ERIC Number: EJ1047069
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Nov
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0265-0517
EISSN: N/A
Can't Sing? Won't Sing? Aotearoa/New Zealand "Tone-Deaf" Early Childhood Teachers' Musical Beliefs
Swain, Nicola; Bodkin-Allen, Sally
British Journal of Music Education, v31 n3 p245-263 Nov 2014
Singing is an important part of teaching for early childhood teachers. However, some teachers find this difficult and may even identify themselves as "tone-deaf". We invited a group of early childhood teachers who self-identified as "tone-deaf" to participate in a study to investigate their beliefs and behaviours about singing and musicality. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 40 participants via a questionnaire. Results indicate that these teachers considered themselves to be unmusical and revealed negative feelings towards singing. They showed a general self-consciousness about their singing. These beliefs had been formed through various interactions with friends, family and in schools. While the teachers still participated in singing activities in the centres in which they worked, their participation was marred by feeling self-conscious when singing and they often altered their singing behaviour.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Singing, Early Childhood Education, Preschool Teachers, Qualitative Research, Statistical Analysis, Questionnaires, Self Concept, Teacher Attitudes, Music Activities
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: New Zealand
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A