School-based integrated curriculum: An integrated music approach in one Hong Kong kindergarten

CITATION

Lau, W. and Grieshaber, S. (2018) School-based integrated curriculum: An integrated music approach in one Hong Kong kindergarten, British Journal of Music Education, 35(2), pp.133-152

For library access / research help in a similar topic: anyangoceline19@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
The implementation of a school-based integrated curriculum enables schools to plan
a balanced, flexible and coherent curriculum in order to reduce subject specification,
especially in kindergartens. Despite kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region (SAR) being encouraged to integrate music content across subject
areas, these boundaries still exist and prove challenging. This instrumental case study
shows how one kindergarten teacher attempted to integrate other subjects into the music
curriculum through movement and games, and encourage children’s creativity. Eight
detailed observations of music lessons and an interview with the kindergarten teacher
depict her efforts at integration. Findings show that some progress was made and that the
support of the principal was pivotal. They also suggest ways in which kindergarten teachers
might begin to incorporate more creative integrated approaches to music education and
have some applicability to other kindergarten settings where transmission approaches tend
to dominate and teachers want to encourage music integration and children’s musical
creativity.


REFERENCES
ANFARA, V. A., BROWN, K. M. & MANGIONE, T. L. (2002) Qualitative analysis on stage: Making the
research process more public. Educational Researcher, 31(7), 28–36.

BARRETT, M. S. (2012). Belonging, being and becoming musical: An introduction to children’s musical
worlds. In S. Wright (Ed.), Children, Meaning Making and the Arts (2nd Edn.) (pp. 57–84). Frenchs
Forest, NSW, Australia: Pearson.

BARRETT, M. S. & TAFURI, J. (2012) Creative meaning-making in infants and young children’s musical
cultures. In F. G. Welch, & G. E. McPherson (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Music Education (Vol. 1,
pp. 296–313). USA: Oxford University Press.

BOGDEN, R. C. & BIKLEN, S. K. (2003) Qualitative Research for Education: An Introduction to Theory and
Methods. Boston MA: Allyn and Bacon.

CHEN–HAFTECK, L. & MANG, E. (2012) Music and language in early childhood development and learning.
In F. G. Welch, & G. E. McPherson (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Music Education (Vol. 1, pp. 261–
278). USA: Oxford University Press.

CHEUNG, R. H. P. (2012) Teaching for creativity: Examining the beliefs of early childhood teachers and
their influence on teaching practices. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 37(3), 43–51.

CHEUNG, R. H. P. & LEUNG, C. H. (2014) Preschool teachers’ perceptions of creative personality important
for fostering creativity: Hong Kong perspective. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 12, 78–89.

CRESWELL, J. W. (2012) Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and
Qualitative Research (4th Edn.) Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

CRESWELL, J. W. (2013) Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches (3rd
ed.). Los Angeles: Sage.

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (CDC) (1996) Guide to the Pre-Primary Curriculum. Hong Kong
SAR: Curriculum Development Council.

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (CDC) (2000) Learning to Learn: The Way Forward in
CurriculumDevelopment. ConsultationDocument.Hong Kong: The Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region of the People’s Republic of China (November).

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (CDC) (2006) Guide to the Pre-Primary Curriculum. Hong Kong
SAR: Curriculum Development Council.

EDUCATION BUREAU (2006) School-Based Management File Series: What Is a School-Based
Management System? Hong Kong: School based management team of Education Bureau.
http://www.edb.gov.hk/index.aspx?nodeID=1942&langno=1. Retrieved 1 July 2012.

EDUCATION DEPARTMENT (1999) List of Dos and Don’ts for Kindergartens (Schools Curriculum Circular
no. 4/99). Hong Kong: Hong Kong Government, Education Department.

FUNG, K. H. & LAM, C. C. (2012) The tension between parents’ informed choice and school transparency:
Consumerism in the Hong Kong education voucher scheme. Springer Science, 44, 31–52.

GRAY, D. E. (2004) Doing Research in the Real World. London: Sage.

HARWOOD, E. & MARSH, K. (2012) Children’s ways of learning inside and outside the classroom. In
F. G. Welch, & G. E. McPherson (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Music Education (Vol. 1, pp. 322–
340). USA: Oxford University Press.

HO, J. (2015) Curriculum and Pedagogical Practices in Four Hong Kong Kindergartens. Unpublished PhD
thesis. Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.

HU, B. Y. & SZENTE, J. (2009) Exploring the quality of early childhood education in China: Implications for
early childhood teacher education. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 30, 247–262.

ISENBERG, J. P. & JALONGO, M. R. (2006) Creative Thinking and Arts–Based Learning: Preschool through
Fourth Grade. Merrill: Upper Saddle River. New Jersey.

ISENBERG, J. P. & JALONGO, M. R. (2010) Creative Thinking and Arts-Based Learning: Preschool through
Fourth Grade (5th Edn.) Merrill: Upper Saddle River. New Jersey.

JENTSCHKE, S., KOELSCH, S., & FRIEDERICI, A. D. (2005) Investigating the relationship of music and
language in children: Influences of musical training and language impairment. Annals of the New York
Academy of Science, 1060, 231–242.

LAU, W. C. M. (2008) Arts Education: Developmentally appropriate integrated music activities for young
children. Hong Kong Journal of Early Childhood, 7(2), 69–74.

LAU, W. C. M. & CHEONG, U. I. (2008) Enhancing children’s creativity through interactive music
curriculum in kindergarten. New Horizons in Education, 56(2), 62–74.

LAU,W. C. M. & GRIESHABER, S. (2010) Musical free play: A case for invented musical notation in a Hong
Kong kindergarten. British Journal of Music Education, 27(2), 127–140.

MAGNE, C., SCHON, D. & BESSON, M. (2006) Musician children detect pitch violations in both music and
language better than nonmusician children: Behavioral and electrophysiological approaches. Journal
of Cognitive Neuroscience, 18(2), 199–211.

MAYESKY, M. (2009) Creative Activities for Young Children (9th Edn.) Clifton Park, N.Y: Delmar, Cengage
Learning.

MAYESKY, M. (2012) Creative Activities for Young Children. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

MEI, L. (2009) Bridging disciplinary boundaries. Education Canada, 49(3), 40–43.

MOORHEAD, G. E. & POND, D. (1978) Music of Young Children. Santa Barbara, CA: Pillsbury Foundation
for Advancement of Music Education. (Original work published 1941, 1942, 1944, 1951).

RAO, N. & LI, H. (2009) Quality matters: Early childhood education policy in Hong Kong. Early Child
Development and Care, 179(3), 233–245.

ROBINSON, L. E., WEBSTER, E. K., LOGAN, S. W., LUCAS, W. A. & BARBER, L. T. (2012) Teaching
practices that promote motor skills in early childhood. Early Childhood Education Journal, 40, 79–86.

STAKE, R. E. (1995) The Art of Case Study Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

WINEBERG, S. & GROSSMAN, P. (2000) Interdisciplinary Curriculum: Challenges to Implementation. New
York: Teachers College Press.

WONG, P. C., SLOE, E., RUSSO, N. M., DEES, T. & KRAUS, N. (2007) Musical experience shapes human
brainstem encoding of linguistic pitch patterns. Nature Neuroscience, 10, 420–422.

WONG, S. S. & LAU, W. C. (2008) Innovative changes in early childhood curriculum: Creative rhythmic
education. New Horizons in Education, 56(1), 95–106.

WRAGA, W. G. (2009) Toward a connected core curriculum. Educational Horizons, 87(2), 88–96.
WU, S. C. (2014) Practical and conceptual aspects of children’s play in Hong Kong and German
kindergarten. Early Years, 34(1), 49–66.

ZHBANOVA, K. S., RULE, A. C., MONTGOMERY, S. E. & NIELSEN, L. E. (2010) Defining the difference:
Comparing integrated and traditional single-subject lessons. Early Childhood Education Journal, 38,
251–258.

ZHU, J., & ZHANG, J. (2008) Contemporary trends and developments in early childhood education in
China. International Journal of Early Years Education, 28(20), 173–182.