Photo by Daniele Levis Pelusi on Unsplash
A new publication by the University of Adelaide highlights the benefits of music education for child development and well-being, particularly following the impact of the pandemic.
The research chapter by Dr. Emily Dollman, Head of Music Education and Pedagogy at the University of Adelaide’s Elder Conservatorium of Music, explores the importance of participatory music-making, including ensemble performance, and acknowledges neuro-musical research that points to the benefits of music on physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional child development.
The landmark study of 112,000 students
Learning a musical instrument involves the whole brain, including motor networks, auditory processing, linguistic networks, working memory and visual cortices. The landmark longitudinal population-sized study of 112,000 public school students in British Columbia (https://musiceducationworks.wordpress.com/2019/07/01/music-students-score-higher-in-maths-science-and-english-than-non-musical-peers/) showed that participation in school instrumental music is directly related to higher exam scores (Guhn et al., J Educ Psychol 112:308–328, 2020).
The conclusions
The research chapter also examines how participatory music education increases child wellbeing and strengthens their sense of social cohesion. It concludes that in the post-COVID-19 landscape, music’s ability to build social cohesion, allow for emotional release, and provide proven cognitive development will be pivotal in assisting students to rebuild connections and counteract developmental delay due to interrupted learning.
SOURCES:
Phys.org: https://phys.org/news/2023-12-benefit-music-well-being-children-post-covid.html
Springer: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-99-5609-8_7
Original source: New Research and Possibilities in Wellbeing Education
DETAILS:
| BENEFIT: | WELLBEING, CHILD DEVELOPMENT |
| TARGET GROUP: | YOUNG PEOPLE |
| AGE: | 5-18 YEARS-OLD |
| MUSIC TYPE: | GENERAL |
| TYPE OF STUDY: | ACADEMIC RESEARCH SUMMARY |
| NOs INVOLVED: | VARIOUS |
| PERIOD OF STUDY: | VARIOUS |
| DATE: | 2023 |
| PLACE: | AUSTRALIA |
Music Education Works 