Study Confirms: Music Can Change Students’ Lives
New research from the University of Southern California confirms what so many of us intuitively know — that music is a critical component for the development of young minds.
USC researchers surveyed 120 students from 52 middle schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Those who started music education before the age of 8 felt more hopeful about their future and received higher scores on measures of youth development.
“We know that the pandemic has taken a toll on student mental health. The many narratives of learning loss that have emerged since the start of the pandemic paint a grim picture of what some call a lost generation,” Beatriz Ilari, an associate professor of music education at the USC Thornton School of Music and an author of the study, told EdSource. “Music might be an activity to help students develop skills and competencies, work out their emotions, engage in identity work and strengthen connections to the school and community.”
Read the study here.
