CHAPTER 6: DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS
6.3 Reasons for using musical rhymes to teach ECCE children
semester of pre-service teacher training at most South African universities does not enough to equip the pre-service teacher to effectively use music in the learning environment. Thus, the participants resorted to self-education by downloading
responds directly to research question three (Why do ECCE educators use musical rhymes as a strategy to teach communication (listening and reading) skills to children aged three and four?). The study established that the participants’ reasons were associated with the following sub-themes: 1) the nature and characteristics of children in the ECCE phase; 2) music is found in every facet of life; and 3) music has developmental and therapeutic purposes.
6.3.1 The nature and characteristics of children in the ECCE phase
The participants focused on the specific characteristics of children in the ECCE phase, and emphasised that ECCE educators should not try to stick to traditional methods of school teaching in the ECCE learning environment. Children aged three and four have short attention spans and are very physically active, thus the method of engaging with them in the learning environment should try to appeal to their need for movement, participation, and stimulation. The finding is congruent with a study conducted by Wegner et al. (2013), who found that young children’s nature, characteristics, and way of learning differs drastically from that of other youth and adults, hence the importance of using a variety of pedagogical strategies to impart the essential knowledge and skills to them. The participants in this study stated that ECCE children aged three and four are hyperactive, restless, playful, and enthusiastic. They cannot be expected to conform to traditional methods of teaching, as this will hinder their achievement of teaching and learning outcomes and objectives. This finding is supported by Izumi-Taylor et al., (2012), who affirmed that young children are active and enjoy physical activities that include jumping and moving around, hence inculcating musical play into their daily activities will enhance their healthy development and learning of any skills (cf. 5.4.1).
Another observation from this study was that children aged three and four are at the stage of speech development where they enjoy mimicking adults. This is congruent with the NCF statement that children communicate and express their feelings through signs, body language, chuckling, babbling, gurgling, and speaking (DBE, 2015; cf.
5.4.1). The study established that the repetitive nature of songs suits ECCE children’
characteristics and nature, thus aiding their acquisition of communication skills. This finding concurs with Khaghaninejad et al. (2016), who reported that music plays a key role in early language acquisition and can help boost communication learning.
The findings of this study established that the participants had an in-depth understanding of the developmental milestones and characteristics of children aged three and four, and were aware of the most suitable pedagogies for supporting their learning and acquisition of skills. Thus, they all agreed that the best and appropriate method for teaching them is through music. This finding is further supported by Winter (2015) and Jerome et al. (2009), who claimed that young children have a tendency toward social inhibition and neurotic behaviour, and that the best teaching method for calming them and supporting them to learn is by using music. Thus, this study has confirmed that the ECCE participants not only understood the use of musical rhymes in the learning environment but were able to provide reasons for their use. The nature and characteristics of the children aged three and four was one of the reasons for why they deemed it appropriate to employ musical pedagogies to support the ECCE children to learn the desirable skills. The finding correlate with Socio- Cultural Theory’s claims that effective learning lies in the social interaction between the children and more skilful and knowledgeable person (Yasnitsky,2018).
6.3.2 Music is found in every facet of life and culture
Musical pedagogies are said to be the best teaching strategies to support ECCE children’s development of language and communication skills, because of the universality of music. The participants stated that music is present in every religion and culture; hence, it is believed to be a universal language. They observed that every person is born with music, and lives with it from the cradle to the grave. This is supported by (Chorna, Filippa, De Almeida, Lordier, Monaci, Hüppi, & Guzzetta, 2019) who reported that the human foetus starts to have a perception of sound at about 25 weeks while in the womb. Other studies have found that music is an important part of everyday life across the globe, and that employing it in the learning environment makes language acquisition easy for children (Hogenes et al., 2014; Khaghaninejad et al., 2016). The participants further stated that music is one of the major mechanisms for cultural identification. This finding corresponds with Conesa and Rubio’s (2015) study, which found that nursery rhymes are present in every culture and in all
languages, hence their usefulness in an inclusive learning environment to strengthen ECCE children’s language and communication skills. These points are aligned with Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, which emphasised the acquisition of skills through effective interaction and socialisation within the children’s cultural context (Gealy, Tinney, Macdonald, & Waters, 2020)
This universal familiarity with and enjoyment of music made the ECCE educators aware of the usefulness of musical pedagogies in the ECCE learning environment. The participants in this study declared that music is included in every life activity and event, and in nearly every organisation. Because children are familiar with music and enjoy it, it is one of the best strategies for teaching children.
6.3.3 Music for developmental and therapeutic purposes
The therapeutic efficacy of music was stated as another reason for using it as teaching strategy in the ECCE learning environment. The participants mentioned that as young as the ECCE children are, some suffer from depression and stress, emotional instability, and hyperactivity, and that music is found to have the therapeutic effect of helping to calm children, and thereby helping them to be more receptive to learning the expected skills. They added that music is known for its ability to reduce stress, nervousness, and emotional and physical discomfort, thereby enhancing relaxation during teaching and learning activities. The findings are supported by Werner et al. (2017) and Clark and Harding (2012), who state that music has the potential to alleviate symptoms of depression, hence the prevalence of music in hospitals and psychiatric facilities.
The participants observed music’s efficacy in the aiding cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development of children. They mentioned, for example, the use of numeracy songs to aid cognitive development, and how encouraging the children to sing together or take turns in singing in the learning environment helped to inculcate social skills. This finding aligns with Young (2016), Cloete and Delport (2015), and Hallam (2010), who found that introducing a musical vocabulary to children in their early years enhances speech development and facilitates the early acquisition of emotional, cognitive, and social skills. The finding also aligns Christiner and Reiterer (2013), who established that employing songs as teaching strategies helped to activate
children cognitively, emotionally, and physically, thus leading to easy comprehension of the learning materials. Trimble and Hesdorffer (2017) and Hawkins (2016) found that musical activities enhanced the development of aural sensitivity, syntactic retention, and metacognitive knowledge, which are needed for the acquisition of language and communication skills. Dukić (2018) also found that introducing music to children at a young age could positively influence the acquisition of reading, listening, and mental skills.
6.4 DIFFERENT TYPES OF MUSIC USED IN THE ECCE LEARNING