Child's right to music in the early years: Research policy and practice

This paper is part of a research project examining young children's musical experiences in a particular setting. An initial focus of the research was to explore children's competence when exposed to a more competent member of the culture, in this instance a skilled musician, and to develop observational and interpretive tools for recording these experiences. Surprised at the children's musical activities and understandings we then broadened our discussion to examine the wider context of the child's right to music in the early years. Using a three-year-old group of children participating in formal music sessions as a focus, a theme of this paper therefore is the relationship between research, policy and practice. This relationship is complex and needs to be unpacked so that underlying assumptions about children and childhood, what children should learn and wider social agendas for education can be discovered. We decided to start this journey by observing daily practice. We argue underlying systems of beliefs and values will be reflected in practice, and obsewations and interpretations of daily experience can assist in determining future research and accompanying policy decisions about support for music in early childhood services.