The self-perceptions of inservice and preservice kindergarten teachers in Kaohsiung and Pingtung regions concerning the usefulness of the music content of their teacher training programs.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study (1) ascertained the perceived effectiveness of preservice and inservice training of kindergarten teachers in music education at Pingtung Teachers College with regard to their competencies, and (2) determined the differences between the perceptions of 110 preservice and 129 inservice teachers from two selected areas of Taiwan about necessary competencies for music teaching, as well as examined their expectations of their preservice and inservice music training.
The research questions addressed: (1) the self-perceived preparatory needs of Early Childhood Education preservice teachers for music teaching; (2) the self-perceived preparatory needs of ECE inservice kindergarten teachers for music teaching, and (3) significant differences between the self-perceived needs of preservice and inservice kindergarten teachers for music teaching.
The data were gathered using a questionnaire called The Self-Perceptions of Kindergarten Teachers Regarding Necessary Music Competencies (PKTNMC). Descriptive statistical analysis was used to compute frequency, percents, means, and a t-test.
There were five conclusions: (1) Teachers colleges should provide practical and accessible music curricula applicable to the kindergarten classroom so that inservice and preservice teachers are well prepared to meet the growing need for music education in kindergarten; (2) all inservice and preservice kindergarten teachers in this study agreed that all the competencies listed in the questionnaire were at least somewhat useful; (3) teachers colleges should provide more conferences or training programs to help kindergarten teachers learn a variety of competencies; (4) the teacher preparation program is valuable for providing kindergarten teachers with the music and music-teaching competencies they need, and (5) kindergarten administrators and school districts should support and encourage inservice teachers to attend workshops and training programs to enhance their teaching abilities, especially with teaching skills that have been effective for their students.
The recommendations from this study include: (1) actual plans for publishing a new music curriculum, integrated with other arts, in Taiwan, that incorporates music and music-teaching competencies; (2) repeating the survey three years consecutively to investigate fluctuations; (3) conducting the same study nationally; (4) extending the study to other subjects; (5) investigating music experiences in kindergarten, and (6) determining how inservice teachers' backgrounds affect their responses to the questionnaire.