Purpose
The purpose of the study is to investigate the musical, interactive activities expressed in kindergarten routines and how these types of interactions can relate to children’s development and learning.
Result
The results show that children have a strong ability for musical interaction, but this resource is less utilised in planned music teaching. Interactions between children and adults were more frequent in other planned activities than in music teaching. Children’s musical interaction was most prominent during free play, using multimodal forms of expression and creating dialogue through play and song. Different environments influenced interaction patterns, and outdoor spaces provided greater freedom for musical exploration. The study highlights the need for increased awareness of how musical interaction can promote children’s learning and development.
Design
The study used non-participatory observations conducted in a collaborative kindergarten with 26 children aged 4-5 years and 6 teachers. The observations were conducted in various environments, both indoors and outdoors, over a period of eight weeks, focusing on musical interactions in planned activities and free play.
References
Liljas, J. M., & Isberg, J. (2022). ‘I can teach you that’: a study of musical interaction as a learning-generating practice in Swedish preschool everyday environments. Early Years, https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2022.2088703
Online year: 2022
Issue year: 2024
Review year: 2022
Financed by
Educational Research Fund, Sweden & Dalarna University, Sweden