Art Comes to Life in a Steel Mill Town

In this article, the authors investigate how Korea's current educational policy's emphasis on artistic expression, and therefore music education, has been realized in the praxis of early childhood education. The authors view policy as discourses and texts that early childhood educators interpret and reinterpret within specific contexts. Policy rhetoric and practice fail to recognize the integration of musical conceptual development, expressive ability, creativity, and communication. The musical development of a child should be viewed as his or her right to nurture a musical self in a meaningful musical context.