Frode Thorjussen
NORENSE funding: 25.000 NOK in 2017

Background and motivation
The project seeks to explore the musical communication between toddlers and the caregivers in early childhood education and care centers (ECEC). Communicative musicality works as the theoretical foundation for the research. This theory is looking on musicality as an psychobiological predisposition for all kind of human interaction and communication. The term musicality referring to a very wide definition, which include all the multimodal and expressive communication between toddlers and caregivers. In earlier research, I have explored Daniel Stern’s concept of intersubjectivity and labelled it intermusicality based on the research findings and Stephen Malloch and Colwyn Trevarthen’s work on communicative musicality between mothers and infants.

Research questions
How do caregivers use communicative musicality as a tool for attachment in ECEC? Which musical qualities is at play in this practice? How can an active intermusicality strengthen the bonding and attachment between toddlers and caregivers in ECEC?

Sources, methods and theoretical perspectives
The design is based on a micro ethnographic approach. With the use of video observation and participatory observation I seek to explore the aesthetic dimension in the communication using the musical qualities as methodological lenses. The focus of the study is the caregiver’s interaction with children in ECEC from 1-3 years of age. The empirical data will be transcribed multimodal as a starting point for group conversation with the observed caregivers in ECEC. This conversation will also be part of the empirical data. From a Waldorf pedagogy viewpoint, it is relevant to seek new perspectives and arguments for an artistic and aesthetic education for teachers working with the toddlers. To explore the wider concept of musicality as an attachment theory will be this projects contribution. The PhD-project will be article-based and is supposed to be finalized in 2020.

Frode Thorjussen was accepted as a PhD student at OsloMET in June 2018, and decided to discontinue his project in 2019.