Traditional Music in Preschool and the Development of Social-emotional Competencies of Preschool Children

Despite the passage of time, traditional music continues to hold importance as a source of creativity for new generations. It is an important component of the spiritual history of the human race. This research aims to ascertain the opinions of preschool teachers regarding the influence of traditional music on young children's social and emotional development. The sample consisted of 164 preschool teachers employed in preschool institutions in the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Croatia. The Student's Social and Emotional Competences Scale (SSEK) (Jeremić et al. 2015) was used as an instrument, adapted for this research. The findings showed that preschool teachers concur that teaching preschoolers traditional music affects their ability to develop their social and emotional skills. Preschool teachers implement traditional music in their educational work, and those who do so more often assess the influence of traditional music on the social and emotional development of children as more prominent. This research implies a need for future research on the frequency and modalities of implementing traditional music in preschools to benefit the development of children.