Musical skills in the Spanish grado university degree in early childhood education: how do Spanish university students view their preparation?

Abstract

In Spain, teacher education is regulated on a national level in conjunction with the guidelines that organise general educational levels. Each regional teaching administration nevertheless has a considerable margin to modify those guidelines: universities have a significant influence on how their syllabus is specified. Taking into account the regulation of Early Childhood Education as a career in Madrid universities, we studied how a group of trainees perceived the musical skills they were taught while studying toward a Grado degree in that specialty. We submitted a questionnaire regarding the self-perception of musical skills at the university level of training. The results show significant differences associated with the educational and socio-demographic variables we examined. Although, further study and reflection are required in this field, the implications are already notable and show how future teachers in Early Childhood Education could be better trained.