The Daily Use of the Arts in Early Years in Queensland, Australia

Abstract

The arts are an important learning area for young children. The arts provide a medium for children to explore, make sense and communicate about the world around them. As yet, few studies have explored current arts practice in Australian early years classrooms and the development of the associated domain-intrinsic knowledge with each of the arts. This paper explores the daily routines of arts practices in the first year of formal schooling in Queensland, Australia through interviews with six early childhood teachers. The focus is to determine if the arts are a supplemental tool or a developmental tool. Findings provide information about the way arts education is currently being embedded into early childhood programs, and the types of domain-intrinsic knowledge that is being taught to children aged three and a half years. Findings highlight that the early childhood teachers did not feel confident teaching the arts as a developmental area.