, 19, 22, 24, 80, 92, 139, 169, 194, 203 Sociopolitical transformations, 21 Soft virtues, 170 Solfege and solfege-rhythmique, 54 Soprano, 58 Sources of self-efficacy regarding teaching music, 24, 92, 131, 142, 150, 159 Southern Asia, 14 Southern Guanxi Province, 14 Southern hemisphere, 45 South Korea, 61 Space and resources, 46, 191, 217 Spain, 42, 44 Speech, 39, 40, 55, 57

247

Spontaneous singing, 52 Stakeholders, 39, 131, 218, 221 Standard deviation, 144, 148–150 Standardized tests, 41 Standards of Teaching Competency, 101 Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), 144 Steiner, Rudolf, 18, 37 Stereotype, 186 Stories, 55, 184, 185, 194 Storytelling, 18, 55, 185, 194 Stress, 86 Stress and fatigue, 145, 157, 161 Strings, 58 Student behavior, 84, 90 Student-oriented, 136 Students’ performance, 84, 87 Student teachers, 22, 98, 208, 210, 215, 217 Style, 2, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14, 153, 162 Success in examinations, 132 Success-oriented, 2, 45, 208 Success-oriented approaches, 8 Suzuki method, 6 Suzuki, S., 6, 173 Sweden, 176 Swiss, 54

T Taiwan, 47, 84, 140, 175, 193, 207 Tambourine, 58 Teacher behavior, 20, 83, 212 Teacher beliefs, 79–92 Teacher-centered, 136 Teacher-centered approaches, 8, 45 Teacher-directed activities, 45 Teacher-directed approach, 66 Teacher-directed play, 35, 41 Teacher education, 1, 10, 19, 21, 22, 80, 83, 84, 89, 98–101,

248

INDEX

104–106, 123, 125, 152, 160, 162, 177, 187, 188, 194, 195, 206–208, 211, 213, 219 Teacher education curriculum, 84 Teacher education framework, 188, 195, 211, 215, 216 Teacher education mechanism, 10, 207 Teacher educators, 22, 84, 92, 106, 153, 160, 162, 206, 213, 214, 219, 220 Teacher Efficacy Scale, 82 Teacher informants, 146, 147, 153, 156, 183, 185–187, 190, 194 Teacher preparation programs, 84 Teacher qualifying system, 99 Teacher research, 108, 110 Teachers’ belief systems, 79 Teacher self-efficacy, 1, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 35, 66, 79–92, 123, 125, 132, 162, 219 Teacher Self-Efficacy and Arts Education, 89 Teachers’ motivation, 20, 83 Teachers’ musical aptitude, 183, 193, 195 Teacher Training and Education, 211 Teaching and learning phenomena, 79 Teaching behavior, 79–92, 212, 213 Teaching competency, 83, 101 Teaching resources, 52, 124, 181 Temple blocks, 58 Tempo, 7, 59, 60, 109, 135 Theater design, 14 Theme-based, 51, 52 Theoretical–applied music knowledge and skills, 214, 215 Theoretical background, 36 Theoretical explanations, 55 Theoretical foundations, 79, 92 Theoretical framework, 23, 106 Theoretical implications, 3, 45

Theoretical understanding, 217, 218 Theories of self-belief, 21 Theories of social learning, 81 Theory of constructivism, 18, 19 The Philippines, 46 Timpani, 58 Tom-toms, 58 Tonality, 7, 53, 66, 135 Tonic sol-fa, 62 Traditional approache, 63 Traditional Chinese art forms, 186 Traditional Chinese culture, 11, 12, 14 Traditional Chinese music genres, 186, 204 Traditional Chinese values, 141 Traditional costumes, 14 Traditional culture, 15 Traditionalism, 170 Traditional music education, 61, 62 Traditional teacher-oriented Chinese approach, 24 Traditional theme-based model, 52 Training and Development Agency, 210 Transferred effects, 6 Transmission approach, 39, 137 Transmission model of education, 2 Transnational processes, 204 Traveling reforms, 1, 22, 206, 216 Triangles, 58 Turkey, 42, 43, 47, 211, 217 Turkish music, 217 12-year compulsory education system, 139 Twentieth century, 35, 25, 61, 63, 175 Twenty-First Century, 23, 54, 177 Two-factor model, 21, 82 U Ukulele, 215

INDEX

UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, 37 Uniform curricula, 132, 137 United Kingdom, 6, 7, 9, 20, 40, 42, 100, 205, 207, 209, 212 United States, 6, 7, 9, 20, 40, 42, 46–48, 84, 87, 88, 100, 135, 175, 207, 209, 212 Unit planning approach, 51 Unity, 10, 15, 59 Universal characteristics of play, 47 Universal phenomenon, 175

V Value education, 3, 35, 36, 66, 172, 178, 179 Value of education, 104, 188 Values Education Curriculum Framework, 16, 178 Vancouver, 8, 45 Verbal learning, 5 Verbal persuasion, 24, 85, 86, 92, 123, 132, 142, 150, 151, 154, 159, 160, 162 Vicarious experiences, 24, 25, 85, 89, 91, 132, 144, 151, 153 Vienna, 102 Vietnam, 176 Virtue, 170 Visual arts, 7, 89, 100, 137, 185, 208 Vocabulary, 120, 132, 189 Vocal, 62, 88, 207, 216 vocal training, 210, 219 Vygotsky, L.S., 17, 18, 36–38, 40, 41, 53, 174, 203

249

W Warm classroom climates, 4 West, 14, 140, 141, 143, 204 Western and non-Western practice in early childhood education, 45 Western classical music, 207 Western concepts of education, 202 Western cultures, 160 Western educational ideas, 141 Western European countries, 42 Westernization, 3, 12, 22, 204 Western model, 2, 103, 220 Western models and values, 220 Western music, 15, 133, 194, 204 Western musical instruments, 13, 146 Western pedagogical models, 140, 141 Western pedagogies, 140 Western practices, 22 Western standards, 2, 103 Whole child development, 43 Wind chimes, 58 Wood block, 58 Wood rattles, 58 Woods, 58 Workplace mentoring, 209–211 Workshops, 111, 121, 122, 156, 186 World music, 217 World War II, 57 Wrist and ankle bells, 58 X Xylophone, 58, 60, 103 Y Younger generations, 13 Youth Music projects, 7