Harmonizing Research, Practice

Harmonizing Research, Practice, and polity in Early childhood Music A Chorus of internationalist Voices (Part 2) Lori A. Custodero & Lily Chen-Hafteck a b a b Music and Music facts of life program at Teachers College, Columbia University Music De divorcement, Kean University, rising tee shirt Version of record rootage published 07 Aug 2010. To cite this bind Lori A. Custodero & Lily Chen-Hafteck (2008) Harmonizing Research, Practice, and seduce _or_ system of government in Early clawhood Music A Chorus of International Voices (Part 2), liberal arts Education Policy Review, 1093, 3-8 To link to this article http//dx. doi. org/10. 3200/AEPR. 109. 3. 3-8PLEASE rolling DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full harm and conditions of mathematical function http//www. tandfonline. com/p epoch/terms-and-conditions This article may be apply for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistri neverthelession, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, syst ematic supply, or distri hardlyion in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publishing house does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents volition be complete or faultless or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources.The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising head uply or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. Copyright 2008 Heldref Publications Harmonizing Research, Practice, and Policy in Early tiddlerhood Music A Chorus of International Voices (Part 2) LORI A. CUSTODERO and LILY CHEN-HAFTECK Editors note. Lori A. Custodero and Lily Chen-Hafteck served as guest editors for both Part 1 and Part 2 of the special issue International Policies on Early Childhood Music Education Local and Global IssuesRevealed. n the zero(prenominal)ember/December 2007 issue of Arts Education Policy Review, readers were introduced to too soon childhood symphony policies in Brazil, England, Kenya, Puerto Rico, sulphur Africa, and the United States. In this collection, a second ensemble of experts from Australia, China, Denmark, Korea, Israel, and Taiwan joins them. Like the previous issue, these authors presented papers or manoeuvreshops at an International fede ration for Music Education, Early Childhood Music Education Seminar in Taipei in 2006 and wrote new articles for inclusion here.They responded to the same charge as the previous authors to answer the avocation forelands What policies currently exist in your landed estate for too soon on childhood euphony learning? To what extent do these policies meet the needs of children in your ara? How atomic number 18 teachers prepared to teach early childhood music in your dry land? In what slipway do topical anesthetic and global cultu res figure into the policies and practices of early childhood music in your country? Additionally, we offered the following questions, to be addressed at the authors discretion Do different musical comedy cultures request different instructional tone-beginninges?And, conversely, are certain music instructional approaches culture specific? How does this impact insurance polity and practice of early childhood music in your country? What are the probable risks and rewards of mandating multicultural musical experiences for untested children? Finally, we asked authors to address any issues specific to their regions and to make concrete suggestions understanding policy for their countries. Salient themes emerged addressing what was taught and who was responsible for that content.In umpteen ways these devil conditions are inseparable, interrelated through the social nature of musical experiences. In these accounts, we likewise see ways in which content and delivery avatar r eception and how that process, in turn, defines and is defined by culture. Examining these geographical contexts raises questions well-nigh atti- I tudes, practices, and policies concerning early childhood music fostering that wipe out implication for more of us. We chose three threads of inquiry from the many that weave these single texts into a textual fugue (a) ensions between child and bighearted culture (b) competing influences by global, regional, and local agencies on standards and curricula and (c) expectations for teacher intimacy and preparation. Competing Cultures Child and bragging(a) The existence of a musical culture in early childhood, which is distinctly different from the adult culture, is establish on studies showing similarities of vocal contours used in communication between infants and mothers across cultures (Papousek 1996), as closely as research regarding the differences between music made by children and adults (e. . , Bjorkvold 1992 Campbell 2007 Li ttleton 1998 Marsh 1995 Moorhead and Pond 1941). Sven-Erik Holgersens article on early childhood music in Scandinavia describes practices in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway that are sensitive to the childs culture. The cultural clash in those regional systems exists between programs that favor an elemental or natural approach to education for the young based on the free play aesthetic and those that see music Vol. 109, No. 3, January/February 2008 3 as a mode of artistic expression requiring learned skills.Lily Chen-Hafteck and Zhoyua Xu and, separately, Jennifer Chau-Ying Leu found preschools in Chinesespeaking countries to have a strong sense of adult culture. Most parents and teachers believe school should stress academic development rather than play, so that children can achieve high scores on tests and examinations. Chinese culture in addition stresses study and hard work as important for academic winner. In Korea, Nam-Hee Lim and Shunah Chung found that adults believe young chil dren need close supervision and guidance from teachers and parents in their development.Therefore, childrens natural tendency to be frolicky and creative is not recognized as a core measure in school potential for future success drives decisions. These cultural differences are interactive with and reflective of current conditions and regional history. In China, for example, books were printed with movable type as early as the eighth century, whereas in Europe copies were still drawn by deliberate until the 1400s. Such a long history of text accessibility elevated reading and authorship to a valued skill that was recognizable and sought (Smith 1991).Societal values may offer another lense to interpret early academic emphasis, such(prenominal) as those espoused by Confucius, for whom morality and caring for others, especially family, were primary. In terms of contemporary conditions, Louie Suthers of Australia notes that in her varied country one can see differences in get-go age s of pre-primary education. In Denmark, the children start at three years of age and continue for four years. In China, pre-primary education starts at four years of age and continues for three years, although care is available in each country mentioned from birth.Also of note, the average student teacher ratio in China is 281, differing from Hong Kongs average ratio of 161. The older starting age in China may perpetuate (or reflect relate in) the schooling culture. Leus discussion of the importance of family context is relevant to this point, inas overmuch as it may provide the space for child culture 4 Arts Education Policy Review to flourish art object adult culture is operating at school. Claudia Gluschankof writes about the purposeful creation of materials for the child culture with the development of the New Hebrew Culture in the Israeli territories during the early 1900s.Preschools were created based on the Froebel playcentered model and provide an funny case in the conce ntrated production of childrens music in a language that had no such repertoire prior to the kindergartens establishment. The conscious choice to provide young children with cultural tools for discernment at the earliest stages of a community is reminiscent of Sheila Woodwards discussion concerning the importance of children in nation construction in South Africa, featured in the previous issue of this journal.In her conclusion, Gluschankof raises important questions concerning this created canon of songs and the lack of repertoire for Arab-speaking children. Using the idea of child culture as a lens for viewing cultural and educational policies provides a useful way to understand differences and similarities in political systems that define the worlds in which we teach, research, and cohabitate. Such understanding may lead to more focused and inwardnessful questions that may reveal inequities or alternative directions in music education chargey of exploration.Considerations of these policies regarding conceptions of adulthood and childhood lead directly to curricular influences that we view from a related dialectic the local and global. Local and Global Influences Child and World In the first part of this symposium, we focused on the tension between small and large scaled views of what should be taught, each luck a different societal need. In the second part, we speak more specifi squally to the notion of a national curriculum because it is mentioned in each of the articles collected here.We are interested in questions dealing with how these private and collective influences affect childrens music education Does governmentmandated standardized curriculum limit possibilities or command access of quality to all children? and What is the exemplar to which music education should be standardized? The first question is meant to generate critical thinking regarding what and how policymakers might send messages about music education in the early years the se cond is meant to question assumptions we might have surrounding best practice and the cultural nuances that shape it.Suthers, discussing Australias situation, is mindful that there is no national music curriculum for pre-primary school and points to a new-fashioned reform movement in music education that excluded early childhood experiences. She notes that this leaves teachers feeling isolated and that their work is undervalued. Alternatively, Gluschankoff discusses the childrens music written in Hebrew as somewhat ideological and makes suggestions for addressing the inclusion of superfluous materials to meet the needs of a multicultural society.One of the ways in which the national curriculum may establish nationalistic is in the mandates or recommendations around singing repertoire. The role played by singing in socialization is significant and has been used for centuries to transmit cultural values, to teach language, and to establish qualities of rhythmic energy that play a way of being Dissanayake (2000) makes the case for mutuality and belonging as ways the arts are meaningful to us.Inasmuch as collective singing creates a sense of belonging, we have a province to monitoring device the ways in which we look at the child and the world (see Leus article describing ecological systems and Lim and Chung on the supportive role of adults). Chen-Hafteck and Xu excessively write about the importance of family singing and the differing role of school music. When local knowledge is replaced by chauvinism, music can be decontextualized. Because musicality is deeply rooted in shared experience, (Trevarthen 1999) we need to guard the personal and not expose childrens vulnerability to politicization.Our concern regarding global trends also involves the perception that globalization means movement toward D knowledgeloaded by Macquarie University at 1458 28 demo 2013 Western ideals. Attention to the local, once again, is necessary to adequately implement any cha nge. In China, for example, although the new educational policies follow the global trends rhetorically, espovictimization learning through play and stressing personal expression and creativity, its usefulness is severely hampered by conflicting views in the local tradition regarding a deep belief in academic success as the consummate benchmark.Holgerson considers a similar dissonance between local needs and governmental responsibility to all children through the philosophical lens of Bildung, a generative model that keeps the questions about such disconnections at the forefront of practice. Downloaded by Macquarie University at 1458 28 display 2013 Teacher Knowledge Child and Music Practice policies are perhaps best viewed vis-a-vis teacher preparation what do we value as knowledge? For most of us, early childhood musical practice involves understanding as much as we can about children while keeping the cultural context in mind.This might allow in individual experiences that cont ribute to their uniqueness and developmental trends that might give indications about what to expect in terms of maturation. What knowledge do we need of music? In this issue, the authors discuss the importance of a diverse and culturally responsive repertoire, singing range, quality of recordings, appropriate use of instruments, and sound sensitivity. In this collection of articles, the authors suggest that these two knowledge areas are rarely considered together and that they exist in bifurcation, at least conceptually.Across the globe, there are those who are considered to have knowledge of the child in context (families or generalist teachers) and those who have knowledge of the child in music (specialists). Holgersen describes this dichotomy in practical termsmusic activities and music teaching. The goals of using music are indeed varied and the complexity of music leads to multiple possibilities worthy of exploration. Among the authors there is a consensus concerning the need for collaboration between the two areas of expertise with several concrete recommendations.Reasons for this common phenomenon center on the systems in place for teacher preparation and the institutional divisions of disciplines authors press for more carefully structured schoolmaster development to help bridge the disciplinary divide. Knowing the body of work of these authors, we are familiar with their efforts to form partnerships with local child care specialists and have been gnarly with such partnerships at our universities. Child and Adult It is celebrated that many of the responses are about memories of musical adults who were influential in their music education.Graham Welch (pers. comm. ) offers I was educated in a Church of England Primary school in London . . . where we sang, often with the local Vicar leading on the piano. I can remember his enthusiasm, quick tempo and intensity of keyboard playing. F or most of us, early childhood musical practice involves understandi ng as much as we can about children while keeping the cultural context in mind. We believe them to be some of the most meaningful opportunities for our own teacher knowledge.Policy and Personal Voice In addition to the authors featured here, to inform our sense of the historical significance of current situations regarding early childhood music and the breadth to which our profession defines policy, we asked our colleagues involved in international musical education about their memories of early childhood music education and their relationship to policy with the following questions 1. Reflecting on your childhood before age eight, what were the influences of policy on your music education? . How does this compare with todays situation for young children? Responses were varied and provided insight through a self-reflective lens. We looked at the seven responses regarding their relatedness to our three topics and to how policy can reach us as individuals in a long-lasting way. Alda Ol iveira (pers. comm. ) from Brazil also reflected on a teacher The first time I went to school I was seven years old. At this age I choose to take piano lessons with a private piano teacher.She was a tremendous teacher since her method included not yet playing by reading and singing the notes, but also playing by ear and some popular songs. Family members had a strong musical battlefront in June Boyce Tillmans (pers. comm. ) childhood in England My music was regularly singing with and listening to the playing of my paternal grandfather who was the village dance band pianist. Margre van Gestel (pers. comm. ) of The Netherlands also wrote of related experiences I had the privilege to be surrounded by a musical family.We had a piano in our home and I worn-out(a) lots of time behind the piano in my grandmothers house. My uncles and aunts could play the piano and as a child I enjoyed listening to them. One of my aunts was the ballet teacher in the village and from the age of four I was in her dancing classes. It was normal in my family to sing and play. My father had a unplayful voice and was a soloist in the church choir when he was young he played the clarinet and was a folkdance Vol. 109, No. 3, January/February 2008 5 teacher during scouting activities.I guess my days were filled with (live) music, not in courses but just all day long. Van Gestel shared a record of family influence In my bollix up dairy, when I was 8 months old, my mother wrote Today she clapped her hold. She probably learned that from her grandmother When you sing Clap your hands she reacts immediately. One year old When we sing Oh my daddy (a popular song in the sixties) she sings along, daddy, daddy. In South Africa, apartheid led to decisions about schooling for Caroline Van Niekerk (pers. omm. ) that indirectly influenced her musical education by removing her from the direct influences of the national educational system of that time. She also spoke of a contemporary situation in which engagement governmental policies was necessary and of the strength we have to overcome questionable decisions I had a desperate call just yesterday from someone with a story of how their education faculty, in training teachers for the Foundation Phase, wants to draw off music as an optional area of specialization for students.We are now all doing everything in our personnel to protest such a prospect loudly. But I have also seen what I regard as a promising development, and similar to the situation I witnessed in California when we lived there, more than twenty years agoas parents of young children realize that the formal education system is not ineluctably going to provide their children with what they believe is important, and especially as regards the arts, including music, they start to take responsibility for those things themselves. ntil I was about age five) could not get my lessons paid for. Had the place still be in that county I would have been authorize to a b ursary to pay for lessons and I would have been able to learn a second instrument. But without that my parents could only afford piano lessons. I am still sad about this, which was simply a number of geography and the local control of resources. Child and Music The same issues featured authors raised are unvarnished in the additional professionals responses the lack of resources and teachers. Gary McPherson (pers. comm. links personal memories with policies, of which he sees little change, from his Australian childhood I have a vague memory of singing in a school choir that was led by a general classroom teacher when I was about six or seven, but the class was nothing special so it had no impact on my subsequent musical development. . . . I went plump for some years ago and had a look at the way music was described in the school curriculum (particularly primary school curriculum). There were all sorts of aids and resources for general primary teachers to use but music wasnt typi cally taught well in schools.To be honest, Im not sure the status of music in the curriculum is any different. Downloaded by Macquarie University at 1458 28 March 2013 These testimonies to strong and positive adult influence suggest that family education is important, as Leu and others advocate in this symposium, with the caveat that the experiences described are with adults perceived as musicians. This suggests we need to exercise caution in defining people in terms of limited musicality and that music education of our children means their children will be better educated.It is interesting that teachers were remembered for the affective qualities they conveyed and through a curricular stance that was relevant to the child. Child and World The relationships among local, state, and global influences are also reflected in these personal accounts. Many of these music professionals took private music lessons and considered their experiences to be nonpolicy driven. Oliveira (pers. comm. ) mentioned the involvement of musicians in music education policyspecifically, the Canto Orfeonico policy under the leadership of composer Villa-Lobos.She recalls that this policy influenced her school education, which included stem singing and elementary level music theory. As already discussed, group singing is a common vehicle for politicization. Like Gluschonkofs report of Israeli songs contributing to nation-building, Boyce Tillman (pers. comm. ) noted that At age seven I went to a school where we had massed singing in the Hall when we sang British folksongs, many of which I still know by heart. We had a book called the New National strain book, which was a deliberate attempt after the war to restore a sense of nationhood.This was used passim my school career. 6 Arts Education Policy Review Welch wrote of intersecting influences of church and state I discovered later that the London County Council was very supportive of music in schools generally, although my local experi ences as a child were as much to do with the link to the Church and the established ethos of including singing as a natural part of the school day. Ana Lucia Frega (pers. comm. ) describes a similar situation in her native Argentina. Early childhood music courses were not always taught by a specialist . . . his means that some problems arose some of the K-general teachers choose materials that do not really fit the appropriate children range of voices, and which tend to create vocal difficulties. He notes the longevity of such a workable match On returning to the school many years later for my first teaching post, I discovered that the schools policy toward music had continued, with the same range of events and activities in place. In the previous issue, Young discussed the unprecedented commission England has made to the artsspecifically music, a commitment Welch reiterates.Boyce Tillman recalls a time when the resources from the national government were in local hands, resulting in inequitable opportunity At age seven I started piano lessons but because the place we lived in was then in Southampton and not in the County of Hampshire (to which we are very close and in which we had been Although our policymaking systems move slowly, and are not always moving in the direction we would like, there is hope in the growing numbers of people who care about music education. Oliviera writes at least we can feel the difference between my generation and todays generation. maybe our aim is to prepare children who grow up to be like von Gestel, with the same rich resources at hand for creating meaningful experiences Music (and especially making and teaching music) was and is a part of my everyday life, and really I cant imagine a life without singing together and making music. It makes my life worth living. References Bjorkvold, J. R. 1992. The muse within Creativity and communication, song and play from childhood through maturity. Trans. W. H. Halverson, New York Harp erCollins. Campbell, P. S. 2007. Musical meaning in childrens cultures. In International handbook of research in arts education, ed.L. Bresler, 88194. Dorderecht, The Netherlands Springer. Dissanayake, E. 2000. Art and intimacy. Seattle University of working capital Press. Littleton, D. 1998. Music learning and childs play. General Music Today 12 (1) 815. Marsh, K. 1995. Childrens singing games Composition in the playground? Research Studies in Music Education 4211. Moorhead, G. E. , and D. Pond. 1941. Music of young children. 1 Chant. Santa Barbara, CA Pillsbury Foundation for the Advancement of Music Education. Papousek, H. 1996. Musicality in infancy research Biological and cultural origins of early musicality.In Musical beginnings Origins and development of musical competence, ed. I. Deliege and J. Sloboda, 3755. Oxford, England Oxford University Press. Smith, D. C. 1991. Foundations of modern Chinese education. In The Confucian continuum, ed. D. C. Smith, 164. New York Praege r. Trevarthen, C. 1999. Musicality and the intrinsic motive pulse Evidence from psychobiology and valet communication. Musicae Scientiae (Special Issue Rhythm, Musical Narrative, and Origins of Human Communication), 155211. Lori A. Custodero is an associate professor and program coordinator of the MusicDownloaded by Macquarie University at 1458 28 March 2013 and Music Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she has established an early childhood music concentration that integrates pedagogy and research through both theory and practice. She served on the International Society for Music Educations Commission for Early Childhood for six years and is involved in research and teaching projects in a variety of countries. Lily Chen-Hafteck is an associate professor of music education and assistant chair of the Music Department at Kean University, New Jersey.Originally from Hong Kong, she has held teaching and research positions at the University of capital of Sou th Africa in South Africa, the University of Surrey Roehampton in England, and Hong Kong Baptist University. She serves on the editorial board of the International diary of Music Education, Asia-Pacific Journal for Arts Education and Music Education Research International. She is the chair of the International Society for Music Education Young Professionals Focus Group. Vol. 109, No. 3, January/February 2008 7 Downloaded by Macquarie University at 1458 28 March 2013 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?