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FINNUT-Forskning og innovasjon i utdanningssektoren

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

Alternative title: Levende kulturarv. Bevaring og fornyelse av immateriell kulturarv i møter mellom studenter, barn, barnehageansatte og sangappen TRALL

Awarded: NOK 10.0 mill.

The kindergarten is an important cultural arena for young children growing up in today's multicultural society. In the project Vibrant Connection, we are particularly involved with how music, both traditional and new songs, can contribute to the preservation and renewal of immaterial cultural heritage in kindergartens and in kindergarten teacher training programs. Music and singing form an essential and inherent part of the environment in kindergarten and can be seen as part of the kindergarten’s cultural heritage and aesthetic practice. The quality of young children's life is closely linked to the experiences and practices children take part in. Most people have an idea that singing is an important part of kindergartens everyday life, research shows that the selection of songs that are sung is relatively small, and that a varied musical work depends on enthusiasts. How technology can affect students' and staff's learning and professional work with music and cultural heritage will be investigated in an action research-inspired design. The project will also include a survey which sheds light on how a larger sample of kindergarten teacher students and staff in Norwegian kindergartens assess their interest in, and commitment to, music and singing. Overall, the project Vibrant Connection will create a deeper understanding of how technology can contribute to influencing performers' professional work with music and cultural heritage. The project will also explore what immaterial cultural heritage may mean when growing up in today's multicultural society, if musical heritage matter to how professionals and students' engage in the kindergarten's singing and music practice, and technology as a tool in working with musical heritage. The research will be perfomed in close collaboration between Department of Early Childhood Education at OsloMet, kindergartens from Oslo municipality, Northern Aker and Læringsverkstedet, a private kindergarten chain in Norway.

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.

Funding scheme:

FINNUT-Forskning og innovasjon i utdanningssektoren