Abstract:

The purpose of this quantitative action research study was to discover the effects of music on the cognitive and literacy development of children ages six months to three years of age. Over a thirteen week period, both the music group and the control group took a child development pre-test and post test and the music group attended eight music sessions. The early childhood developmental screening test was the Developmental Assessment of Young Children (DAYC).
The following research questions guided the Literature Review and Methodology of this research study:
1. What is the relationship between music and a child’s cognitive development?
2. What is the relationship between music and a child’s literacy development?
3. What is the relationship between the music environment provided at home and the child’s cognitive development?
4. What is the relationship between the music environment provided at home and the child’s literacy development?
5. What is the significance of involving movement and freedom of expression with music in the curriculum of early childhood programs?
Findings from this study revealed insights on how music affects children’s cognitive development, literacy development, and social and emotional development. This study also contributed to musical knowledge of parents participating in the music sessions and gave the parents a better understanding of how to implement music in the home. Each music session gave the parents and children a twenty-five minute to forty-five minute time frame to focus on one another and help develop the parent-child relationship. Results from the study helped guide the researcher to write a music program curriculum for children ages birth to five. The study also focused on the relationship between the music environment provided at home and the child’s cognitive and literacy development along with the significance of involving movement and freedom of expression with music in the curriculum of early childhood programs.