Vibrant Connection. Perpetuation and Transformation of Musical Cultural Heritage in Early Childhood Professions

Kindergartens are an important cultural arena for children who grow up in today's multicultural society. In the project, we are particularly concerned with how music can contribute to the preservation and renewal of intangible cultural heritage in kindergarten and early childhood teacher education. The project is interdisciplinary, and includes music theory and practice, pedagogy and didactics, and technology. The research is done in collaboration between Department of Early Childhood Educatio, OsloMet, the City of Oslo, district of Nordre Aker, and Læringsverkstedet, the largest private kindergarten chain in Norway. Kindergarten teachers and students' assessment of their own opportunities to engage in music work. The research question: "How do kindergarten teachers and students assess their ability to participate in music activities and communication with children, and how does their cultural heritage contribute to professional development?" is examined quantitatively. A survey was prepared in the period November 2023-April 2024. The survey asks a selection of kindergarten teacher students and staff in Norwegian kindergartens how they assess their interest in and their commitment to music and singing. Similar surveys have been conducted before. To ensure a basis for comparison, some of the questions are taken from three previous surveys: Goldsmith MSI, GoBan, and a self-assessment study. After a close reading of findings from previous surveys, a group of questions were reformulated to better capture the kindergarten teacher's professional practice and the complexity of the kindergarten's organisation. Due to the need of high enough response rate, the survey has extended the deadline. We will start variable analysis as soon as we close the form in mid-October. One of the goals of Vibrant Connections is to contribute to educational quality. We qualitatively investigate how Trall affects interaction with music in the students' practice. About 50% of the students have agreed to share their reflection notes. How technology can contribute to kindergarten staff's music work The question of how technology can contribute to developing students' and staff's learning and work with music and cultural heritage is examined in an action research-inspired design. The work is carried out in collaboration with 14 kindergarten departments in the Eastern Norway area. The project methodology is inspired by action research (MacNaughton, 2005, Kemmis, 2007), and the first year has been characterised by dialogue and activity-based interaction. We have spent time establishing the collaboration, mapping the kindergartens' practices today and introducing TRALL in the kindergartens. Activities: - regular meetings with the steering group to adjust course - development and implementation of standpoint analysis - Meetings with the managers of the involved kindergartens to inform about the project, procedures and formal guidelines. - Kick-off with emphasis on inspiration and start-up in February 24. - The research group visits participating kindergartens to follow their development work. - meetings with educational leaders for knowledge, experience sharing, and reflection - Development of a method booklet, as support and inspiration for the music work in the departments. During this period, the participants have completed the first loop in the action research spiral: Mapping practice – planning for new actions – implementing – reflecting on what has been done. In October, we start up the second loop in the kindergartens. The concept of intangible cultural heritage Overall, the Living Cultural Heritage project will create a deeper understanding of how intangible cultural heritage is important for professional practitioners and students' involvement in kindergarten's singing and music practice. The concept of intangible cultural heritage is a relatively new concept in educational research. We work on a systematic review guided by the question: What can intangible cultural heritage in educational research be understood as, and how do publications that deal with intangible cultural heritage with a focus on song and music present, quality/meaning making in kindergarten and kindergarten teacher education? PhD candidate and postdoctoral fellow PhD candidate Eilen Bergvik started the project on 1 September 2023. She has carried out a collaborative project together with three departments and investigated how kindergarten teachers can work with children's participation in circle times including intangible cultural heritage. Postdoctoral fellow Nina Odegard started in August 2024, with working title "The Sound of the Kindergarten". The goal is to start the exploration together with two of the departments in the autumn of 2024. On September 24, 2024, Vibrant Connections presented at the international conference "Childlife". Blog: https://uni.oslomet.no/levendekulturarv

The quality of young children’s everyday lives is closely linked to formal and informal early childhood settings, as well as to the content of their experiences and practices. Music and singing form a substantial and inherent part of the content of early childhood settings and can be seen as part of the cultural heritage and aesthetic practices of kindergartens. As such, musical practices are important and relevant to the quality of young children’s lives. Vibrant Cultural Heritage aim to investigate whether technological tools in the form of a musical heritage application, TRALL, can serve as a pedagogical support for students and early years practitioners in developing quality aesthetic music practices in kindergartens. The question of how technology can affect diverse student learning and practitioners’ professional work with music and cultural heritage, will be investigated in an action-research inspired design in combination with a quantitative study addressing how early years practitioners and students assess their interest and engagement in music and singing. The research will be conducted in close collaboration between Early Childhood Teacher Education at Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo Municipality District Nordre Aker and Læringsverkstedet, the largest private kindergarten chain in Norway. A methodological triangulation, consisting of quantitative studies combined with qualitative investigation and practice-oriented action research, will be applied to create a deeper understanding of how technology can contribute to and affect practitioners’ professional work with music and cultural heritage. The research will be conducted in close collaboration between Oslo Metropolitan University and students and staff in 24 kindergartens in eastern Norway.