High school students who take music courses score significantly better on math, science and English exams than their non-musical peers, according to a new study published in the Journal of Educational Psychology.
School administrators needing to cut budgets often look first to music courses, because the general belief is that students who devote time to music rather than math, science and English, will 1 in those disciplines.
" Our research proved this belief 2 and found the more the students engage with music, the better they do in those subjects," said UBC (University of British Columbia) education professor and the study's principal investigator, Peter Gouzouasis." The students who learned to play a musical instrument in elementary and 3 playing in high school not only score significantly higher, but were about one academic year ahead of their non-music peers with regard to their English, mathematics and science skills, as measured by their exam grades, 4 their socioeconomic background, race, previous learning in mathematics and English, and gender."
Gouzouasis and his team 5 data from all students in public schools in British Columbia who finished Grade 12 between 2012 and 2015. The data 6 , made up of more than 112,000 students, included those who completed at least one standardized exam for math, science and English. Students who studied at least one instrumental music course in the regular curriculum counted as students 7 music.
The researchers found the 8 relationships between music education and academic achievement were more pronounced for those who took instrumental music rather than vocal (发声的) music. The findings suggest skills learned in instrumental music 9 very broadly to the students' learning in school.
" Learning to play a musical instrument and playing in a band is very 10 ," said the study's co-investigator Martin Guhn, an assistant professor in UBC's school of population and public health. " A student has to learn to read musical notes, develop eye-hand-mind coordination (协调), develop keen listening skills, develop 11 skills for playing in a band and develop discipline to practice. All those learning experiences, and more, play a role in 12 the learner's cognitive capacities (认知能力), executive functions, and motivation to learn in school."
The researchers hope that their findings will be brought to the 13of students, parents, teachers and administrative decision-makers in education, as many school districts over the years have emphasized mathematics and literacy 14 other areas of learning, particularly music." However, the amusing aspect is that 15 education can be the very thing that improves all-around academic achievement," said Gouzouasis.
