Singing and playing with friends: musical identities and peer cultures in early years settings

Abstract

In this chapter I explore ways in which young children’s engagement with songs and singing in early childhood settings is inextricably linked with their lives, identities and cultures. This exploration is underpinned by a socio-cultural perspective; the view that development is influenced as much by context, culture and experiences as by biology. I discuss children’s individual and social identity development, the importance of belonging, and the ways children form peer social groups and cultures. Culture, including musical culture, is understood as being multi-faceted and as existing along a spectrum of dimensions from micro to macro. Children are seen as active creators rather than passive recipients of their cultures, in particular their peer cultures. I draw on my ethnographic research into children’s singing and music-making in two early childhood education and care settings. In that research, conducted in a major city in Australia, I found the children’s music-making, or musicking, to be an integral part of their play and as Small argues, essentially social and communicative in nature. The many ways I observed in which musicking, especially singing, supported children’s communication, sense of identity, belonging, creativity and agency, provide evidence of the value of music in early childhood education and care.