'Bejazzled': employing attributes of pre-schoolers' play to facilitate musical interactions with jazz

Although early childhood caregivers in South African townships integrate singing into their teaching on a daily basis, they are often unaware of how to facilitate other musical interactions through movement, playing instruments or body percussion. The 'Bejazzled' action research project was initiated to facilitate these interactions through collaborative teaching between a caregiver and a music educator. The aim of the 'Bejazzled' project was to generate a conceptual framework that describes how jazz could successfully be integrated into the educational programme at an informal early childhood development centre by utilizing existing attributes of pre-schoolers' play (spontaneity, inventiveness, openness and curiosity) to indicate learner responses related to jazz such as spontaneously creating music, discovering new musical experiences, responding to music through movement, and exploring music through play. These learner responses could foster growth in the early years to transcend musical boundaries, strengthen gross motor skills, cultivate listening and language skills, and contribute to social and emotional development.