Musical pathfinders of the kindergarten

Abstract

Based on an empirical study in selected Norwegian kindergartens, this article investigates the practice of musically active employees, with or without professional training. The overarching aim is to develop an understanding of early childhood music practitioners that may challenge dominant views of professional identity and provide some new images of what it means to work musically in a kindergarten. Departing from a sociological approach, five different ‘musical pathfinders’ are identified: the disc jockey, the facilitator, the choir leader, the caregiver and the performer. These ‘ideal types’ are discussed in the light of issues concerning cultural diversity, negotiations of professionalism, repertoire selection, the use of music technology, children’s participation, and the relationship between formal and informal learning. The discussion raises critical questions concerning music activity in early childhood institutions, highlighting professionals’ personal cultural experiences, preferences and practices as legitimate points of reference in the development of professional identity.

Background

Currently, the social function of music in society is characterised by multiplicity and diversity both in terms of genre and style and with regard to the people who are actively involved in it. Music preferences and practices affect us, define us and are part of our social positioning, whether we listen to popular music at the gym, take part in traditional folk dances, sing in a choir, play in a band or attend an opera performance. Musical diversity has never been greater, while, at the same time, our access to recorded music has never been easier or faster. Hence, in view of the efforts that Norwegian kindergartens are making to comply with the political and educational goals of promoting cultural diversity, it is appropriate to look to the field of music both as one of education and as an arena for stimulating relationships across cultural backgrounds. It is worth noting that, in the public discourse on cultural diversity in education, the focus is largely directed towards language, religion and cultural background, while music, drama and the arts are rarely brought into the discussion. The significant role music plays in processes of personal identification (Ruud, 1997), as well as cross-cultural communication (e.g. Green, 2011), calls for a stronger, more nuanced awareness surrounding musical practices in kindergartens aiming to encourage cultural diversity.

This article is drawn from data collected as part of the research study ‘Musical Diversity in Kindergartens’, conducted by the authors as part of the ‘Competence for Diversity’ programme funded by the Norwegian Directorate for Education. The article specifically investigates the practices of musically active employees, with or without professional training. Assuming that growing cultural diversity is reflected in an increasing variety of approaches to musical practices, we address the following research question: ‘How can we understand the various practices, identifications and subject positions of early childhood music practitioners, and how may these challenge dominant views of professional identity and provide new images of what it means to work musically in a kindergarten?’

We understand cultural diversity in the broadest sense; it concerns cultural positionings related to gender, language, beliefs, age, education and fashion trends. In accordance with recent publications (Kasin, 2012; Vestad, 2013), our study has provided insight into some of the significant changes that the cultural practices of Norwegian kindergartens have undergone in recent years. These are changes influenced by increasing cultural diversity in society, and new policies of early childhood education and care (ECEC), as well as in the composition of kindergarten staff and the groups of children. They include:

• A stronger emphasis on the kindergarten as a cultural institution

• Less focus on common cultural values

• More space for the cultures of minority groups

• More use of popular culture not originally intended for children

• Greater variety in the possible subject positions that culturally interested employees can occupy

• More use of technology (streaming, downloads, apps, tablets)

• A growing proportion of male practitioners

Method

The fieldwork this study is based on was carried out in seven kindergartens in the Oslo area. Our selection of kindergartens and informants was strategic and purposive (Ritchie et al., 2014; Teddlie and Yu, 2016). Based on our networks as early childhood music educators and researchers, we picked out kindergartens with a strong emphasis on music. In our selection of kindergartens, we involved students on the ‘Workplace-Based Early Childhood Education’ programme at Oslo Metropolitan University, who were asked to suggest research locations. We focused our investigation deliberately on professionals who engage with music as a significant part of their job. The criterion for inclusion was an active engagement with music on a daily basis, rather than a formal background in music education or professional ECEC training.

The research data, which was collected between April 2014 and September 2016, consisted of observations, field notes, interviews and audio-recordings of musical activity in all seven kindergartens. The observations and recordings were carried out during free play, organised circle time and meals. We made a total of 23 audio-recordings of musical activity in both organised and unorganised settings, and conducted 11 semi-structured interviews with music practitioners and 2 with kindergarten leaders (Kvale and Brinkmann, 2015), with an average length of 30 minutes. The interviews focused primarily on the informants’ perceptions and reflections on their own work: their ‘participant knowledge’ (Rasmussen, 2010). The study was registered with the Norwegian Centre for Research Data and conducted in compliance with their ethical guidelines regarding informed consent and confidentiality.

Throughout the research process, we alternated between fieldwork and discussions in the author group. Our analysis, terminology and interpretations developed in a continuous process throughout the study, through conversations and discussions about our experiences, observations and empirical data. We used open coding (Corbin and Strauss, 2015) by first labelling smaller parts of the data material – responses, utterances, observations of actions – in ways that connected to different aspects of the participants’ musical practice. Examples of the labels used in our coding included ‘care’, ‘performance’ and ‘leadership’. This allowed us to make comparisons between different parts of the data, linking recordings, observations and interviews. For example, our analytical concept ‘performer’ was developed through statements from practitioners such as ‘I have a real urge to play’ or ‘Friday is show time’, and observations of practitioners singing self-composed ‘kindergarten rock’ with children or engaging in children’s ‘microphone play’ (with a broomstick).

Pathways

Our theoretical foundation is based on the seminal work of music sociologist Ruth Finnegan (1989) and her key concept ‘pathways’, which can be understood as a metaphor for the available trajectories that individuals with a cultural commitment stake out and choose to follow. Finnegan sees an active commitment to music as a common everyday strategy, which plays a part in negotiations of personal and social identity, while also affording opportunities for social positioning, recognition and status.

The ‘pathway’ is a dynamic image; it lies there and can be followed, while its very existence depends on regular use. Forgotten pathways become overgrown and may disappear altogether, while it will always be possible to leave the beaten path and tread a completely new one. Thus, there is a balance between being guided along a certain pathway and taking the lead by creating new pathways, maintaining them, expanding them or neglecting them. One of our intentions of using this metaphor ‘is to avoid notions of musical practices as stable and fixed’ (Finnegan, 1989: 306). Moreover, the purpose is to acknowledge the dynamic potential of human agency and the ability to make choices at the ‘crossroads’ we encounter.

Our approach, based on Finnegan’s ‘pathways’, implies recognising the complex relationships between individuals and their social surroundings – between shaping social structures and being shaped by them. This aspect resonates with studies of ECEC professional identity, notably the work of Jayne Osgood (2006: 5), who points out that practitioners are not passively shaped by the social structures that surround them, but ‘are active in challenging, negotiating and reforming the discourses through which they are positioned’ (see also Osgood, 2010, 2013). Kindergarten practitioners have opportunities to actively challenge and resist, redefine and reformulate well-established and dominant understandings of their professionalism, not least through their engagement with culture and music.

Musical pathfinders

In our study, we have seen that the musical life of a kindergarten largely rests on individuals with a personal commitment to music. Consequently, we consider a focus on these employees as indispensable for understanding how musical diversity is practised. Based on Finnegan’s theorising, we have chosen to label them ‘musical pathfinders’ – employees who create and follow musical pathways in their daily work. They are people who are engaged in music both in the workplace and in their leisure time, thus establishing a connection between the private and the professional sphere.

‘Pathfinders’ in our use is evidently related to the notion of ‘subject positions’, originally adopted within social psychology by Davies and Harré (1990) and today also widely employed in educational research (e.g. Mausethagen and Kostøl, 2010; Vestad, 2014). Socially recognised subject positions are the result of the discursive practice of musical pathfinders. The social environment of a kindergarten makes certain positions available while, at the same time, the positions themselves are shaped by each individual’s choices and agency. As with ‘subject positions’, our terminology directs attention towards procedural matters rather than established or formal positions – the positioning process is more interesting than the position it leads up to. The pathfinders occupy informal and potentially changing subject positions, which are embedded in personal identity and rarely established on an institutional level. As Mausethagen and Kostøl (2010: 234) point out, an investigation of teachers’ subject positions must imply focusing on ‘how actions have to do with who you are’. Most of the practices and activities of musical pathfinders are not covered by their job descriptions, but are closely linked to personal preferences and cultural commitment – especially to cultural arenas outside the kindergarten.

Since our pathfinders’ negotiation of professional identity takes place within a field that is undergoing major changes, their construction of subject positions involves exploring untrodden paths, often challenging hegemonic discourses and taken-for-granted notions of what it means to be an early years professional. It may involve unsettling dominant social constructions of a ‘feminised’ ECEC and challenging notions of caring as a gendered ‘substitute motherhood’ (Osgood, 2013: 8, 9). New, ‘extended’ definitions of professionalism (Cameron, 2006) may imply greater multiplicity in the ways in which ECEC practitioners are viewed, allowing for more varied understandings that are intimately linked to the practitioners’ cultural background and personal biography.

Being a musical pathfinder will often imply leadership – it is not only about finding your own way, but about taking initiatives, organising and showing the way for others. This has to do with the essentially social character of any musical practice. In the kindergarten, playing, singing, listening and dancing are largely social activities. Musical pathfinders are resourceful people whose commitment makes music happen, facilitating social musical moments and inspiring both children and other adults to participate. They receive general recognition for their musical activities, and understanding for the professional relevance of their musical pathways extending beyond the kindergarten. Generally speaking, a personal cultural commitment and the ability to use this in one’s job are sought-after qualities, often allowing musical pathfinders the freedom to cultivate their personal music preferences as part of their profession.

In our further analysis and discussion, we have found it useful to engage with Max Weber’s concept of the ‘ideal type’ as an analytical tool (Weber and Swedberg, 1999). An ideal type is understood as a strategic ‘unified analytical structure’ that highlights distinctive features in order to make it easier to make comparisons and perform analysis (Weber and Swedberg, 1999: 248). The purpose is not to give precise empirical descriptions, but to construct categories by refining and underlining certain aspects. Based on our previously described methodological approach involving open coding and labelling of the research data (Corbin and Strauss, 2015), we developed five different ideal-type pathfinders: the disc jockey (DJ), the facilitator, the choir leader, the caregiver and the performer. There may undoubtedly be others, as well as various combinations of these, but these five should provide an image of the diversity found in Norwegian kindergartens today.

In the following presentations, a number of excerpts from personal interviews are cited. These are marked with quotation marks. This does not mean that each ideal type should be understood as a presentation of the specific kindergarten practitioners we met in our study; rather, they are constructed with the aim of illustrating and emphasising particular features that we have understood as significant in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of musical pathfinders.

We have chosen to describe three of the pathfinders as women and two of them as men. This choice is primarily based on our observations, but also reflects the common distribution of gender found in the different pathfinder positions. The proportion of male staff in Norwegian kindergartens has been gradually increasing over the past few decades. It is today about 9%, while the proportion of men in leading positions is 8%. ⁴ Among those practitioners involved in music, there is a somewhat larger percentage of men, as clearly suggested by the gender composition on ECEC music training courses at Oslo Metropolitan University and other Norwegian universities.

The DJ

The DJ is the kindergarten’s foremost provider of recorded music. She has experience of working as a DJ in her spare time and ‘often listens to music all day’. She downloads music and videos from online services such as YouTube, Spotify and Wimp. She is always up to date with the latest interactive music apps for computer tablets and smartphones, using them actively with the children. She lets the children record songs and sounds of the kindergarten, playing with them and making arrangements using digital software like GarageBand, Audacity, Bloom, Gyro Synth and Easy Beats.

Her use of music in the kindergarten is conscious, but with lots of room for spontaneity. She is concerned with the children’s participation and follows up their suggestions by helping them find the music they ask for on the Internet. On kindergarten excursions, she often brings along her own portable music player and a small Music Angel speaker. On one outing, a melody she hears a child humming makes her immediately find it on the Internet and play it: ‘I just went straight to Wimp [an app on her phone], connected my speaker and we suddenly had group singing’. The DJ has her own private playlists and also creates playlists for the children, tailored to their preferences. Her repertoire is wide-ranging, but concentrates on the popular music she has a personal liking for. There is little music specially made for children. She wants to make children familiar with ‘the good music’ so that they may get ‘other impulses than the Top 20 list and what is playing on P4’. ¹

The DJ is fond of listening, moving, playing and singing along to recorded music. She makes the kindergarten come alive by arranging disco sessions and getting the children to dance to the music she plays – often participating herself by dancing with them. At the same time, the DJ regards music as a good way to influence children’s moods and the general atmosphere of the kindergarten. As a conscious music listener, she has personal experience of using music to regulate her own state of mind – as ‘a resource for producing and recalling emotional states’ (DeNora, 2000: 74). She knows how to exploit this by offering the children opportunities to engage emotionally with music and let themselves be influenced or guided by it (Vestad, 2013; Vist, 2014). She gathers the children for nap time by playing some soft music, preferably classical recordings like Grieg’s ‘Morning Mood’. And every morning, music is used to set the mood:

I use a lot of recorded music, especially in the morning … to make it peaceful. … When I have morning duty, I always start the day with classical music. And then, it seems like something happens with those [children] who arrive. You find a little more peace than when there is no music. Because then … it seems like the music is guiding them in some way or other.

The caregiver

The musical caregiver can be found working with toddlers. His main medium of musical expression is his own voice. If recorded music is to be used, it must be ‘family-friendly’, understandable and appropriate for children. He is conscious about the playlists used in the kindergarten, and says he feels safest when the children point to the Disney thumbnails on Spotify. He regards music as the most natural way to communicate adequately with children. He may be heard whistling, humming or singing in different everyday settings: in the kitchen or at the changing table, at the swings or by the sandbox. The caregiver is eager to encourage and support children’s improvised vocalisations and spontaneous play with rhythms, responding to their utterances in the same mode – in children’s own ‘musical mother tongue’ (Bjørkvold, 1992). In our observations, we saw a caregiver make use of some of the most common ‘song formulas’ used by children (Bjørkvold, 1992) – for example, by singing spontaneously, using the descending interval of a third, to Oskar (pseudonym), who was running gleefully from wall to wall in a playroom: ‘Go-go Oskar! Go-go Oskar!’.

The caregiver thinks of himself as a musical ‘charging station’, which children may seek out to ‘recharge’ through song and physical contact before they again engage in playful exploration of their surroundings. He sees this as a good way to make young children feel secure and give them the courage to make new experiences. He makes himself available to the children, often by simply sitting on the floor at the edge of the play area with an open and sensitive attitude. Sometimes children make use of the music they are ‘charged with’ at the ‘charging station’ when interacting with each other shortly afterwards, while at other times it may be musical phrases from the television or popular music that they bring into their play.

The caregiver’s awareness of the distinctive nature of children’s modes of expression allows him to ‘tune himself’ into their wavelength through ‘affective intonation’ (Stern, 1985). He may confirm a child’s vocal exploration with an affirmative smile and a ‘surprised’ look, or by humming softly with the child on his arm while rocking to the rhythm, up and down, up and down. The caregiver may also be the one who fetches a music box for a crying baby when mum or dad is leaving in the morning, if he is too busy to comfort the child with a song himself.

The choir leader

The choir leader is a trained kindergarten teacher and music educator who participates actively in an amateur choir in her free time. She has clear musical goals for her work and a conscious attitude to her musical choices concerning repertoire, methods, instruments, movement and dance. She is seen as the kindergarten’s music expert, and is often responsible for planning and leading music activities during circle time and other adult-led activities. She has started a choir with the five- and six-year-olds, practising once a week and performing at special events and celebrations. The choir leader sings and plays the guitar and piano reasonably well. She encourages the children to perform with song and dance, largely avoiding the use of recorded music. The choir leader is interested in a variety of music, with a special liking for the genres that have dominated Norwegian music education in schools: classical music, Norwegian folk music and music specially written for children. Her repertoire includes many songs by the ‘good old’ writers of Norwegian children’s songs: Alf Prøysen, Thorbjørn Egner and Margrethe Munthe.

The choir leader encourages the children to use the ‘educational’ musical instruments found in the kindergarten, as well as simple instruments that the children make themselves (Oberborbeck, 2006; Ramfjord, 2005). She composes her own rhythm arrangements that are adapted to the group to accompany the songs they sing themselves or for playing along with recorded music.

The choir leader is concerned with developing children’s singing voices. She is well aware that children’s singing voices are naturally higher than adults’ voices and avoids the widespread tendency to place songs in a pitch that is too low for children – a tendency that can prevent them from participating actively (Trollinger, 2007). The choir leader is also concerned with the social effect of singing together. She regards music as an essential part of social learning, encouraging the children in her choir to listen to each other and follow the norms for ‘proper’ choir behaviour. The choir leader emphasises that children are inspired and motivated by music, and that active participation gives them a sense of empowerment. In addition to focusing on the artistic values of music, she also uses it instrumentally to strengthen basic skills, social interaction and other disciplines. For example, she insists that circle dances must always be danced clockwise – ‘in the writing direction’– so as to contribute to the children’s writing training.

The facilitator

The musical facilitator is an employee with no formal music background or practical experience with music. Her pathway is marked by pleasurable experiences with music in everyday life. She does not participate in organised music activity outside of work, but is an enthusiastic listener and sometimes attends a concert or musical. In her work, she avoids the spotlight and will not be found performing or leading music activities. She contributes with her own inspiration and enjoyment of music in the more informal settings – in the ‘gaps’ and in free-play activities indoors and outdoors. Using simple instruments and song, she exposes the children to musical impulses that may stimulate them to engage with music in their own play. Her repertoire consists of common songs and activities used during circle time and from the general kindergarten music repertoire. The facilitator uses this music in unorganised play settings, but often withdraws from the activity in order to let the children make music in their own way. She provides impulses, inspiring and motivating their own creative actions.

In one of our observations from a toddler room, we saw an example of how a facilitator might work with music. In the mornings, the children have circle time, led by one of the trained staff. They were singing the popular West African song ‘Tsamina mina’, accompanied on djembe drums. ² Later in the day, the facilitator brings out some of the drums again and lays them on the floor. She does not play them herself, but sits down on the floor a short distance away and starts singing ‘Tsamina mina’. The children join in, each finding a drum and starting to play. The facilitator stops singing, but the children continue in their own way, lifting the drums over their heads and carrying them around the room. Then they sit down in another place, the song switches to ‘Baa, Baa, Little Lamb’ and they start drumming, matching the rhythmic motif of the song. ³ Three-year-old Lukas (pseudonym) takes the lead by singing ‘Tsamina mina’ again, improvising by changing his voice into a dark and ‘scary’ sound, a rough sound, a light sound, and so on. The other children follow him by imitating his song and actions until they eventually find something else to play with and leave the drums scattered across the floor. All of this happens while the facilitator has withdrawn from the activity and is simply observing the children’s own improvised music-making, which emerged from the impulse she gave them by taking out the drums and singing a few bars. The children developed the music further through improvisation and by involving other songs, rhythms and vocal timbres.

The facilitator has a keen eye for children’s culture, understood as children’s own musical play, improvisation and song. Still, with her informal music background, she is often sidelined by other employees with more education or a greater desire to be in the spotlight. Nevertheless, her conscious stimulation of children’s musical practices in informal situations – the ‘gaps’ in the kindergarten day – demonstrates that she plays an important role in the musical life of the kindergarten.

The performer

The performer works as an assistant in the kindergarten. He has no formal training in music or early childhood education, but draws on an extensive informal music background, primarily from playing guitar in a band in his free time. He has a strong personal need to express himself musically. He can sometimes feel an ‘urge to play’ and exploits every opportunity to do so in his job – with the children and for the children. His repertoire ranges from traditional children’s songs to a more typical ‘band repertoire’. He brings songs from his own band to the kindergarten, involving the children both as participants and the audience. Still, he is sensitive to the children’s requests and often arranges a ‘wish-list concert’ where he effortlessly accompanies any song the children might suggest. He wants children to have fun; his best experiences at work occur when he ‘gets into the swing’ in interaction with the children.

Having many opportunities to play music in his job is an important element of the performer’s experience of job satisfaction. He is happy to be the kindergarten’s performing musician and feels little need to make detailed teaching plans as long as he gets to play his guitar with the children. It feels rewarding for him to contribute with something he is good at and loves to do, and to be met with a positive response: ‘the more vital you are, the more response you get. … The music simply responds more in your body’.

Kindergartens generally consider the performer as a resource; he enjoys respect and recognition for his skills and for the good rapport he establishes with the children. Still, both as a man and as a performer he regards his own position as a little on the side of the other staff members, and is also seen in this way by his colleagues. He explains that he carries out his job ‘sort of in a different way’.

The performer has developed musical skills without having followed any formal music education. Green (2002) demonstrates how the popular musician’s knowledge and skills are mostly the result of oral transmission through direct imitation, experimentation and improvisation in a process of voluntary pleasurable interaction. Unlike most classical musicians, the performer has not learned music through an ‘apprenticeship learning’ tradition (Nielsen, 2006), but has figured out how to use his instruments on his own and in interaction with his band.

Informal learning processes in popular music have a close similarity with how children learn and develop musical expressions on their own: through listening, imitation, repetition and improvisation (Campbell, 1998; Knudsen, 2008; Young, 2004). Arguably, this similarity may imply that the performer, to a greater extent than musical pathfinders with more formal training, will be able to identify with children’s own musical expressions and forms of communication, allowing him to understand and interact with children ‘sort of in a different way’.

Discussion

As previously pointed out, these five pathfinders comprise a constructed typology based on research interviews and observations in the kindergartens we have studied in our project. It will, of course, be possible to identify other pathfinders who use other methods and engage with other music genres, such as traditional music from Norway or other countries, Sami joik, rap or the latest hits. Nevertheless, we think that these five pathfinders can stand as representatives of the variety of approaches to musical practice found in Norwegian kindergartens. In different ways, they support and stimulate musical interaction with children and children’s own music-making in everyday life (Campbell, 1998; Countryman et al., 2015; Knudsen, 2008; Vestad, 2013).

Based on our presentation of musical pathfinders and their approaches, issues may be raised concerning professional identity, music education and current policy guidelines promoting gender equality and cultural diversity in kindergartens. The pathfinders we have identified are, to varying degrees, involved in discourses that challenge the dominant understandings of the ECEC professional and the ways in which kindergarten workers historically have been positioned in public discourse. We have understood their professional identification as closely connected to the promotion of culture and cultural interaction with children, thus positioning them as cultural workers in the kindergarten rather than only as caregivers governed by feminised discourses of ‘mothering’ (Osgood, p. 93). The pathfinder positions of our female DJ, our male caregiver and our male performer suggest ways of being professional that go beyond conventional images of caring and nurturance in an ECEC institution. Moreover, their professional identification based on the practice of music not only challenges gendered understandings of ECEC professionalism, but also negotiates new kinds of professional identification that are intimately personal and culturally diverse. Their cultural work highlights the significance of personal cultural preferences and practices as legitimate points of reference in the shaping of professional identity (Johnson, 2004). In this way, musical pathfinders are staking out pathways of professionalism which give us new images of what it means to work in a kindergarten.

However, while our study has highlighted personal cultural identifications, we have found it striking that the pathfinders we have encountered, both in this study and earlier, are almost exclusively employees of Norwegian ethnic origin. While the proportion of immigrants employed in kindergartens is close to the immigrant share of Norway’s total population – 14.4% and 15.6%, respectively – they are rarely seen taking musical pathfinder positions. ⁴ This might be understood in terms of the institution’s role as a promotor of cultural continuity based on notions of a common, historically rooted Norwegian culture – something that is clearly reflected in the traditional kindergarten song repertoire. It has been argued that this repertoire is characterised by a ‘cultural lag’ – that it remains a dominant, frozen standard with little room for innovation (Hagen and Haukenes, 2017, 13; Sundin, 1977: 84; Vestad, 2013: 50). It is rarely updated with newer music, possibly because employees prefer to engage with music they remember from their own childhood, which they also think is the most valuable to pass on to new generations. Apparently, for practitioners with an immigrant background, there are some barriers that must be overcome in order to challenge the kindergarten’s established ‘song canon’, with its historical roots in Norwegian culture (Hagen and Haukenes, 2017; Knudsen, forthcoming).

Still, it may seem that this ‘cultural lag’ is diminishing, particularly as a result of the increasing use of the Internet and online streaming services – something which the DJ is eager to exploit at least. Access to all of the world’s music genres is overwhelming, and the time that passes from when a recording is released online to it being used in the kindergarten is reduced to virtually nothing. Before the development of communications media, the primary sources of the music repertoire were oral transmission, songbooks and physical music media (long-playing records and compact discs (CDs)). While earlier it could take decades before a popular music tune was included in a Norwegian songbook (Olsen, 2014), the distribution of songs is now almost instantaneous. A study of the music repertoire in kindergartens in the Oslo area (Hagen and Haukenes, 2017) suggests that the online media have virtually taken over completely. CD collections in kindergartens are rarely updated and largely neglected. When searching for the lyrics of a song, musical pathfinders are more likely to turn to their computer or mobile phone than the kindergarten’s bookshelves or CD collection. Although many ‘classics’ from the older Norwegian song repertoire are still in use, the total impression of the music used in practice is quite diverse, with a major proportion of popular music. When it is so easy to get hold of the latest hits from YouTube or Wimp, these hits can quickly gain a prominent place in the kindergarten. The ‘cultural lag’ has diminished dramatically.

It is worth noting that several of our pathfinders do not have professional training and do not necessarily understand their practice in the light of music education. The DJ, the performer and the caregiver do not regard their work with music as teaching; it is not an activity primarily aimed at the development of musical knowledge and skills in the children. Rather, their rationale for working with children and music lies in the quality of human interaction. The facilitator and the choir leader may both have specific music learning objectives in mind, but while the choir leader works through structured, adult-led instruction, the facilitator follows more informal pathways to support children’s own musical initiatives in play and everyday social interaction.

Except for the choir leader, the practice of all the pathfinders we have identified includes aspects of informal learning. Informal music learning has, in recent years, been the subject of increased academic attention and discussion. Green (2002, 2008) has argued that the informal learning methods found in popular music should constitute the foundation of a new way of thinking in music education. Similarly, based on a sociocultural approach, Folkestad (2006) challenges the prevailing idea that children learn music best through structured, methodical teaching. He argues that the majority of musical learning among children and adolescents takes place in settings where the intention is not primarily to learn, but simply to play, listen, dance and spend time together in musical interaction. A greater awareness of the potential of informal music learning is likely to give recognition and status to the pathfinders who make use of these practices in their work, thus making it easier for them to justify their own approaches to music-making in the kindergarten.

In Scandinavia, one of the strongest influences on musical practices with young children undoubtedly comes from ‘rhythmic music pedagogy’, which has been especially influenced by Danish educators (Hammershøj et al. 1995; Hedegaard, 1995). This direction originated as an initiative to include more popular music in school music classes, often by arguing that improvised, ‘rhythmic music’ was closer to the child’s natural bodily expression (Kirk, 2006). ‘Rhythmic music’ should, in this context, be understood as jazz, pop, rock and ‘world music’ – it is basically ‘a label for all music that derives from the afrodiasporic traditions’ (Kallio, 2017: 77). It focuses on body movement, improvisation and play, and is strongly inspired by African and Latin American music. The djembe, the large West African drum mentioned in our description of the facilitator, has by far become the most widely used musical instrument in Norwegian kindergartens and kindergarten teacher training, completely eclipsing the previously ubiquitous Orff xylophones and recorders. The djembe drum has proven to be a handy and versatile instrument in work with children; it does not require much training in order to be used successfully, providing an entry point for musical pathfinders with relatively little formal music training, such as the facilitator we refer to here.

The breakthrough of ‘rhythmic music’ in Scandinavian kindergartens and kindergarten teacher training has provided space for musical pathfinders associated with music genres other than the classical music that has traditionally dominated formal music education – in our case represented by the choir leader. It may, however, be objected that the enthusiasm for African and Latin American music can also serve as an ‘alibi for diversity’. The focus on these music styles makes it possible for music educators to argue that they are complying with political guidelines encouraging cultural diversity, while totally ignoring music of the major immigrant groups from Poland, Somalia and Pakistan. The above-mentioned survey of kindergartens’ music repertoire suggests that practically no material from the larger immigrant groups can be found in the kindergarten.

There are also other issues we should be aware of when discussing music in terms of cultural diversity. Musical instruments, musical tastes and musical practices are closely linked to personal identity and self-presentation (Ruud, 1998). For most pathfinders, working with music is not only an essential part of their profession, but also has to do with a commitment that is deeply personal. It is a significant part of their daily lives and their construction of personal identity as listeners, as performers or in common social interaction. Promoting music in the kindergarten is part of a dedication to music, developed and cultivated in other social arenas. Pathfinders tend to promote ‘their own’ music, whether it is music they actively pursue outside the kindergarten or recorded music they enjoy listening to. Based on our interviews and observations, we have the clear impression that the pathfinders are given plenty of opportunity to base their professional work on their own personal music. A strong commitment is generally valued by the management and other employees, and there is considerable acceptance in terms of genres and methods – those who show commitment are given free rein. None of the heads of kindergartens or leaders of kindergarten departments we consulted in this study found it necessary to restrict the pathfinders’ choice of music in any way.

These considerations raise issues with not only educational, but also ethical implications. On the one hand, it is obvious that the musical pathfinders’ personal commitment is considered to be a valuable resource – even a precondition for good music work. Commitment is contagious, and the children get to experience adults showing enthusiasm for and enjoyment of music. It is evident that this makes an impression on children and stimulates participation, whether they are presented with traditional children’s songs, Kiss or Grieg. On the other hand, there may be objections. In the dominant Nordic discourse on children and childhood, there is widespread recognition of children as contributing, acting subjects based on an ideology of ‘children’s participation’ (Bae, 2009; Kjørholt, 2001). Hence, the professional role of kindergarten staff is often assessed in terms of being able to promote and encourage children’s own initiatives. In line with this thinking, music activity in kindergartens should be ‘for the good of the child’, on the children’s conditions, and allow space for children’s own musical preferences and choices (Kulset, 2016; Vestad, 2013). Concerns may be raised that employees’ cultivation of ‘their own’ music might be at the expense of paying attention to and stimulating children’s own cultural needs. It might also be noted that when adults use ‘their own’ music in the kindergarten, it will, in many cases, be ‘adult’ music that is not specifically intended for children. It may be considered as too complex, containing words that are unfit for children or in other ways making unfortunate associations.

When we have discussed musical pathfinders in kindergartens in this article, we have particularly emphasised the importance of informal skills as well as an involvement in music outside the institution. This might give the impression that we are highlighting these aspects at the expense of knowledge and skills acquired through professional training. As music educators in Norwegian kindergarten teacher training institutions, we are familiar with the close interaction between informal and formal qualifications. We appreciate the informal ‘familiarity competence’ that musically enthusiastic students carry with them from their own background, but also recognise that they profit from the more traditional ‘assertive knowledge’ and ‘skill knowledge’ they acquire through their training (Nerland, 2004: 48). Among our students, we find examples of all the musical pathfinders we have discussed here. We think that these students, through their professional kindergarten teacher training, might be offered an opportunity to incorporate knowledge and experience from their training into their own musical pathway. At the same time, their training allows them to become acquainted with other pathways that can strengthen their professional confidence and give their own pathway a secure educational basis.

The national curriculum for kindergartens (Kunnskapsdepartementet, 2011) is very broad in its guidelines concerning culture and the arts, and contains no specific guidelines regarding music. No genres or musical styles are mentioned, and there are no concrete recommendations on working methods. However, the focus on culture and cultural diversity is unmistakable: the value of ‘cultural encounters’ is stressed, and Sami indigenous culture and other minority cultures are given particular mention. The chapter on ‘Art, culture and creativity’ encourages kindergartens to engage actively with ‘local, national and international artistic and cultural expressions’ (Kunnskapsdepartementet, 2011: 44). Obviously, these open guidelines allow all of the different pathfinders we have identified here to justify their own musical pathway with reference to the national curriculum.

If we conclude by returning to Finnegan’s (1989) musical ‘pathways’, it is worth noting that the development of this notion emerged from studies of amateur musicians in a small English town. Finding one’s musical pathway in this social environment is described as voluntary and pleasurable, while at the same time it is considered an essential part of identity formation and social positioning. Perhaps the open guidelines of the Norwegian national curriculum and the freedom this implies offer opportunities that resemble those found in the amateur musical arenas that Finnegan’s terminology is based on. Thus, for committed practitioners, with or without formal training, working in the kindergarten might be an opportunity to make their own musical practice a significant part of their personal pathway – a pathway to follow in pursuit of their own musical goals and interests, while at the same time shaping their professional identity and working to stimulate and enrich the cultural life of the kindergarten and the musical lives of children.