Promoting Children’s Emotional Wellbeing through Music Education: Teachers’ Practice, Conceptualization, and Beliefs

Emotional well-being is crucial for holistic growth of children. Although there is evidence that participation in music has a positive e:ect on emotional development, little empirical knowledge exists regarding how early childhood teachers perceive and implement music-related practices that foster children's emotional well-being. As key mediators of children's emotions in everyday classroom situations, early childhood teachers play an important role in shaping the music experiences for young learners. The way teachers define the purpose of music influences the frequency and quality of interactions based on music making. This study aims to examine: (1) beliefs of early childhood teachers regarding the connection between music and children's emotional wellbeing; (2) strategies used by teachers to foster emotional development through the implementation of music-related practices; (3) contextual factors that influence the above-mentioned issues.

Building on theories of sociocultural psychology (e.g., Vygotsky, 1978) and emotional sca:olding (Hammond, 2014), this research interprets classroom musicmaking as a mediated social activity through which children can engage in emotional expression and regulation with respect to shared socio-cultural norms. This interpretivist study employed a qualitative multiple case study approach to collect data. A sample consisted of eight early childhood teachers from four kindergartens in Hong Kong. Data were gathered during six months by means of semi-structured interviews, classroom observations of music activities (non-participant), teacher reflections in written form. Thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2021) was carried out to identify themes and variations in teachers' beliefs, intentions and practices with respect to the topic under investigation. Multiple methods ensured reliability of the findings through triangulation.

Findings include three themes. Teachers regard music as a medium of emotional representation, giving opportunities to express and regulate emotions without relying on language. Second, practices involving music were always performed in the context of relational pedagogy. They helped teachers either to defuse emotional tension in children or to promote group cohesion through celebration of common joy. Finally, systematic barriers such as fixed curriculum and lack of musical confidence among teachers often restricted teachers' ability to implement emotionally focused music activities. Teachers' beliefs concerning the pedagogical significance of music appeared to be strongly connected with their musical backgrounds and disposition. It is important to note that teachers who regarded music as transformational reported more intentionality while designing activities aimed at fostering children's emotional wellbeing.

This study indicates that potential for fostering emotional well-being in early childhood through music relies heavily on teachers' beliefs and reflective awareness of affective features of music experience. Professional development for early childhood teachers should emphasize the importance of self-reflection in regard to one's musical identity and emotions.