![This research could be music to your ears…](https://magarticles.magzter.com/articles/15863/381743/5dbc3356b653d/This-research-could-be-music-to-your-ears.jpg)
It is a truth universally acknowledged that playing an instrument helps children in many aspects of school life – well, at least in the fraternity of music teachers it is. Until recently, however, we have been in want of evidence to support our theory. These are big claims that are tricky to test: it’s tremendously hard to prove that instrumental music-making trains and increases a child’s cognitive capacity; that commitment to regular practice and rehearsal can have effects on motivation beyond the rehearsal room; and that succeeding and failing together in an ensemble can change the way we feel about ourselves and the way we relate to others.
This want of evidence is becoming a problem for our children’s education. The recent report Music Education: State of the Nation describes dwindling secondary curriculum hours for music, fewer specialist music teachers and states, yet again, the damaging effects of the English Baccalaureate. Entries for GCSE music have fallen by 18.6 percent since 2014 (Daubney, Spruce and Annetts, 2019).
So we should all sit up and take notice of a new study, published in the American Psychological Association’s Journal of Education Psychology (Guhn, Emerson and Gouzouasis, 2019). It’s a big piece of work, exploring the records of nearly 113,000 Canadian pupils, and it makes a powerful central claim – that “students highly engaged in music were, on average, academically over one year ahead of their peers not engaged in school music”.
This story is from the November 01, 2019 edition of TES.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 01, 2019 edition of TES.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
![Try not to get hung up on linguistic convention, chic@s](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15863/381743/5dbc265c11156/crp_Try-not-to-get-hung-up-on-linguistic-convention-chics.jpg)
Try not to get hung up on linguistic convention, chic@s
Languages are like water – they take the easiest route. And, like gender, they are fluid. That is why, as world languages evolve to reflect cultural change, a revolution is under way in the use of ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ terms, writes Heather Martin
![Three simple psychology tips for better behaviour](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15863/381743/5dbc30455238e/crp_Three-simple-psychology-tips-for-better-behaviour.jpg)
Three simple psychology tips for better behaviour
When a pupil is acting up, their motivations are often hidden from view. It’s possible that teachers themselves are partially at fault for setting the wrong tone in their interaction with others, writes Lekha Sharma, who suggests ways to remodel a school culture
![This research could be music to your ears…](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15863/381743/5dbc3356b653d/crp_This-research-could-be-music-to-your-ears.jpg)
This research could be music to your ears…
Schools should resist putting additional time and resources into yet more English and maths lessons and instead give children’s learning a research-evidenced boost by encouraging them to join a band or an orchestra, says Martin Leigh
![Minority (school) report](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15863/381743/5dbc22d3e689e/crp_Minority-school-report.jpg)
Minority (school) report
Predictive technology – powered by increasingly complex algorithms – is finding its way into schools, promising to pre-empt misbehaviour, violence or mental health issues before they happen. But does it work, and is its use ethical, asks Simon Creasey
![Giving school a spin again](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15863/381743/5dbc2d897d6c4/crp_Giving-school-a-spin-again.jpg)
Giving school a spin again
In a bid to improve parental engagement, one Edinburgh school is putting parents in their children’s shoes to experience a typical modern school day – and the results are breathtaking, finds Emma Seith
![Averting Pupils' Social Stigma By ‘Poverty Proofing'](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15863/380404/5db6cab89752d/crp_Averting-Pupils-Social-Stigma-By-Poverty-Proofing.jpg)
Averting Pupils' Social Stigma By ‘Poverty Proofing'
Do your school policies unintentionally ‘out’ children from disadvantaged backgrounds? One charity says such occurrences are all too common and have proposed ‘poverty proofing’ as the solution. Lucy Edkins investigates
![A Plant-Based Diet Of Learning](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15863/380404/5db6cc833aff2/crp_A-Plant-Based-Diet-Of-Learning.jpg)
A Plant-Based Diet Of Learning
Aware of the mental health benefits of green-fingered working, Nigel Cox helped to set up an outreach course at his college to support people recovering from substance abuse and other personal challenges
![Social And Emotional Skills In The Early Years](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15863/380404/5db6c55d1df0b/crp_Social-And-Emotional-Skills-In-The-Early-Years.jpg)
Social And Emotional Skills In The Early Years
Children who are able to focus their attention, manage their behaviour and interact positively with others from a young age experience better learning outcomes later in life, finds Irena Barker
![How Centralised Detentions Get Pupils' Attention](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15863/380404/5db6c8ee6959c/crp_How-Centralised-Detentions-Get-Pupils-Attention.jpg)
How Centralised Detentions Get Pupils' Attention
By adopting a consistent whole-school approach to rewards and sanctions, we achieved a marked improvement in attitudes to learning – and reduced teachers’ workload, says Calvin Robinson
![Homework Truths](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/15863/380404/5db6c2570d740/crp_Homework-Truths.jpg)
Homework Truths
With some studies claiming that homework has little or no impact on pupil achievement, schools have been tempted to cut back on it or ban it altogether. But we shouldn’t write homework off, warn two gurus of UK education research. Steve Higgins and Lee Elliot Major argue that the evidence on homework has been misrepresented – and out-of-school study can, in fact, have a major impact on learning outcomes