THEMATIC MUSIC IMPROVES EMOTIONAL COMPREHENSION: A CLUSTER-RANDOMIZED TRIAL IN CHINESE PRESCHOOLERS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55197/qjssh.v6i5.849Keywords:
emotional comprehension, music education, early childhood intervention, cluster-randomized trial, socio-emotional learningAbstract
This study examined the impact of a four-week thematic music program on the emotional comprehension of preschool children. A cluster-randomized controlled trial was conducted with 70 children, comprising 38 boys and 32 girls, with a mean age of 54.9 months (M=54.9, SD=3.6, range=48-61 months; all identified as Han Chinese) from two kindergarten classes in Nanchang, China. Classes were randomly assigned to the experimental group (n=35) receiving the music intervention or the control group (n=35) engaging in standard art activities. The Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC) was administered pre- and post-intervention by blinded assessors. An ANCOVA, controlling for pre-test scores, revealed a significant effect of the intervention on post-test total scores (p=.026, ηp²=.072). Significant effects were found for understanding emotions based on Desires and Beliefs. However, no significant improvements were observed for more complex components like Hiding or Mixed Emotions. Thematic music activities appear to be a promising strategy for enhancing foundational aspects of emotional comprehension.
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