Music-and-movement and self-regulation : exploring the impact of a professional development program for Hong Kong kindergarten teachers /

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Student Theses

2024

Ng, Siu Ping Cathleen

Hong Kong : The Education University of Hong Kong

Thesis

In recent years, researchers have designed classroom interventions intended to develop children's self-regulation through music-and-movement (M&M). One of these interventions is Rhythm And Movement for Self-Regulation (RAMSR) (Williams et al., 2020), which has been found to have a positive impact on the self-regulation of Australian young children. I participated in a research team that designed an online professional development (PD) course based on the critical features of high-quality PD to train Hong Kong kindergarten teachers to implement RAMSR in their classrooms. The course included customized RAMSR materials, video-based resources, opportunities for job-embedded collaboration, and synchronous and asynchronous interaction with university researchers. There are important knowledge gaps regarding the intersections between self-regulation and M&M PD in kindergarten education. In the Hong Kong context, no research has investigated kindergarten teachers' knowledge and beliefs regarding the role of M&M in children's self-regulation. Similarly, no studies have yet investigated whether and how the Hong Kong version of the RAMSR PD course may impact on teachers' confidence to teach M&M to young children, as well as teachers' satisfaction and engagement with this online PD course. Finally, the potential mediating role of teachers' prior M&M background on the topics mentioned above has not been investigated. Drawing on the theoretical framework of Desimone's (2009) model of effective PD, my dissertation portfolio includes three empirical studies.• Study 1 investigated Hong Kong kindergarten teachers' knowledge and beliefs about the relationship between M&M and self-regulation. Most teachers believed they possessed a high level of understanding on the topic and had strong beliefs that M&M fosters children's self-regulation. Furthermore, I found that teachers' knowledge and beliefs were influenced by their prior M&M background.• Study 2 examined Hong Kong kindergarten teachers' confidence in teaching M&M before and after the RAMSR online PD course. Findings indicated that teachers with higher M&M background had higher confidence before taking the online PD course. Overall, teachers' confidence showed a significant increase in the experimental group after taking the PD. Gains in confidence among experimental teachers were independent of their M&M background.• Study 3 investigated the level of satisfaction and engagement experienced by Hong Kong kindergarten teachers in the RAMSR online PD course. I found that participants had high levels of satisfaction and engagement in the course, particularly those with a low M&M background. This dissertation portfolio enhances our understanding of how online PD, specifically the Hong Kong version of the RAMSR intervention, may equip kindergarten teachers to promote children's self-regulation. This dissertation also documents the role of the variable M&M background, which affects a wide range of aspects pertaining to the relationships between M&M and children's self-regulation, specifically their knowledge, beliefs, and responses to the RAMSR online PD course. Findings raise the awareness of teacher educators and PD designers about the need to better prepare teachers in M&M interventions that foster self-regulation, with the final aims of improving teacher practices and boosting the self-regulation skills of young children

LG51.H43 Dr 2024eb Ngspc

https://educoll.lib.eduhk.hk/records/hzx8sB7q