Curriculum Governance in Early Childhood Arts Education: Integrating Group Piano Instruction to Support Social Development

Resumen

This study aimed to develop a group piano lesson program for early childhood students, focusing on enhancing social and piano skills. The objectives were to: (1) examine current challenges and needs for improving social skills in early childhood piano group lessons, (2) design teaching plans for this purpose, (3) evaluate the program’s impact on piano skills, and (4) assess its effectiveness in fostering social skills. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, combining qualitative and quantitative techniques. Music education experts were interviewed, and data were analyzed using thematic analysis to understand teaching practices. Questionnaires were distributed to piano teachers to identify gaps in social skill development. Following expert evaluation, a 13-session teaching experiment was conducted with 30 students in Guangzhou, employing a pretest-posttest design analyzed through paired-sample t-tests. The findings showed statistically significant changes in the two dimensions: piano competencies and two key dimensions of social skills, such as cooperation, self-control, and participation (p < 0.001). These findings underscore the effectiveness of interactive group piano lessons in fostering both musical proficiency and essential social skills, demonstrating the value of structured music education for holistic early childhood development. The curriculum model is consistent with the Early Childhood Education policy focus on China on the holistic development and systematic social involvement, but provides a contrast to international SEL approaches by incorporating social competence into arts-based collective pedagogy. This research paper can add to the discussion on curriculum governance, as it shows how a well-planned and organized group teaching of piano may implement the national social-development objectives into the education of arts at the early childhood stage.