Facing the music: an investigation of the factors that influence early career teachers’ music practices in early childhood education settings in Australia

The benefits of music education for young children’s learning are well documented. Existing research identifies that several challenges impact how early childhood teachers use music in prior-to-school settings. This mixed methods study investigated factors in Australian early childhood (EC) policy and initial teacher education (ITE) programs that impacted how early childhood teachers enacted music pedagogy and practices. The study is underpinned by critical theory and phenomenology. Three sources of data were used: national EC policies; interviews with ITE academics teaching music; and an online survey with early career teachers in the EC sector. This study addressed a gap in extant research by capturing the voices of ITE academics and early career EC teachers, two groups who had not yet been heard on this topic. Qualitative and quantitative data were analysed using NVivo and SPSS respectively. Emerging themes consisted of the role of singing, the place of music in education and the relationship between policy and practice. This research contributes to potential reforms in music related early childhood policy and teacher education.