“A Piece of Normal Life When Everything Else is Changed” Remote Early Childhood Music Classes and Toddler Socialization

Abstract

Parents of infants and toddlers have expressed concerns that their children’s social-emotional development has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this intrinsic case study was to gather information about parents’ and caregivers’ perspectives of experiences in a remote early childhood music class that incorporated explicit social-emotional instruction based on state learning standards. This study is a follow up to a previous intrinsic case study concerning parents’ experiences in a remote early childhood music class. Families who chose to participate in synchronous online caregiver-child classes at a local community music school were invited to participate in interviews. Eight adults, representing seven enrolled families, chose to participate. Four themes arose from the interviews: (a) Pandemic and the Upheaval of Family Life, (b) The Experience of the Child in Remote Music Class, (c) The Role of the Parent in Remote Music Class, and (d) The Unpredictable World of Remote Music Class. We share implications for teaching and suggestions for future research.