Changing musical self-efficacy for Australian early childhood educators, teachers and carers

Early childhood educators (ECEs), teachers and carers in Australia have been developing an awareness and understanding of the fundamental importance of discovery play and process in various aspects of children’s learning since 2009. The focus in most areas of the curriculum has shifted from teacher directed rote learning, based on outcome or product to children’s playful, experiential, discovery processes in line with the Australian developed Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). ECEs, teachers and carers have developed an awareness of process pertaining to most aspects of the early childhood (EC) curriculum. Through my research I discovered that there is little definition or exploration of how this process pertains to EC music education. The teaching of music has largely remained focused on performance or product, singing songs or dancing with or without instruments, relying on recordings. Playful process if offered predominantly involves instrumental play and discovery of timbre. I found that there was little definition, experience or prescription of what musical process might involve. I hoped to determine how to effectively enable ECEs, teachers and carers to sing and change their musicking practices. My longitudinal Action Research (AR) study revealed that the process of reflective vocal play and vocal doodling was almost entirely lacking and yet pivotal for the development of vocal self-efficacy, musical metacognition and vocal agency of both ECEs, teachers and carers and their children.