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Can't sing? Won't sing? Aotearoa/New Zealand ‘tone-deaf’ early childhood teachers’ musical beliefs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 September 2014

Nicola Swain  and
Sally Bodkin-Allen
Nicola Swain
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Otago, New Zealandnicola.swain@otago.ac.nz
Sally Bodkin-Allen
Affiliation:
School of Music, Southern Institute of Technology, Freepost SIT2LRN, Private Bag 90114, 133 Tay Street, Invercargill, 9840, New Zealandsally.bodkin-allen@sit.ac.nz
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Abstract

Singing is an important part of teaching for early childhood teachers. However, some teachers find this difficult and may even identify themselves as ‘tone-deaf’. We invited a group of early childhood teachers who self-identified as ‘tone-deaf’ to participate in a study to investigate their beliefs and behaviours about singing and musicality. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 40 participants via a questionnaire. Results indicate that these teachers considered themselves to be unmusical and revealed negative feelings towards singing. They showed a general self-consciousness about their singing. These beliefs had been formed through various interactions with friends, family and in schools. While the teachers still participated in singing activities in the centres in which they worked, their participation was marred by feeling self-conscious when singing and they often altered their singing behaviour.

Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Music Education , Volume 31 , Issue 3 , November 2014 , pp. 245 - 263
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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