FROM TRAINING TO PEDAGOGICAL TRANSFORMATION: PRESCHOOL TEACHERS’ EXPERIENCES OF ONLINE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN CREATIVE MUSIC EDUCATION

Online professional development (OPD) has become an increasingly prominent component of teachers’ professional learning, particularly in early childhood education contexts. However, research has often focused on issues of access, effectiveness, or technological competence, paying limited attention to OPD’s potential to support deeper pedagogical transformation. This study explores preschool teachers’ experiences of OPD in creative music education and examines whether and how these experiences contribute to changes in pedagogical thinking and practice beyond technical training. Adopting a qualitative-dominant action research design, the study involved eight preschool teachers working in Rhodes, Greece. Data were collected between 24 November 2024 and 14 February 2025, during a period in which online and blended learning practices were actively implemented. Data were gathered through an open-ended questionnaire and analysed thematically. Descriptive visualisations were employed to support the interpretation of qualitative patterns without implying statistical generalisation. The findings indicate that teachers valued OPD for its flexibility and accessibility, but, more importantly, perceived it as meaningful when it connected digital tools to pedagogical aims in early childhood music education. Participants reported increased confidence, enhanced reflective practice, and a shift towards more open-ended, child-centred and creative musical activities. Challenges related to digital mediation, embodied interaction, family involvement, and contextual inequalities were also identified. The study concludes that OPD can function as a catalyst for pedagogical transformation in creative music education when it is practice-oriented, reflective, and responsive to the specificities of early childhood contexts. Article visualizations: