1. The Effects of Music Exposure in Overall Academic Development and Performance
John Daniel Baro’ Dabu, Bachelor of Arts and Science (Music Minor, Mathematics Minor)
Background:
Results:
Mozart Effect:
Some studies show a positive correlation between the participants' spatial performance and listening to classical music, while other studies found no significant differences between the performance of the classical music listeners and the other listening groups.
The studies' statistical significance suffer from having small, non-randomized study groups.
Music Instruction-Academic Intervention:
Most studies found positive correlation between supplementary music lessons and improved academic performance while others found no significant difference in performance between participants taking music supplemented or traditional curricula.
The studies' statistical significance suffer from having small non-randomized study groups. Furthermore, this means of experimentation appears to be the least used. As such, there are relatively few studies of this nature.
Music Instruction-Standardized Tests and Surveys:
Most studies found highest academic performance among instrumental students, while others found said performance to be insignificant. Depending on the study, the academic performance of participants with vocal background varies between under performing and over performing against non-musical participants.
Half the studies' statistical significance suffers from having small, non-randomized study groups. The results of the much larger study groups are to be taken with scepticism due to unbalanced sample sizes.
-Music is seen by many as an important part of education curriculum. It has been long thought to be complementary to math and to enhance overall academic performance. However, this is not reflected in the way that Education Policies are prioritizing math and the other sciences at the expense of funds and instruction time dedicated to music and other arts courses.
-A report done by the Centre of Educational Policy found out 45% of school district respondents had increased math instruction time at the expense of other subjects, 16% sacrificing time in music and the arts (Helmrich, 2010)
-California Basic Educational Data System data showed a drop of 50% in student involvement in music courses coinciding with a 26.7% decline in number of music staff in California Schools. (Council for Basic Education, 2004)
-A 2010 Survey involving 1204 Canadian schools nationwide had 26% and 24% of its respondents state underfunding and lack of instruction time as their main challenges, respectively. (Anonymous, 2010)
-This issue affects the students who are part of the education curricula, as the education policies that shape their curriculum shape their education. This also affects school staff, whose duties and employment are determined by the education policies and funding provided by district school boards.
Objectives:
Discussions:
-In light of present studies, it remains debatable whether or not music exposure enhances overall academic performance.
-Studies on different types of exposure mainly focus on different age groups. Mozart Effect studies mainly use college students and adults as participants, Musical Academic Intervention studies mainly use primary to elementary students, and Standardized Test and Survey based studies mainly focus on middle school to high school students. Furthermore, there are variations in said categories of music exposure studies, in terms of methodology.
-Correlation does not equate to causality. i.e. High test performance among band students may simply be caused by a high concentration of high scorers in the band programs as opposed to band music programs contributing to academic performance (Fitzpatrick, 2006).
-The objective of this study is to explore documented literature regarding the correlation between various means of music exposure and overall academic performance and development.
-Aforementioned music exposure will be split into two categories: Mozart Effect (Enhancement through music listening) and Teaching Instruction (band, vocal, private lessons, etc.).
-Teaching Instruction literature will be further split into two main focuses of analysis: Academic Intervention and Standardized Testing.
Recommendations and Future Directions:
References
Cheek, J. M., & Smith, L. R. (1999). Music training and mathematics achievement. Adolescence, 34(136),
Costa-Giomi, E. (2004). Effects of three years of piano instruction on children's academic achievement, school performance and self-esteem. Psychology of Music, 32(2),
Courey, S. J., Balogh, E., Siker, J. R., & Paik, J. (2012). Academic music: Music instruction to engage third-grade students in learning basic fraction concepts. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 81(2),
Cox, A. H., & Stephens, J. L. (2006). The effect of music participation on mathematical achievement and overall academic achievement of high school students. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science & Technology, 37(7),
Crook, M. D., Steele, K. M., & Bass, K. E. (1999). The mystery of the Mozart effect: Failure to replicate. Psychological Science: A Journal of the American Psychological Society, 10(4),
A delicate balance: Music education in Canadian schools executive summary.(2010). The Canadian Music Educator, 52(2),
Fitzpatrick, K. R. (2006). The effect of instrumental music participation and socioeconomic status on Ohio fourth-, sixth-, and ninth-grade proficiency test performance. Journal of Research in Music Education, 54(1),
Helmrich, B. H. (2010). Window of opportunity? adolescence, music, and algebra. Journal of Adolescent Research, 25(4),
Huskins, E., Hounshell, G. W., & Carstens, C. B. (1995). Listening to mozart may not enhance performance on the revised Minnesota paper form board test. Psychological Reports, 77(1),
Johnson, C. M., & Memmott, J. E. (2006). Examination of relationships between participation in school music programs of differing quality and standardized test results. Journal of Research in Music Education,54(4), 293.
Joyce Eastlund Gromko. (2005). The effect of music instruction on phonemic awareness in beginning readers. Journal of Research in Music Education, 53(3),
Kerkin, B., Bates, T., Stough, C., & Mangan, G. (1994). Music and spatial IQ. Personality and Individual Differences, 17(5)
Levine, L. J., Wright, E. L., Dennis, W. R., Rauscher, F. H., Shaw, G. L., & Newcomb, R. L. (1997). Music training causes long-term enhancement of preschool children's spatial-temporal reasoning. Neurological Research, 19, 2-8.
McKelvie, P., & Low, J. (2002). Listening to Mozart does not improve children's spatial ability: Final curtains for the mozart effect. The British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 20, 241.
Nantais, K. M., & Schellenberg, E. G. (1999). The Mozart effect: An artifact of preference. Psychological Science: A Journal of the American Psychological Society, 10(4),
Newman, J., Burns, K. L., Vogt, E. R., Rosenbach, J. H., Latimer, B. C., & Matocha, H. R. (1995). An experimental test of "the Mozart effect": Does listening to his music improve spatial ability? Perceptual and Motor Skills, 81(3),
Patston, L. L. M., & Tippett, L. J. (2011). The effect of background music on cognitive performance in musicians and nonmusicians. Music Perception, 29(2),
Peterson, M., Shaw, G. L., & Grandin, T. (1998). Spatial-temporal versus language-analytic reasoning: The role of music training. Arts Education Policy Review, 99(6),
Rauscher, F. H., & Shaw, G. L. (1998). Key components of the Mozart effect. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 86(3),
Rauscher, F. H., Shaw, G. L., & Ky, K. N. (1993). Music and spatial task performance. Nature: International Weekly Journal of Science, 365(6447), 611.
Rauscher, F. H., Shaw, G. L., & Ky, K. N. (1995). Listening to Mozart enhances spatial-temporal reasoning: Towards a neurophysical basis. Neuroscience Letters, 185(1),
Rideout, B. E., Dougherty, S., & Wernert, L. (1998). Effect of music on spatial performance: A test of generality. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 86(2),
Rideout, B. E., & Laubach, C. M. (1996). EEG correlates of enhanced spatial performance following exposure to music. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 82(2),
Shilling, W. A. (2002). Mathematics, music, and movement: Exploring concepts and connections
Steele, K. M., Brown, J. D., & Stoecker, J. A. (1999). Failure to confirm the rauscher and shaw description of recovery of the Mozart effect. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 88(3 Pt 1),
Steele, K. M. (2003). Do rats show a Mozart effect? Music Perception, 21(2),
Steele, K. M., Runk, R., & Ball, T. N. (1997). Listening to Mozart does not enhance backwards digit span performance. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 84(3),
von Zastrow, C. E., & Janc, H. (2004). Academic atrophy: The condition of the liberal arts in America's public schools. Council for Basic Education.
-Take data with a grain of salt; this is an ongoing line of research.
-Further supplement your understanding of the issue with independent research.
-Future research in this field needs to have much larger more randomized group sizes.
-Future research needs to take into account other factors aside from music background (e.g. income, family size, etc.)