Young children's constructions of the musical knowledgeable other

Contemporary views of children and childhood position children as valued coconstructors of their cultures, supporting the notion that learning and development are bound to a social context. Through this lens, scaffolding can be seen broadly as a collection of techniques employed by a knowledgeable other to assist a novice to internalize cultural signs. This paper reports images of the knowledgeable other constructed by a group of preschool-aged children engaged in spontaneous singing. Video-recordings of eight children singing during free-play over a period of 3 years were transcribed, and the songs and accompanying play episodes were analyzed using QSR NUDIST software. Results revealed the children constructed a range of images of the knowledgeable other, employing a variety of techniques to define this role. Cultural experience did not seem to rely strongly on chronological age, with younger children often viewed ill the role of the knowledgeable other.