The purpose of this study was to explore South Korean parents’ understanding of and desires for music education for their children. Following a constructivist paradigm and qualitative research methodology, data collection involved in-depth interviews, observations, written questionnaires, family music materials, and the researcher’s journals. The participants were 22 South Korean mothers whose children (younger than 5 years old) attended music programs in the Seoul metropolitan area. Data were analyzed by coding, description, constant comparison, inductive analysis, contextualization, negative case analysis, classification, and interpretation. Analyses revealed that these parents’ goals for their children’s participation in music programs included facilitating the child’s development, enriching the child’s life, preparing for future learning, and providing opportunities to play through music. They described the music programs according to the activities they observed or experienced but did not show deeper understanding about a program’s philosophy or history. Family music practices indicated that the primary activities were singing, listening to music, playing instruments, and dancing/movement. Participants expressed the desire to learn music skills and knowledge not only for their children but also for themselves. The findings of this study demonstrate the necessity of education for parents of young children relating to various aspects of children’s music education.
South Korean parents' goals, knowledge, practices, and needs regarding music education for young children