Professional Learning and Pre-school Music Teacher Education: Developing a Framework for Early Childhood Music Teacher Education

Abstract

Quality early childhood music education is linked to effective music teaching and highly related to teachers' professional learning. Recently, early childhood teachers have greatly depended on their initial teacher training and recurrent professional learning to prepare their music competence to meet their music learning needs. The forces to enhance the quality of early childhood education under Hong Kong educational reform have also made music an integral part of children's learning areas, playing a vital role in children's wholesome development. Effective and appropriate music professional learning is significant to broaden teachers' music knowledge and improve their pedagogical skills in the music classroom. Early childhood music professional learning is expected to bridge the gap of inadequate provision of early childhood music teacher education and meet many teachers' learning needs over their professional careers. The goal of this study was to explore concepts and develop a relevant and appropriate framework of early childhood music professional learning from the lived experience of stakeholders in Hong Kong: practicing teachers, principals, early childhood education lecturers, and also several prominent leaders of early childhood education. From their points of view on music professional learning needs for practicing teachers, different aspects of their expectations and desired music professional learning were explored. Mixed methods were adopted in this study with three phases: firstly three early childhood focus group interviews; secondly a questionnaire; and thirdly a repeat of the three previous focus group interviews with three early childhood leaders interviews. Data findings were analysed and integrated to ultimately inform the development a music professional learning trio framework with three important components: learning environments, learning approaches and a learning hierarchy. This framework provided a response to the research questions and related to meeting lifelong professional music learning needs and expectations of practicing early childhood teachers in Hong Kong.