Relationships between instrumental music participation and academic achievement in low SES students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between student participation in instrumental music class and academic achievement, specifically in low socioeconomic status (SES) students. The hypothesis was that students who participate in an instrumental music program will display increased levels of achievement, and that this relationship will be more pronounced among students who receive free and reduced lunches. Participants in this study were 320 students in grades 5 and 6 from an intermediate school in a rural south central Kansas school district. Students ranged in age from 10-12 years. A total of 172 fifth grade students and 148 sixth grade students participated. The Two-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was the main analytical method employed in this study. Separate ANOVAs were conducted for each of the two dependent measures, reading and mathematics, subscales of the Kansas State Assessment, for both grade levels with music status and lunch status as factors. Some of the findings from this study are consistent with previous research. Results show were no significant interactions found between instrumental music status and lunch status in any of the four ANOVAs. A statistically significant relationship was found between sixth grade instrumental music participation and reading scores, as well as sixth grade instrumental music participation and math scores. These results suggest that duration (i.e., months of instruction) in instrumental music class may be important to increases in academic achievement. Also consistent with previous research, fifth grade results showed a statistically significant relationship between lunch status and reading scores as well as lunch status and mathematics scores; free and reduced lunch students scored significantly lower than their peers.