According to the findings and conclusions of this investigation, the following recommendations would appear to be in order:
1. A new music curriculum, integrated with other arts, will be published in September 2000, in Taiwan. Further research based on the present study should take into consideration the music and music-teaching competencies included in this new curriculum.
2. This study should be repeated once a year for a period of three years, in order to investigate fluctuations in the self-perceived effectiveness of teacher preparation programs in the Teachers Colleges. The findings of these replicated studies will assist the Teachers Colleges in improving the quality of their teacher training programs.
3. A similar study of the perceptions of kindergarten teachers concerning the usefulness of the music content of their teacher training programs could be extended in order to further ascertain kindergarten teachers’ needs on a nationwide basis. A comparison of usefulness ratings could be made among similar counties in Taiwan.
4. An extension of the present study could survey other subjects, elementary school music teachers, music supervisors, and college professors who teach music teaching methods for young children, for example, using the same questionnaire.
Elementary school music teachers and supervisors may have different opinions about the competencies needed in the schools.
5. Another extension of the present study could investigate the correlation between inservice kindergarten teachers’ backgrounds and music competencies, and their music-teaching competencies. The backgrounds of inservice teachers may include music courses taken, status of the kindergarten program, age-level taught, attendance of music conferences, academic degrees, educational level, years of teaching experience, and age. Future research could determine how inservice
teachers’ background variables affect their responses on the questionnaire regarding music competencies and music-teaching competencies.
The investigator’s goal, in conducting this study, was to examine kindergarten music teachers’ perceptions of their own competency levels, as well as to identify any differences in the perceptions of inservice and preservice teachers in this regard. It was found that differences did exist between the perceptions of the two groups due to the professional experience of the inservice teachers. However, the differences were slight, and mostly variations in degree, making this study a very useful instrument for the Teachers Colleges to develop new curricula that focus on the effectiveness of the teacher training provided.
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