The importance of music in the early childhood years Carolyn Harrod

The importance of music in the early childhood years

Carolyn Harrod

Overview

• The Australian Curriculum – Phase 2

• Connections with the rest of the curriculum

• The need for advocacy

• The contribution of music education

• Practical suggestions

The Australian Curriculum

• Phase 1 – English, Mathematics, Science & History (phased implementation by 2013)

• Phase 2 – The Arts, Geography, Languages

The Australian Curriculum cont.

Development process & timeline • Curriculum Shaping – established

Reference Group; literature review; initial position paper – completed April 2010

• Consultation – National Forum; draft Shape Paper; national consultation – completed January 2011

• Expressions of interest & appointment of writing team and advisory panel (expertise in an arts area + an area of schooling)


Development process & timeline • Curriculum development – final Shape of

the Australian Curriculum: The Arts published (June ’11); Broad outline with scope and sequence (September ’11); Content descriptions (and elaborations) and achievement standards – completed by December 2011

• Consultation – during 2012• Publication – Digital publication date TBA


The Arts Reference Group for the Shaping Paper for the Arts (Years F-12)

• convened in September 2009• includes academics and curriculum,

classroom and Arts industry experts in the disciplines of dance, drama, music, media and visual arts

• Professor John O’Toole is the lead writer with four arts discipline contributors – Professor Margaret Barrett, Dr Michael Dezuanni, Professor Elizabeth Grierson and Mr Jeffrey Meiners.


Key points in the draft Shaping Paper for the Arts (Years F-12)

• The Arts make distinct and unique contributions to each young person’s ability to perceive, imagine, create, think, feel, symbolise, communicate, understand and become confident and creative individuals.

• Students will experience & study dance, drama, media arts, music and visual arts


• Art making involves three processes to be used as the organising strands:– Generating: using the elements of the art

form to imagine and design artwork from an expressive or imaginative impulse, an idea, intention or stimulus

– Realizing: communicating artwork for audiences to experience (performing)

– Responding; apprehend the artistic experience itself & comprehend the artwork critically

• Together these processes comprise aesthetic knowledge.

• The three strands or processes may occur simultaneously.


The Arts in F-8• Will be presented in bands (F-2, 3-4, 5-6,&

7-8)• Assumes 160 hours per band for the total

of the 5 art forms• Provides content descriptions and

achievement standards• Does not prescribe the school

organisation of the arts learning program• All art forms will be taught in F-8, with

ability to focus on one or more art form in greater depth

• In F-2, the Arts are taught through a purposeful play-centred approach, mainly integrated across the curriculum


Music in F-2 Children:• engage imaginatively in music-making• draw on the resources of voice, body,

musical instruments and sound sources • create, experiment, explore, trial &

organise musical ideas and material (pitch, duration, dynamics, tone-colour & timbre)

• understand that music can be recorded in symbol & use invented and simple conventional notation

• develop a repertoire of chants, songs, rhythms, rhymes & melodies


Music in F-2 Children:• engage confidently in singing & playing • develop aural skills• use music-specific language• engage as audience members in music

experiences• respond to music and communicate

personal and shared meanings using language, movement, music and visual presentations.

Music learning is continuous as children revisit skills, knowledge and understandings.

Connections with the rest of the curriculum

The Australian Curriculum has three cross-curriculum priorities

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures

• Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia

• Sustainability

Connections with the rest of the curriculum continued

The Australian Curriculum has seven general capabilities

• Literacy• Numeracy• Information and

communication technology• Critical and creative thinking• Personal and social competence• Ethical behaviour• Intercultural understanding


Keep up-to-date with developments by visiting the ACARA website:

www.acara.edu.au/curriculum

The need for advocacy

• Music learning needs to be:– Continuous throughout the year– Part of young children’s daily

experiences• Advocate for these organisational needs

with school administrators• Promote the importance of music learning

to parents• Provide practical help to early childhood

teachers

The contribution of music educationSupporting young children’s learning

• Children are hard-wired for musical experience (Trehub, 1997)

• from birth to 6yrs is critical for the development of audiation, vocal development, rhythm & movement (Levinowitz, 1998)

The contribution of music education

Supporting young children’s learning – • active engagement • opportunities to learn independently and with

others• negotiation and opportunities to make

choices• sense of shared ownership• interactions that provide feedback• flexibility• opportunities to use all senses• sense of connectedness• respect for all learners • learning invites attention, exploration,

manipulation, elaboration & imagination.


Learning & development promoted by music education

• Facilitates learning of literacy skills (Adcock et al, 2008)

• Increases children’s vocabulary (Moyeda et al, 2006)

• Increases auditory language (Gan & Chong, 1998)

• Promotes spatial-temporal reasoning (Schellenberg, 2004)

• Assists learning mathematical concepts e.g. counting, direction, attributes, patterning, comparison (Humphrey, 1987)



• Develops motor skills and focuses listening skills (de Vries, 2004)

• Increases socialisation amongst children (Henniger, 1999)

• Provides for release of energy (de Vries, 2004)

• Enhances emotional development and confidence through self-expression (de Vries, 2004)



• Can lift the moods of children (Jenkins, 1994)

• Develops concentration and focus (de Vries, 2004)

• Can be the first point of real contact for children with special needs (Cass-Beggs, 1990 & Samuels, 2005)


Quality musical experiences for young children

• Provide opportunities for children to improvise with known songs, create and experiment with music using voice & instruments (Miranda, 2004)

• Create a class/centre song-book and have it accessible for children (de Vries, 2004)

• In groups, accompany songs with musical instruments, taking turns to play verses or phrases;

• Sing songs, chants & rhymes with actions as part of routines and transitions (Melville-Clark, 2005)



• Involve children in music and movement experiences, experimenting with movement, manipulating props, creating their own movement play to music;

• Make props (e.g. ribbons, scarves), musical instruments and recorded music accessible to children for their self-initiated play (Melville-Clark, 2005

• Encourage, respond to and talk about children’s spontaneous musical play (Fox, 2000)



• Regularly listen to a variety of music and discuss personal responses (de Vries, 2003)

• Provide diverse experiences, often linked to dance & story-telling (Niland, 2007)

Documents

The importance of music in the early childhood years Carolyn Harrod