Music and the Self-Esteem of Young Children

Most researchers agree that early life experiences greatly affect one's self-esteem. This unique book is one of the first to explore the influence of music on the development of self-esteem in pre-school children. The study involves 55 second-year kindergartners with low self-esteem. These children are assigned to three groups: (1) an experimental group in which each child is accompanied by one parent; (2) an experimental group in which each child is alone, and (3) a control group. On separate occasions, the two experimental subject groups attended a specifically designed music program for one hour each week, for a total of nine weeks. In order to obtain data, the study employs four tools (in a pre-test/post-test design): the Joseph Pre-school and Primary Self-Concept Screening Test (JPPSST), a Teacher Questionnaire (TQ), a Parent Questionnaire (PQ), and the Videotaped Behavior Coding (VBC). The study reveals that the music program significantly improved the self-esteem of the children who participated in the program with a parent (the experimental 'parental' group). The author details the practical ramifications of these results. This book will appeal to early childhood educators, researchers, and psychologists. It is also highly appropriate for courses in Music Education and Music Therapy for young children.