Hostname: page-component-77f85d65b8-pztms Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-03-29T06:16:08.470Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A comparison of teachers’ musical abilities between public and private kindergartens in Qingdao, Shandong Province, China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 September 2024

Kunyu Yan Open the ORCID record for Kunyu Yan [Opens in a new window]  and
Lei Wang
Kunyu Yan
Affiliation:
College of Music, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
Lei Wang*
Affiliation:
College of Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang, China
*
Corresponding author: Lei Wang; Email: wanglei@nbu.edu.cn
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study investigates teachers’ musical abilities in Shandong kindergartens in China, making a comparison between public and private kindergartens. For this research, five public and five private kindergartens were selected within the same city. The methods of non-participant observation and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. The findings show that the overall musical abilities of public kindergarten teachers were greater than those of private kindergarten teachers. This study reveals that leadership and government policy are important factors for influencing the results, and puts forward recommendations for making changes in policy to improve teachers’ musical abilities in private kindergartens.

Keywords

Music educationearly childhoodChinese kindergartensteachers’ musical abilities

Information

Type
Article
Information
British Journal of Music Education , Volume 42 , Issue 2 , July 2025 , pp. 215 - 227
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

BENSON, C. & FUNG, C. V. (2005). Comparisons of teacher and student behaviors in private piano lessons in China and the United States. International Journal of Music Education, 23(1), 63–72.10.1177/0255761405050931CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BERNARD, H. R. & RYAN, G. W. (2010). Analyzing Qualitative Data: Systematic Approaches. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications.Google Scholar
BERNSTEIN, E. & LYSNIAK, U. (2018). Semi-structured Interviews and Non-participant Observations: Teacher Instruction of Competitive Activities for Multicultural Students. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.Google Scholar
CAMPBELL, P. S. (2004). Teaching Music Globally: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
CAMPBELL, P. S. (2008). Musician & Teacher: An Orientation to Music Education. New York: W.W. Norton and Company.Google Scholar
CHOY, G. (2017). Chinese culture in early educational environments RAO, N., ZHOU, J. & SUN, J. (eds.), Early Childhood Education in Chinese Societies (pp. 31–52). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
HAINES, B. J. E. & GERBER, L. L. (1980). Leading Young Children to Music: A Resource Book for Teachers. Columbus, Ohio: C. E. Merrill Pub. Co.Google Scholar
KONG, G. H. (2019). 走出幼儿音乐教育的误区 [Out of the misunderstanding of children’s music education]. 基础教育研究 [Elementary Education Studies], 13, 86–88.Google Scholar
LYU, L. (2012). 学前音乐教育对儿童发展价值初探 [The value of early childhood music education on children’s development]. 咸宁学院学报 [Journal of Xianning University], 32, 116–117.Google Scholar
MA, X. Y. (2013). 改革幼儿音乐教育启发创造性思维之我见 [My views on the reform of creative thinking in early childhood music education]. 青春岁月[Journal of Youth Years], 16, 316.Google Scholar
MILLS, J. (2005). Music in the School. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Ministry of Education in People’s Republic of China (2001). Guidelines for the kindergarten Curriculum (trial version). Available online at: http://www.moe.edu.cn/jyb_sjzl/moe_364/moe_302/moe_309/tnull_1506.html (accessed 8 October 2017)Google Scholar
Ministry of Education in People’s Republic of China (2016). Kindergarten Work Regulations and Procedures. Available online at: http://www.moe.gov.cn/srcsite/A02/s5911/moe_621/201602/t20160229_231184.html (accessed 8 October 2017)Google Scholar
OKADA, B. M. & SLEVC, L. R. (2021). What is “musical ability” and how do we measure it?. Future Directions of Music Cognition, 2021, 154–157.Google Scholar
POUND, L. & HARRISON, C. (2003). Supporting Musical Development in the Early Years. Buckingham, England: Philadelphia, PA: Open University Press.Google Scholar
PUGH, A. & PUGH, L. (1998). Music in the Early Years. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
SHOULDICE, H. N. (2019). “Everybody has something”: one teacher’s beliefs about musical ability and their connection to teaching practice and classroom culture. Research Studies in Music Education, 41(2), 189–205.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SIUM, B. (2014). How Black and Working Class Children Are Deprived of Basic Education in Canada. Rotterdam: SensePublishers.10.1007/978-94-6209-593-9CrossRefGoogle Scholar
State Council of the People’s Republic of China (2010). Suggestions on Current Development of Early Childhood Education [关于当前发展学前教育的若干意见]. Available online at: http://www.gov.cn/zwgk/2010-11/24/content_1752377.htm (accessed 10 February 2023)Google Scholar
SWANSON, B. R. (1979). Music in the Education of Children (3rd Edition). Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth.Google Scholar
TANG, C. H. (2016). 幼儿音乐教育的重要性及教学方法探究 [The importance of early childhood music education and teaching methods]. 襄阳职业技术学院学报 [Journal of Xiangyang Vocational and Technical College], 15, 111–113.Google Scholar
Trinity College London (2005). The Music Teacher’s Handbook: The Complete Resource for All Instrumental and Singing Teachers. London: Faber Music Ltd in association with Trinity College London.Google Scholar
WRIGHT, R. (1998). A holistic approach to music education. British Journal of Music Education, 15(1), 71–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
XUE, F. (2018). 幼儿园音乐教学中常见问题分析 [Analysis of common problems in music teaching in kindergartens]. 北方音乐 [Northern Music], 38, 200–206.Google Scholar
YAN, K. Y. (2021). Musicking in Chinese early childhood education: An ecological study of children’s music education in select Shandong kindergartens (Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy). University of Otago. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10523/10650 Google Scholar
YAN, K. Y. (2022). Musicking in Chinese kindergartens: case studies in Qingdao. International Journal of Music Education, 41, 1–17.Google Scholar
YANG, L. Z., FANG, L. L., XU, Z. Y. & SHEN, Y. (2015). ‘音乐学习对幼儿学习品质的促进’ [Music learning and children’s learning quality]. 学前教育研究 [Studies in Early Childhood Education], 11, 56–63.Google Scholar
ZENTNER, M. & STRAUSS, H. (2017). Assessing musical ability quickly and objectively: development and validation of the short-PROMS and the Mini-PROMS. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1400(1), 33–45.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
ZHANG, J. (2010). 吕梁市幼儿园音乐教育现状调查报告 [Lüliang Kindergarten Music Education Research Report]. Taiyuan: Shanxi University.Google Scholar
ZHANG, X. W. (2009). 我国中等城市学前音乐教育研究—以保定市区幼儿教育为案 [Research on Preschool Music Education in Secondary City of China—Case studies in Baoding]. Baoding: Hebei University.Google Scholar