Music Lessons Increase the Quality of School Life

New information, published in Music Education Research, examined whether a prolonged music education had a direct effect on pupils' experienced satisfaction using the school. Nearly one thousand pupils at ten Finnish schools with extended music classes and comparison classes participated using a survey that measured the quality of school life at Year 3 and Year 6.

In line with the results, the differences between extended music classes as well as the comparison classes were significant in tastes factors at Year 6, namely general satisfaction, opportunities and achievement, identity from the class and also the classroom climate. There have been no differences involving the groups at Year 3, which implies that a particular factor affects pupils' attitudes in the primary school years. The most likely explanation may be the volume of music lessons that was four hours every week to the extended music classes then one lesson weekly for the normal classes.
Merely attending a long education class at Year 3 would not cause differences in school satisfaction. To explore whether owned by any extended education class would confer the same benefits inside quality of faculty life, some extended education classes through an focus on visual arts and sports were included in the analysis. However, school satisfaction of these classes would not differ from the conventional ones at Year 6.
"Singing in a very choir and ensemble performance are popular activities at extended music classes. Other reports have established that people still find it very satisfying to synchronize with each other. That increases affiliation in the group and might make people like each other over before. Other subjects in the school will not have as intensive lessons in synchrony and coordination as music lessons, which could explain the main phenomenon," says Doctoral Student Päivi-Sisko Eerola, the key investigator with the study on the University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
An incomplete respond to the observed results could possibly be that girls usually have a tendency to give better scores on satisfaction towards school in college satisfaction studies and they also comprise a lot of pupils at extended music classes. However, the gender differences usually do not fully explain the observed results. In fact, it appears that extended music classes improve quality of school life more for boys than girls.
The Finnish school system continues to be especially appraised in international evaluations for the equality. Extended music education is actually the one case when pupils inside the grade school are selected in accordance with their abilities -- in music.
"The Finnish system of extended music education is pretty unique on this planet. This is why similar reports have not been done elsewhere," says Eerola. However, she finds it plausible that singing and making music together, the key ingredients of the extended music education, might be incorporated to any school system -- naturally in the bounds of national curriculum. The advantages of using a few extra hours of art and self-expression via music weekly are dramatic and indispensable.
"There exists a strong correlation between children's enjoyment of faculty and also the amount of teachers on sick leave. In this way, pupils' satisfaction makes all the school better spot for all!" Eerola concludes and wishes everybody an excellent autumn term at high school.