Arts integration in an early childhood education setting: The role of the teacher

Abstract: This paper presents research undertaken in an early learning centre in Melbourne, Australia. The first of four case studies, it explores how arts practices and pedagogies can be embedded within and integrated across an early childhood centre curriculum, with a focus on the role of the teacher in achieving this. Twenty-one children aged 3- to-5 years and three experienced early childhood teachers chose to participate in the study. A broad range of ethnographic data was collected over a 10-week period, including digital artefacts, interviews and conversations, teachers’ documentation, and observation notes. Inductive methods were used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that the role of the teacher in integrating the arts is complex and multifaceted, with nine pedagogical themes identified. Using examples from the data to illustrate how the themes presented in the classroom, the findings are framed by three overarching themes: planning for learning, responsive teaching, and documenting learning.