Allison’s primary area of research interest is how participating in playful music education in the early childhood years affects children’s language and behavioural development.
Other areas of research interest are:
- How children engage in music and develop their musical skills and knowledge
- Early childhood educators’ pre-service training and professional development in the arts
- Development of self-regulation
- The effects of growing up in socio-economic disadvantage.
PhD thesis – Making Music Speak
Allison completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong (UOW) in 2021, titled Making music speak: The role of the “Tuning In” program in the development of preschool children’s oral language skills, under the guidance of supervisors Honorary Associate Professor Rose Dixon, Dr Jane Warren, and Honorary Associate Professor Irina Verenikina.
A description of the thesis is provided below. A digital copy of Allison’s thesis can be downloaded here.
The Making music speak study investigated the effects of the Tuning In music program (TI) upon the language skills of four and five-year-old children using mixed methods approach. (TI was the music education program of Shoalhaven Youth Orchestra, which ran in the Shoalhaven region from 2014-2020.) The study comprised a quantitative quasi-experiment and a qualitative multiple case study.
Forty-five children, attending four early childhood education and care centres and educators at two of the centres participated in the study. Child participants at two centres received a 30-minute TI class weekly over a five-month period (TI group), while child participants at the remaining two centres received the music programming provided by educators at those centres (the comparison group).
Children who participated in TI music sessions were found to show a statistically significant improvement in an aspect of phonological awareness called Sound Matching (p>.05), as well as improvements in phonological memory abilities, when compared to the comparison group. These results were supported by qualitative results that demonstrated that the TI group engaged strongly in the music sessions, and showed increased motivation to speak. This was particularly evident in children with language disorders. Overall, the quality and quantity of the speech amongst TI children improved. A key factor that appeared to contribute to children’s engagement and desire to communicate was the warm and responsive relationships formed between the TI teacher and the children. This highlighted the important role that social relationships play an important role in supporting children’s learning.
Several music-specific “active ingredients” were identified, which included providing a range of music experiences to help develop beat and rhythm skills. Additionally, providing children with choice to participate in different ways was found to lead to increased participation over the course of the intervention.
Allison’s study provided a valuable contribution to literature on how music could be used in early childhood education settings to support children’s language development, which is an emerging area of research. In particular, music may be useful for children with language delays or disorders and could be used in early childhood settings to complement traditional therapies to support young children’s speech development.
Allison has presented her research at a number of Australian and international conferences. These include the International Society for Early Intervention conference, Early Start (UOW) conference, Early Childhood Australia national conference, ACT Australian Literacy Educators’ Association, and Australian Society for Music Education conference. Allison will also present at the Australasian Journal of Early Childhood Research Symposium in early 2023.
Publications
Cameron, A. (2022, March 12). Music making at home to support children’s development. Play + Learn Together. https://www.playandlearntogether.com.au/play-blog/home-music-making
Cameron, A. (2021). Making Music Speak: The Role of the “Tuning In” Music Program in Developing Preschool Children’s Oral Language Skills. [Doctor of Philosophy thesis, School of Education, University of Wollongong]. https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses1/1463
Cameron, A., Gibbs, L., & Grimmond, J. (2022). Play + Learn Together Literature Review, Play + Learn Together. https://www.playandlearntogether.com.au
Cameron, A., Burns, P., Garner, A., Lau, S., Dixon, R., Pascoe, C., & Szafraniec, M. (2019). Making sense of multi-sensory environments: A scoping review. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/1034912X.2019.1634247
Mayerson, D., Dixon, R. Lau, S., Garner, A., Burns, P., Cameron, A., Pascoe, C.& Szafraniec, M. (2019). “She would really like that”: Identifying community needs in a multisensory environment. Progress in Community Health and Partnerships: Research, Education & Action, 13 (1),39-49.
Other research projects
Allison has also worked as a research assistant on a number of research projects at UOW, including:
Lead My Learning 2016 (Lead Investigator, Professor Valerie Harwood) http://www.leadmylearning.com.au/about/
SMILE project 2016-2018 (Lead Investigator Associate Professor Rose Dixon) https://www.uow.edu.au/engage/cegs/project-showcase/sensory-room/about/
RevITAlise (RITA) project 2021-2022 (Lead Investigator, Dr Gai Lindsay).
