CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
Early childhood is the period of rapid change and development. It is the most critical period in a child‟s musical development and has been identified in the literature as the music babble stage (Moog, 1976; Gordon, 1988) and primary music development (Levinowitz & Guilmartin, 1996). Early childhood is also the developmental period extending from the end of infancy to about six years of age; sometimes called the pre- primary school years.
Music is one of the basic curriculum areas in pre-primary school in Kenya and curriculum developers regard music as very important to children because it contributes to child development. Hanshumaker (1980) reports that music facilitates language acquisition, reading readiness, and general intellectual development. Whitwell (1977) contends that creative participation in music improves self- image, self-awareness and creates positive attitudes about one-self. Marshall (1978) found that involvement and achievement in school music build positive self-image, which is a motivation for academic learning among urban black middle school aged children. Music experiences help and prepare children to learn (MENAC, 2000). Maltester (1986) found that increased instruction in music lead to increased learning in mathematics.
Music develops children‟s self esteem. Hedrick (1998) indicates that self esteem is connected to children‟s understanding of themselves as competent individuals. He further
notes that as children learn, they naturally develop “I can do it” attitude. Gardner (1983) observes that pre-primary children often feel competent when they participate in musical activities. For example singing, dancing, drama or moving in response to music. Music appears to work wonders for brightening children‟s moods. Music requires first hand, meaningful involvement that produces a sense of pleasure for children.
Availability of instructional resources encourages the use of music in teaching. Mwangi (2000) found that music instructional resources in primary school teachers‟ training colleges in Kenya were inadequate and the available resources were underutilized or not used at all by college tutors and students. The study also revealed that music was theoretically taught by the majority of tutors. Digolo (1997) also reports similar findings in her study on the use of teaching and learning materials for music education in secondary schools in Kenya, where she found that materials for teaching music education were either inadequate or not available in most secondary schools. This study was to investigate whether music instructional resources were available in pre-primary schools and whether the resources were used in teaching.
Music training encourages the use of music in teaching. A study done by Mbeche (2010) to investigate the factors affecting the performance of aural skills at KCSE in Nairobi secondary schools found that lack of proper teacher training acted as an impediment to effective teaching of aural skills. The study further revealed that lack of adequate resources and regular training lead to poor aural performance of students in KCSE examinations. A study conducted by Shiundu (2000) to investigate the practice in music
and movement which goes on in pre-primaryschool classes in Nairobi province reveals that some activities were taught with music more than others. It was also found that lack of adequate and appropriate training in music and resources to get more relevant songs for each activity were the main factors hindering the use of music in teaching.
Use of music in a pre- school classroom. Gilllespie (2010) carried out a study that investigated how and when teachers used music in pre- school classrooms throughout the day. Direct classroom observation were conducted to determine pre- school teachers‟ use of music in four Head Start classrooms and one private pre- school classrooms for total of 24 hours of observation in each classroom. Music was observed to be used 6.5 times hour on average. All teachers used music most frequently to scaffold children‟s learning both in academic skills and social skill areas, and second most frequently to scaffold routine activities such as cleaning up and transitions of new activities. All teachers used music during group time. Music was used most frequently to scaffold routine activities such as cleaning up and transitions of new activities. All teachers used music during group time. Music was used most frequently at group times outside times specifically set aside for music and movement.
Most of the studies conducted on music and learning were based on secondary education and teacher Training colleges in Kenya but none had been done at pre- primary school level. Quality Assurance and Standards School Assessment reports (2010- 2012) had also indicated that music was not utilized as a medium of instruction in Kitale
Municipality and this created the need to conduct the study.
Statement of the Problem
Music is one of the basic curriculum areas in pre-primary school in Kenya. This is because curriculum developers regard music as very important to children. The literature reviewed had shown that music contributes to children‟s development in a variety of ways; for example it develops children‟s self –esteem, makes children competent, allows children to express themselves, develops children‟s reading and thinking skills, and it enables children to understand their culture.
Despite the importance of music as a medium of instruction as indicated by various scholars (Hanshumaker, 1980; Marshall, 1978; Dobbs, 1975; Winston, 1982, and Maltester, 1986), and KIE (2008), the Quality Assurance and Standards School Assessment reports (2010- 2012) indicated that music was not being utilized as a medium of instruction in the Municipality. Hence there was a need to conduct this study to establish pre-primary school teachers‟ use of music as a medium of instruction and investigate the relationship between the use and the factors that may be influencing the use of music as a medium of instruction in Kitale Municipality in Trans Nzoia County.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to establish whether music was used as a medium of instruction by pre-primary school teachers in Kitale Municipality. The study was also to investigate how the use of music relates to the factors that may be influencing its use namely teacher training, teaching experience, academic qualifications and attitude towards music.
Objectives of the Study
The objectives of the study were:
- To find out the relationship between pre-primary school teachers‟ training and use of music as a medium of instruction.
- To determine the relationship between pre-primary school teachers‟ teaching experience and use of music as a medium of instruction.
- To find out the relationship between pre-primary school teachers‟ academic qualifications and use of music as a medium of instruction.
- To determine the relationship between pre-primary school teachers‟ attitudes towards music and use of music as a medium of instruction.
Research Hypotheses
H1: There is a relationship between pre-primary school teachers‟ training and use of music as a medium of instruction.
H2: There is a relationship between pre-primary school teachers‟ teaching experience and use of music as a medium of instruction.
H3: There is a relationship between pre-primary school teachers‟ academic qualifications and use of music as a medium of instruction.
H4: There is a relationship between pre-primary school teachers‟ attitudes towards music and use of music as a medium of instruction.
Significance of the Study
This study was designed to establish how pre-primary school teachers were using music as a medium of instruction and also reveal important variables that influence pre-primary school teachers use of music as a medium of instruction. National Centre for Early Childhood Education (NACECE) may use the findings of the study to improve in-service teacher training programme to include knowledge, skills and attitudes to develop positive attitudes towards music.
Curriculum designers may use the findings of the study to add content that will promote the use of music as a medium of instruction in other activity areas like mathematics, language, creative, outdoor, life skills, religious education and science as used in pre- primary school curriculum. If teacher education programmes are to develop positive attitude towards use of music, then decisions about the structure and content of those courses need to be based upon an understanding of the factors which influence the development of positive attitudes towards the use of music as a medium of instruction.
The findings of the study will benefit pre-primary school teachers and children because it may lead to increased use of music as a medium of instruction. The findings of this study may also lead to more studies on the use of music as a medium of instruction.
