Formal music education as a factor of teacher's ability to identify and guide musical talented pupils

Abstract

The attitudes in scientific literature suggest hatearly recognition and encouragement of musical talent to a large extent determinesits subsequent development. Bearing in mind that classroom teachers conduct music classes at primary school from first to fourth grade, the study started with the assumption that teacher's formal musical experience (attending music school) represents a significant factor in approach to musical talented students. The theoretical frame work shows the principles of identification of gifted and talented children, with special emphasis on identifying musical talent, as well as the role that teachers can play in this process. The survey was conducted on a sample of teachers from primary schools in the cities of Niš, Leskovac and Vranje (N=169). The results show that attending music school is significantly associated with the use of instruments in music classes, with instrument performing skills, as well as directing students towards a specialized music education. On the other hand, we didn't obtain significant differences in competencies to identify characteristics of the musical talented pupils, which just ifies the recommendation to constantly encourage musical competences of all teachers regardless of their musical experience, both in the context of studies and in the form of professional development.