This qualitative study examines perspectives of parents of children with autism related to engagement in the home environment. Increased engagement decreases the likelihood of less productive behaviors. Investigation of engagement in the home setting may provide insights into the development of interventions. Collaboration between parents and…

This paper reports on a cross-cultural research study of children's preferences for group musical activities in child care centres. A total of 228 young children aged 4-5 years in seven child care centres in Hong Kong and in the Adelaide City of South Australia participated in the study. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected via a…

Music learning and music performance involve all aspects of the individual: cognitive, emotional, social, and psychomotor. John Feierabend shows that music requires a special kind of intellectual process that is unique to the discipline. Brain density reaches its peak in a child's first few years of life; hence, as with language, music learning…

Prior research has revealed that non-music specialist trainee primary school teachers lack confidence in teaching music in spite of changes to teacher training and the introduction of music in the National Curriculum in England. The current study investigated the effects on non-music specialist trainee primary teachers' confidence to teach music…

The present study aimed to investigate the current music practices and teachers' needs for teaching music in public preschools of South Korea. The data were obtained from the public preschools in South Korea, where 66.7 percent (n = 606) of the total sample (N = 908) responded. The online survey consisted of 42 questions: Likert-type scales,…

Professional early childhood educators are often asked for advice about whether or when a young child should learn to play a music instrument. Many educators who do not have a background in music education may not be confident in providing such advice. A range of overseas research has supported learning a music instrument in the early childhood…

This study examines characteristics of teachers participating in the national Guitars in the Classroom program in the 2007-2008 school year. 96 teacher participants from programs across the United States completed an online survey at the start of their professional development programs, usually 6-10 hours. 75 percent of teachers electing to…

This article reports on a retrospective study of Finnish pre-service elementary teachers' assessments of their musical experiences in nursery school and elementary and secondary school and real-time study of their experiences in teacher training. The participants (N = 590) had received musical instruction in five age groups (4-6 years, 7-12 years,…

This article reports on parents' perceptions of the way music CDs and DVDs were used with children under the age of five in the home environment. This was part of a study that explored the musical practices of parents with children at home. A survey was sent to parents in three preschools, asking about parental music background, young children's…

The aim of the study was to acquire a deeper understanding of how small children learn an instrument in the presence of their parents. It is qualitative in nature and concerned six pre-school children (five years old) who were learning the violin together and where their parents were present at the lessons. All the children's homes were visited…