Croatia and Italy: National Curricula and the Artistic Music Education in the 0 to 6 years system

Valentina Fanelli

University of Bologna Alma Mater Studiorum

valentina.fanelli@studio.unibo.it

The importance of art education for the cognitive, social, and emotional development of children and youth

Abstract

The paper compares the national educational system of Croatia and Italy in 0-6 years segment, in order to present the principles, values, and objectives underlying the art music education as a ‘quality’ factor of tout court education. The critical-comparative analysis, within the international and European legislative framework, will point out the formative potential of art music education oriented towards historical and cultural sense.

The primary purpose of both curricula, the promotion of the integral and harmonious child’s growth, calls into question the relevance that art music can assume in nourishing the child’s potential for development in this age group, affecting on one’s own psychophysical well-being. The eighth key competence, highlighted by the two documents, emphasizes the key role of art music both in cultural awareness raising and sense of belonging to the wider European community, and in education to creative and innovative expression. Promoting the educational strategy of problematizing and learning by research and experience, the curricula enhance the initiating possibility of a child’s critical thinking and open up a privileged way to art music not only for artistic and aesthetic education, but also for the reflective thought formation.

In this perspective, quality music education, intentionally targeted at specific instructive areas, plays a key role in cognitive, social, and emotional development, fostering the first forms of active citizenship. This intervention seeks to stimulate the scientific community discussion on relevance of music education focused on art music in the educational continuum curriculum-building from the 0-to-6 segment, as a ‘quality’ coefficient of education starting from Early Childhood Education and Care system. 

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