FACTORS INFLUENCING THE DEVELOPMENT OF MUSICAL ABILITIES IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN
FACTORS INFLUENCING THE DEVELOPMENT OF MUSICAL ABILITIES IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

Summary/Abstract: This paper examines the influence of specific factors on the development of musical abilities in preschool children within the territory of the City of Raška. The research aim is focused on assessing the level of development of musical abilities in preschool children within the determinants defined in this study: a musically stimulating family environment and extracurricular musical activities. The research employed testing and survey techniques. The sample consisted of children from the preparatory preschool group of the “Veselo detinjstvo” kindergarten (N = 118) and the parents of the children whose musical abilities were examined (N = 104). Descriptive statistics and t-test were utilized for data analysis. As expected, the study found that a musically stimulating family environment and extracurricular musical activities positively influence the development of musical abilities in preschool children. However, it was found that the level of development of children’s musical abilities deviates from expectations; this may be related to inadequately organized and guided musical activities that are not sufficiently aligned with the developmental characteristics of preschool children. These research results pave the way for further reflection on and improvement of pedagogical practice by providing support to parents and teachers in the process of identifying children’s musical potentials and in the more careful selection of musical content that contributes to the musical and overall development of children. Future research aimed at developing children’s musical abilities may be directed toward examining the qualitative aspects of a musically stimulating family environment, as well as conducting longitudinal monitoring of the development of children’s musical abilities depending on the type, frequency, and duration of musical activities.

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