No description available.

Numerous curricula for preschool music education have been developed in the past two decades. For the most part, however, these have not incorporated important evidence from three disciplines which has important implications for how the music education of preschool children should be approached. The first of these is the field of developmental neurobiology, which has provided relevant information concerning early learning and experience. The second is the research pioneered by Jean Piaget, whose insights into cognitive development bear heavily on curriculum planning for preschool music education. The third is research in musical development, which indicates what skills and behaviors can be expected of preschool children in a musical setting. The goal of this thesis is to demonstrate (a) why an understanding of the major findings from these fields is important to the formulation of a music education program for preschool children; and (b) how this understanding can and should impact on the curricular choices made for the musical education of preschool children. To this extent, a series of developmental and musical objectives for the music education of preschool children, specifically 4-year-olds, have been formulated to serve as a theoretical and practical foundation on which to develop and choose musical activities which are appropriate for this age group. The educational and practical value of each of these activities was tested with a group of 4-year-old children during a 12-week study carried out at the University of British Columbia Child Study Center. The activities which adequately demonstrated this value were then organized into a 12-week music curriculum for 4-year-old children. Four conclusions are made in this thesis. The first of these is that music education should begin early in life in order to influence the general learning patterns necessary for the development of musical skill. The second conclusion is that early exposure to music will be most effective when the activities chosen are complex and stimulating and allow for interaction with numerous musical stimuli on a variety of different levels. The third conclusion is that developmentally appropriate musical activities may make an important contribution to the enrichment of the learning environment during the preschool years and may subsequently enhance sensory, motor, verbal and nonverbal, social and creative thinking skills. Finally, it was concluded that preschool music education will be most effective when musical tasks reflect the limitations of children's cognitive development. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

No description available.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the processes in which eight and nine year old children engaged as they composed generative expressions with music and language. This study was a classroom-based ethnography conducted by a teacher/researcher in the context of her own general music classroom and the home room of the participant students. Twenty-one boys and girls in a suburban grade three class were involved in this four and one-half month study; three children were chosen as target (focus) composers. This study was designed so that the primary voice and point of view was that of the student-composers rather than that of the adult teacher/researcher. To that end, methodologies for data collection and interpretation were flexible and emergent, to allow for inclusion of unexpected events, interactions, foci/directions, etc. and to ensure that student-composers' self-described decisions about their work were at the forefront of the discussion and interpretation of the data. A framework was devised to inform and clarify the teacher/researcher's understanding of what the children were doing as they composed. This framework provided a flexible structure for organization and illustration of data used for interpretive purposes. Data collected included: 1) journals, written self evaluations and in-process verbal critiques by all students 2) video-tapes of focus composers in: a) working sessions b) reflective discussion with the teacher/researcher 3) video-tapes of all students in: a) in-process sharing/critiquing sessions b) final performances of compositions 4) field notes of the teacher/researcher, including observations, informal conversations with student-composers, and observations and comments of the home room teacher. Findings from this study included these insights: 1) For these child-composers, process and product were intertwined throughout the making of their compositions; 2) These child-composers began with a holistic idea of what they wanted to do and proceeded to explore, revise and polish their compositions in the particular medium until they reached their self-determined goal; 3) Socio-cultural factors of informal (enculturated or acquired) learning, and general maturity, were primary influences in decision-making in compositions with both music and language; 4) Training made a difference in the baseline starting point in composing ability, attitude, speed of the compositional process, and expectations for the final product; 5) These eight and nine year old children, untrained in music, demonstrated that they could compose rather than just improvise; 6) These child-composers went through the same four processes of exploration, making choices, editing/drafting, and completing a coherent product, when composing in two different modalities; they engaged in these processes recursively as well as sequentially in both media.

No description available.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the processes in which eight and nine year old children engaged as they composed generative expressions with music and language. This study was a classroom-based ethnography conducted by a teacher/researcher in the context of her own general music classroom and the home room of the participant students. Twenty-one boys and girls in a suburban grade three class were involved in this four and one-half month study; three children were chosen as target (focus) composers. This study was designed so that the primary voice and point of view was that of the student-composers rather than that of the adult teacher/researcher. To that end, methodologies for data collection and interpretation were flexible and emergent, to allow for inclusion of unexpected events, interactions, foci/directions, etc. and to ensure that student-composers' self-described decisions about their work were at the forefront of the discussion and interpretation of the data. A framework was devised to inform and clarify the teacher/researcher's understanding of what the children were doing as they composed. This framework provided a flexible structure for organization and illustration of data used for interpretive purposes. Data collected included: 1) journals, written self evaluations and in-process verbal critiques by all students 2) video-tapes of focus composers in: a) working sessions b) reflective discussion with the teacher/researcher 3) video-tapes of all students in: a) in-process sharing/critiquing sessions b) final performances of compositions 4) field notes of the teacher/researcher, including observations, informal conversations with student-composers, and observations and comments of the home room teacher. Findings from this study included these insights: 1) For these child-composers, process and product were intertwined throughout the making of their compositions; 2) These child-composers began with a holistic idea of what they wanted to do and proceeded to explore, revise and polish their compositions in the particular medium until they reached their self-determined goal; 3) Socio-cultural factors of informal (enculturated or acquired) learning, and general maturity, were primary influences in decision-making in compositions with both music and language; 4) Training made a difference in the baseline starting point in composing ability, attitude, speed of the compositional process, and expectations for the final product; 5) These eight and nine year old children, untrained in music, demonstrated that they could compose rather than just improvise; 6) These child-composers went through the same four processes of exploration, making choices, editing/drafting, and completing a coherent product, when composing in two different modalities; they engaged in these processes recursively as well as sequentially in both media. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

No description available.

Thesis (M.Mus) -- University of Stellenbosch, 2000. / Some digitised pages may appear illegible due to the condition of the original hard copy. (entire content of poor quality) / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The foundation for this study is the belief that music is an essential part of human existence and thus of education. It not only addresses individual and communal human needs but the multicultural nature thereof gives it special significance for education in the ''New South-Africa". This significance lies in the value of music in its own right (intra disciplinary) as well as the use of music for its intrinsic qualities to facilitate the teaching of all other fields of knowledge (interdisciplinary). Recent research and new thinking in the fields of intelligence and learning support this belief. The old one-dimensional approach to intelligence is no longer tenable and has been supplanted by the acknowledgement that human intelligence is multi-faceted. Musical ability is now recognized as a separate intelligence while the use of music is regarded as being an important factor in the development and functioning of the human thought process. Research on the role played by emotions and morality as well as that on the characteristics of genius, optimal experiences and the implications of the functioning of the brain, are all explored with reference to what this means for music education (and using music in education) in this country today. The new Curriculum 2005 at present being introduced into South-Africa is an example of Outcomes-based Education. The way in which the Arts and Culture Learning Area of Curriculum 2005 approaches music education corresponds with the interdisciplinary and intra disciplinary distinction. These aspects are discussed and material is included for use in order to realise the expressed and desired outcomes for music education in the Foundation Phase. Elliott's alternative approach (music-as-practicum), instead of Reimer's traditional music curriculum making, is used as point of departure. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die oortuiging dat musiek 'n essensiële deel van die menslike bestaan en dus van opvoeding is, lê ten grondslag van hierdie studie. Nie alleen spreek dit individuele sowel as gemeenskaplike menslike behoeftes aan nie, maar die multikulturele aard daarvan maak dit van groot belang vir opvoeding in die "Nuwe Suid-Afrika". Die belang is daarin geleë dat opvoeding in musiek op sigself waarde het (intradissiplinêr), maar ook leer in alle ander vakgebiede kan fasiliteer (interdissiplinêr). Onlangse navorsing ten opsigte van intelligensie en opvoeding staaf hierdie siening. Die vroeëre een-dimensionele siening van menslike intelligensie is nie meer houdbaar nie en is vervang deur die erkenning dat intelligensie vele fasette het. Musikale vermoëns word tans as 'n outonome intelligensie beskou, terwyl die groot invloed van musiek op die ontwikkeling en funksionering van die menslike denkpatrone erken word. Navorsing oor die rol van die emosies, moraliteit, die kenmerke van die genie, optimale ondervindinge en die funksionering van die brein, word ondersoek met verwysing veral na die belang daarvan vir musiekopvoeding (en die gebruik van musiek in opvoeding) tans in Suid-Afrika. Die nuwe Kurrikulum 2005 wat tans in Suid-Afrika ingevoer word, is 'n voorbeeld van Uitkomsgebaseerde Onderwys. Die benadering van die Kuns en Kultuur Leerarea in die Kurrikulum 2005 tot musiekopvoeding stem ooreen met die inter- en intradissiplinêre verdeling. Hierdie aspekte word bespreek en materiaal word ingesluit vir gebruik by die nastreef van die uitdruklike en wenslike uitkomstes vir musiekopvoeding in die Grondslagfase. Elliott se alternatiewe benadering tot kurrikulering vir musiek (musiek-as-practicum), in teenstelling met Reimer se tradisionele MEAE model, word as uitgangspunt gebruik.

Yau, Oi Suet. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 170-178). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction / Chapter I. --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter II. --- Literature Review --- p.2 / Chapter III. --- Methodology --- p.7 / Chapter IV. --- Thesis Structure --- p.10 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- "Background, Children and Music Education" / Chapter I. --- General Historical Background --- p.12 / Chapter II. --- "Children, Music Education and the Soviet Union" --- p.22 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Prokofiev and his Children's works in the 1930s / Chapter I. --- Prokofiev's Return to the Soviet Union --- p.36 / Chapter II. --- Prokofiev's Children's Works in the 1930s / Music for Children (Op. 65) --- p.43 / Summer Day (Op. 65b) --- p.53 / Peter and the Wolf [Op. 67) --- p.58 / Three Children's Songs for Voice and Piano (Op. 68) --- p.76 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- "War Years, Stalin Prize and Radio Committee" / Chapter I. --- Historical Background --- p.89 / Chapter II. --- The Awards for Cultural Intelligentsia- Honorary Titles and Stalin Prize --- p.101 / Chapter III. --- All-Union Radio Committee --- p.103 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Prokofiev and His Later Children's Works / Chapter I. --- Prokofiev's Late Years --- p.107 / Chapter II. --- Prokofiev's Later Children's Works / Winter Bonfire (Op. 122) --- p.109 / On Guard for Peace (Op. 124) --- p.121 / Seventh Symphony (Op. 131) --- p.139 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- Conclusion --- p.153 / Appendix --- p.159 / Bibliography --- p.170

In this inquiry, I examined how young children use their personal, social and material resources to solve a music notational task. I asked 13 children, ages 5-9 to notate a song they learned the previous week, sing it back, explain what they did and then teach the song to a classmate the following week. I used Lightfoot and Davis' concept of portraiture as a qualitative research methodology to collect, code, analyze and interpret my data. Data included the children's invented notations and videotaped transcripts of their actions as they created their notations and taught the song to a classmate. Sociocultural Vygotskian developmental theory, activity theory and Bakhtin's dialogic theory provided the interpretive lens through which I examined how the children used their resources as mediational tools to complete the task. / Findings revealed that children who had no previous music training used increasingly sophisticated representational strategies to notate a song, and that they were able to refine their notations when singing the song from their notation, teaching the song or when prompted by an adult or a peer. I concluded that the peer-peer situation was a motivating force for triggering a recursive process of reflections-on-actions and knowing-in-action. Classmates' questions, comments and their singing played a critical role in moving the children to modify their notations and their singing, verbal explanations and gesturing in ways they did not do alone or with me. / Analysis of the children's notations, verbal explanations and teaching strategies provided insights not only into what they knew about music, but also their appropriation of the cultural conventions of writing and their aesthetic sensibilities, as gleaned from their choice of symbols, colours and how they presented their symbols on the page. Interviews with parents, teachers and school principal provided contextual background for interpreting the children's notations and how they approached the task. This study shows the value of adopting a social constructivist approach to teaching the language of music. It also demonstrates that researching the products and processes of children's invented notations from a social constructivist perspective enables more detailed portraits of children's musical and meta-cognitive understandings.