Dr. Kaarna Marjanen currently works at Tampere University, Finland. She is also an associate professor (music education, especially early childhood music education) at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Originally, Kaarina graduated for a kindergarten teacher (1980), and an early childhood music teacher (1995), and a one subject music teacher (Master of Arts, 1999). She continued her studies on music education (Lic.Phil. 2005 and Ph.D. 2009). Because of her themes on the continuing studies she was expertized on musical interaction and music teacher’s professional training especially with the focus on the early childhood field. Kaarina's working life career includes experience in many Finnish universities, both as a lecturer and a researcher.

In 2021, Kaarina published the Multisensory Musical Design (MMD) model, to explain the musical phenomenon in faces, spaces and timelines, starting prenatally, to continue as a lifelong phenomenon with phenomnal dimensions to education and learning. Musical experiences always connect in holistic transversal learning through the multisensory world of experiences. Music is thus a well-defined tool to be integrated in education, due to the musical learning pathway to open these doors.

International collaboration is important for Kaarina, with many international projects like the European Music Portfolio (www.emportfolio.eu, 2009-2012). Kaarina’s approach to musical integration derives from the understanding of learning, with it’s multimodal sense-based connections and transversal nature. The basis for integration for her is explained from the prenatal learning processes and the construction of early interaction. Kaarina is a member of SIG Prime.

Kaarina's orcid id: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4563-6742

Further information: Kaarina's research profile; LinkedIn;  Academia.edu; Reseachgate; www.emportfolio.eu; 

Kaarina’s dissertation (2009)