Musical learning environments of Finnish day care centers

1. Musical learning environments of Finnish day care centers 17th EECERA ANNUAL CONFERENCE Prague, 30th September 2007 Exploring Vygotsky’s ideas: Crossing borders Arts, culture and education Ph.D. Inkeri Ruokonen

2. Early childhood education is a part of a life-long learning • Development is seen as an active interaction process between individual and environment • Care, education and teaching form a seamless whole which flexibly supports the individual development of each child • Holistic approach to learning environment: everything which surrounds or is in interaction with a child (cultural, physical, social, psychological and emotional aspects) Inkeri Ruokonen

3. Vygotsky’s approach in aesthetic education • “Complete freedom for the child’s creativity, the renunciation of all effort to place it on a par with adult consciousness, the recognition of its originality and of its distinctive features, constitute a fundamental requirement of psychology.” (Vygotsky,1926) • It becomes pedagogically essential to be able to discern the psychological content of children’s works of art: transient creativity, giving rise to no objective values and needed more by the child himself than by those around him. Like children’s games, it has healing powers and is invigorating, but not outside the child himself, but only within him. • two paths of aesthetic education: 1) the child’s own creative potential, 2) the cultural level of his/her aesthetic apprehension. • Only that instruction in techniques is useful which goes beyond these techniques and teaches creative skills, whether those involved in creating or those involved in apprehending. Inkeri Ruokonen

4. Socio-constructivist approach to music education • Vygotsky contended that, unlike animals - who react only to the environment, humans have the capacity to alter the environment for their own purposes. • Socially meaningful activity (also musical activity) has an important influence on human consciousness. • All higher mental functions originate in the social environment (social interaction in musical environment). • Intelligence (also musical) is seen as a process activity rather than a state entity. • "All higher (mental) functions originate as actual relations between human individuals"- Lev Vygotsky Inkeri Ruokonen

5. Focusing Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development in Learning Environment • ZPD: the zone of proximal development refers to the tasks a child is unable to complete alone, but is able to complete with the assistance of an adult • ”pedagogical duet” (teacher-child) • interactional mediation with a learning environment (child-learning environment) According to Vygotsky (1978) learning (a variety internal developmental processes that are able to operate) awakens when the child is in the action and cooperates with people in his/her environment. Inkeri Ruokonen

6. All children have musical potential • Music is a language with many symbols and meanings • The development of this potential is the right of every child • Children bring their own interest and abilities to their musical learning environment • Children should be provided with a rich musical learning environment Inkeri Ruokonen

7. Research • This study concerns the student teachers’ experiences and reflections on the musical environment in day-care centers during the 2 weeks period they were observing the environment and activities of the day care centers in Helsinki-Vantaa-Espoo-area • Students were asked to observe the musical learning environment of children form many perspectives; physical and material environment, curriculum, objectives, core contents and children’s activities • The method of the study was a content analysis of the students’ essays (82) Inkeri Ruokonen

8. Results:Good physical and material learning opportutities • Physical and material environment: • In most of the essays 86, 58% (71/82): good and versatile space for music education (listening, singing, playing, movement) was reported • 75,6% (62/82) good material equipments, instruments, cd-players, music literature Inkeri Ruokonen

9. ”It was a new day care center, they had good equipments, musical instruments and a wonderful place for dancing and moving, but in two weeks I never heard them singing or playing any of those instruments…” • ”They had a lot of good material in this day, for example they had 2 pianos, 1quitar, 10 recorders, 10 kanteles, 10 drums, 1 quiro,6 penals, 6 triangels, 10 maracasses, 3 bongos, 10 bells, 6 tambourins, 2 rainstics, 2 ksylofones, 2 metallofones, 20 wooden stics, 2 cd-players, 3 computers and a lot of singing books, role clothings and musical litterature.” • ”They had musical instruments which had been used when there was another kindergarten teacher, now they needed tuning (for example kanteles and guitar) but nobody could’t do it.” • ”This house was later repaired to be a day care center for children and the possibilities to move in large groups were restricted. In spite of that singing, playing and small dances were almost every day activities with children, they used their imagination in using the small rooms they had.” Inkeri Ruokonen

10. Music education had goals, but they were mostly not realized in action • Curriculum, objectives, core contents in music education: • Curriculum and goals are presented in every day care centre (general curriculum of early childhood education Vasu and preschool education) • Curriculum of individual groups were found only in 6 day care centres • The `musical` ZPD of children was very seldom observed or supported Inkeri Ruokonen

11. ”They were just planning their ”Vasu”, I did not see any goals or music education during these weeks. They said they have one singing lesson a month for all children of the day care center, I think it is too seldom…” • ”Teachers wanted to develop children’s creativity and musical self-expression, they had music every day in small (small groups or individual) learning situations and music lesson once a week, twice a month they had music happening for all children of the day care center.” • ”In Vasu they promoted the joy of singing and musical experiences, then they had individual goals for every age group. I observed the preschool aged children. Music education was connected in study themes (like seasons, holidays etc.)” Inkeri Ruokonen

12. Children’s musical activities: • Listening, singing, playing, movement and painting with music • Amount of music “lessons” and teaching abilities varied a lot (e.g. in 8 day care centers daily singing and in 12 day care centers not at all singing in 2 weeks) • In 2 day care centers had instrumental teaching (Kantele schools) • A thematic a approach in teaching music • Individual musical needs and abilities of children were not observed or supported in most of the day care centers • Musical learning environment of a day care center was in connection of the musical interests and abilities of the kindergarten teachers • Some students started music educational activities if they were missing Inkeri Ruokonen

13. ”Children enjoyed music lessons and singing because the kindergarten teacher inspired them. I learned that the most important is to be animated of what you teach” • ”Teachers in my group explained that they have no music education because nobody can’t sing or play piano. They joined once a month in a common singing lesson of the day care centre. They listened music once after their gymnastics during relaxation.” • ”I couldn’t hear music in this preschool group, singing and joy, laughing and stories were disappeared during the first week. Then we started to do something and it was a musical puppet theatre (Bear and Maija) with children.” Inkeri Ruokonen

14. Conclusion: • The results show that there are huge differences in music educational environment between different day care centers in spite of the common national core curriculum and policy definition on early childhood education • Physical and material environment for music education was good in Finnish day care centers • The quality and amount of music education and individual support in music varied a lot • The musical expertise of the kindergarten teacher was the most important in creating the musical learning environment of a day-care center • Vygotsky’s theory and these observations challenged students for music educational studies Inkeri Ruokonen

15. Discussion: Within the learning environment play and arts should be promoted • Development of creativity through play and arts: “Play is really a particular feature of preschool age.” (Vygotsky 1933) • Learning environment can support potential giftedness: “In certain special forms of giftedness, for example, in children who have a special gift for music or art, or dance, where only early special education beginning at a very tender age can ensure the normal development of the capacities with which the child is endowed.” (Vygotsky 1926) Inkeri Ruokonen