Early childhood teacher training: music and a transnational experience

In this paper, we emphasise the value of music in early childhood teaching practice and we explore diverse knowledge of music that pre-service teachers bring to their studies. A case study of four Chinese early childhood students, studying at an Australian University, is presented. Through interviews these participants share their musical background and relate their experiences to their own early childhood pedagogy. These students had all studied music as pre-service teachers before coming to Australia where there was no formal presence of music in the early childhood degree programme. However, during their language and literacy studies in Australia, these students emerged as more confident in exploring the use of music as part of their practice in developing children's language. We therefore interviewed these participants about their practicum experiences in China and with infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers in Australia. We aimed to investigate what advantages can be accrued when music is included in a Higher Education teacher curriculum. Findings suggest that these students were able to employ their musical skills to improve their own confidence in Australian centres and establish relationships with children and their mentors were appreciative of their musical contribution. The benefits of musical knowledge in the Australian context, was manifest in the participants' practicum reports and the interviews. In Australia music and the arts generally, have tended to be replaced by curriculum, pedagogy and leadership subjects. This study supports the call for music to be reinstated in early childhood degrees in Australia because of its importance in children's lives, their learning and as a significant element of critical pedagogy.