Early musical experiences are very important for social, cognitive and physical development of children, as well as their future musical competences. Preschools present this environment with various musical materials. However, suitability of these materials in terms of developmental needs of children and educational goals is questionable. The purpose of this study is to transfer knowledge from relevant literature to design considerations of musical toys for preschool children. Literature review was conducted to determine various aspects to be considered while designing musical toys by compiling knowledge from developmental psychology and pedagogy literature; governments‟ educational policies and programs for early childhood in Turkey and in the world in general were reviewed in order to determine the expected outcomes of preschool education, and the research and development studies done in the field of musical toy design were explored. Furthermore, ten
semi-structured interviews were conducted with preschool educators in order to gather their experiences and opinions on the usage of musical materials. As a result, suggestions are provided for designers to be used in designing musical toys for preschool children concerning children’s needs, teachers and learning context, and product attributes.
Preschool_children_as_a_user_group_Desig
