PRESCHOOL MUSIC EDUCATION IN ESTONIA AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF CULTURAL LEARNING

Changes in the socio-economic development of Estonia influence the formation of value priorities in teaching of children in the system of preschool education. Music as a socio-cultural phenomenon represents one of the important parts of teaching and educational process. The authors of this article are concurrently the members of the commission on working out of the new State program 2008 on preschool education in the field of music. Based on common goals and tasks of a new curriculum, in the process of making up the subject program in music there has been carried out the research, the results of which will be reflected in this article. The key person in realisation of teaching and educational tasks has always been, is and will be the teacher. Therefore, it was extremely important to find out the value aims and positions of music teachers, who contribute to the effectiveness of application of musical education as a representative of motivation and knowledge of culture. The research that has been carried out in 183 Estonian and Russian-speaking infant schools in 2008 has embraced all the regions of Estonia. According to the results of the research, the conclusions can be reached that the priorities of musical activities defined by the teachers presume availability of sufficient musical material for enculturation of a child and getting to know by him or her of the cultural heritage; most of the respondents make up a group of so-called “bearers of the traditions” and give basis for assertion that their musical education represents familiarization with culture; the correlation of value priorities in application of different kinds of folklore shows that each of the four kinds of folk creation is the source of the culture study for music teachers.