Young, S. Crescent moon and star: Working towards intercultural approaches in early childhood music education. A study in Rosemary Nursery, Bristol.

There is an increasing need for music education pedagogies that are sensitive to and serve the needs of multi-ethnic and multi-religious populations.  This article reports on an interesting project that sought to develop intercultural approaches in early childhood music provided for multi-ethnic Muslim mothers and their young children. The study invited information via structured interviews from multi-ethnic Muslim mothers about their family musical activities, including beliefs and values; a second strand exploring intercultural approaches to music practice by involving the four practitioners working with those same groups of mothers in action research. The author concludes that rather than viewing music as a body of knowledge, reflexive professionalism listens to parents and children and involves them in making decisions about content and pedagogical processes.