Determining the opinions of prospective music teachers regarding preschool music education

This study was conducted to determine the views of prospective music teachers on ‘early childhood music education, the course on early childhood music education, the planning and implementation of music activities for early childhood and working with preschool-aged children’. In the literature, the focus is generally on the perspectives of preschool teacher candidates regarding music education; however, this study offers a different point of view by directly focusing on the perspectives of music teacher candidates. In this way, it is believed that this study presents original findings that may contribute to the development of preschool music education, both in terms of the content of music teacher education programs and in the context of interdisciplinary collaboration.The participants of the study consisted of 13 prospective music teachers studying in the Department of Music Education at Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University. The data of the study were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using descriptive analysis techniques. The results of the research show that, while it was revealed that early childhood music education is generally considered valuable and necessary by the teacher candidates, it was also found that there is a need for improvement in areas such as the duration of the elective course they received in this field, the lack of practical applications, and their competencies in working with younger age groups. In line with these findings, it is recommended that interdisciplinary coordination be encourage between music education departments and early childhood education departments to promote integrated training models that reflect the realities of preschool teaching environments, and in-service training opportunities be provide for music teacher candidates and recent graduates to develop their competencies in early childhood music pedagogy, including classroom management, child psychology, and creative music-making strategies.