AMUSED – The MUSical Activities in Educational Services from an integrated 0-6 year perspective
The connection between music and development is a widely recognized topic within the scientific community, generating increasing interest and numerous contributions. Many studies aim to analyze the relationship between musical and non-musical skills, such as cognitive, rhythmic, and linguistic abilities. Additionally, music plays a crucial role in children’s identity development in several ways. For instance, it serves as a supportive tool during the delicate transition from nursery to kindergarten, fostering relationships and inclusion, which positively impacts children’s socio-emotional development and enhances the psychological well-being of parents while promoting cooperation with educators and teachers.
These aspects are well-studied and understood in contemporary scientific research but are rarely analyzed simultaneously, particularly concerning populations younger than those typically examined. This research is innovative and valuable: it studies all these variables and then it concerns a population often overlooked—children aged 2–4. The project encompasses all stakeholders in early childhood education services: children, parents, educators, and teachers. For each group, an activity is proposed to enhance skills, well-being, or the integration of educational offerings. Specifically:
1) Designing musical training for nurseries and kindergartens based on a literature review, evaluating its effects on cognitive, rhythmic, and linguistic development.
2) Developing an integrated training program for educators and teachers focusing on the relationship between musical activities and child development for children aged 0–6.
3) Assessing the level of well-being achieved in the family environment following the project.
The project is currently in progress. So far, cognitive ethnographic observations have been conducted, and the construction of questionnaires, tests, and tools necessary for completing all phases of the project has been finalized. Meetings with parents and educational professionals have also been held to explain the project. Preliminary tests will begin shortly to establish the children’s baselines before starting the music workshop. This will be followed by additional tests to assess any changes in the examined skills. Concurrently, joint training sessions on education through music will be offered to educators and teachers.
The educational services involved were identified within the territorial area of the Municipality of Verona, Italy.
If the project succeeds as anticipated, several essential outcomes will be achieved: knowledge on this topic will be expanded and clarified, opening new research avenues, particularly concerning learning, motor, or language disorders at an early age, as well as preventive interventions that could be implemented through a series of reinforcements, without waiting for a late diagnosis. Progress toward an integrated 0-6 system, as stipulated by Legislative Decree 65 of April 13, 2017—which aims to establish a unified nursery-kindergarten training path across Italy in line with European directives—will be enhanced by including parents, teachers, and educators in the project. The project’s success could further solidify this best practice and integrate it into other educational initiatives. The hope is that this effort will not only support children’s intellectual, psychological, and social development but also enhance the well-being of parents, educators, and teachers, thereby strengthening the educational system and society as a whole.
Keywords: informal music training, intellectual capacities, preschoolers, integrated 0-6 system
Biography
Ambra Natati is a doctoral student in the human sciences and psychology curriculum at the University of Verona. She studied philosophy at the University of Milan. She accepted a fellowship in psychology, as her dream is to pursue an academic career.
She could participate in international conferences and join a summer school organized by the University of Verona. She also presented a poster on her research project for the welcome day planned for the new doctoral students at the University of Verona. She is working on multiple articles and a poster both for journals and international conferences. These contributions include a thematic analysis of ethnographic observations conducted in the educational services in Verona, a pre-registration of her systematic review and an article about the review itself, a collaboration with a colleague on her systematic review, a correlational study between two music questionnaires and executive functions and rhythmic skills in 2-4-year-olds.
University of Verona, Italy – ambra.natati@univr.it