An Examination of Elementary General Music Teaching Practices for Congruence With the Reggio Emilia Approach

• In Event: 43.055 - Evaluating Music Teaching and Assessing Music Learning

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which current elementary general music teaching practices are congruent with three key concepts of the Reggio Emilia approach: documentation; the hundred languages; and child as protagonist. Elementary general music teachers (N = 280) from five states completed an online questionnaire. Overall, their responses indicated teaching practice that held some congruence with the Reggio Emilia approach. However, the range, extensiveness, and sophistication of these practices were limited, suggesting an incomplete or tenuous congruence. Variance in the congruence between teaching practice and the concepts of documentation and the hundred languages could not be explained by education level or the degree to which teachers reported being influenced by major general music pedagogies.

Author

• H. Ellie Falter, Drake University