One of the most important factors determining a nation's level of development in the modern world is preschool education. When preschool education is perceived as an entity that affects every aspect of childhood development, this fact is undeniable. Several aspects of preschool education, including art education, play a significant role in a…

More than 98 percent of children in Finland attend preschool, where different kinds of projects are carried out in order to strengthen the children's abilities. This article focuses on the effects of one arts education project from a school readiness point of view. The main question was, How did the Helsinki arts education project affect the…

Educators in China are facing challenges as a tug-of-war between local culture and global influences in Chinese early childhood music educations plays out. By exploring the situations of Hong Kong and Nanjing, the authors demonstrate a wide gap between policy and practice. The top-down policy from government officials is based on global views of…

The author examines early childhood music education in Taiwan through Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory. Factors in the microsystem level that influenced the musical development of children included adult perception of children, child-adult interactions, Taiwanese family structure, and the existing early childhood education system. The…

Policy for early childhood music education (birth to eight years of age) in Australia covers a complex and diverse range of curriculum guidelines and legislation relating to the contexts of day care, preschool, and the early years of school. Australian models and policies vary from state to state and according to setting. Furthermore, early…

Early childhood music education in Israel is important for policymakers and practitioners. Various programs, official and nonofficial, coexist in chaotic and unrelated ways. Recently, the Ministry of Education published a music curriculum for children ages three to six, which dictates the musical repertoire-mainly Western art music and Hebrew…

In this article, the authors investigate how Korea's current educational policy's emphasis on artistic expression, and therefore music education, has been realized in the praxis of early childhood education. The authors view policy as discourses and texts that early childhood educators interpret and reinterpret within specific contexts. Policy…

Early childhood provision in England is undergoing a period of expansion and change. Policy for English early years education and care is based on principles of serving children in need rather than entitlement for all. The result is a two-tier system of private and state provision. Music has benefited from this increase in interest and investment.…

The historical development of early childhood music education (ECE) in Kenya reveals the challenging circumstances under which it has, and continues, to progress. Poverty remains the most formidable hindrance to the success of this area of education. Multiculturalism, the mosaic that defines Kenya's rich heritage, also demands ingenuity from…

Inspired by ideas that Levi-Strauss (1955) presented in "Tristes Tropiques", the author discusses music and early childhood in Brazil from educational, historical, anthropological, and sociological perspectives. She begins with a short history of early childhood education in Brazil, including changes in educational policies, teacher preparation,…

A brief examination of early childhood music education in South Africa, through an investigation of government documents and academic literature, leads to an impression that music is embraced in a broad framework of meeting young children's cultural and artistic needs. There is an overriding consciousness of the value of providing children with…

The United States has achieved nearly universal access to education and has witnessed a phenomenal growth in the number of children who attend child care programs. In addition, researchers and practitioners are making notable advances in the field of early childhood music. Many preschools, however, feel pressure to accelerate learning for young…