Attitudes of primary school teachers in Croatia toward Music as a school subject / Stališča osnovnošolskih učiteljev na Hrvaškem do glasbe kot šolskega predmeta

The paper explores the influence of years of work experience, professional qualifications, additional music education, engaging in music activities in leisure time, and going to the theatre/classical music concerts on the attitudes of primary school teachers toward the school subject Music. The research was conducted on a sample of primary education teachers from all Croatian counties (N = 233), using a questionnaire composed of two parts: The General Data Questionnaire and Attitudes Toward Music as a School Subject. The results confirm that primary school teachers with fewer years of work experience have more positive attitudes toward the Curriculum of Music Education for Primary Schools and for Grammar Schools in the Republic of Croatia, while in other aspects of attitudes no difference was found. Furthermore, no differences were found in the attitudes of primary school teachers toward the subject Music with regard to their professional qualifications. Primary education teachers who have attended additional music classes, who engage in music activities in leisure time and who often attend theatre/classical music concerts, consider Music to be an important school subject that relaxes the students, and consider themselves more competent to teach music. The obtained results have significant implications in terms of music pedagogy, with regard to organizing the music education of preservice primary teachers and their lifelong learning.