Music Education and Social Emotional Development. Promoting Students' Social Skills through Collective Music Activities

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of collective musical activities on the development of social skills among elementary school students. As socio-emotional competencies gain increasing prominence in child education, music education—characterized by its emotional resonance and interactive nature—has demonstrated significant potential in facilitating emotional expression and interpersonal communication. Through the "I Am a Little Musician" community program, which incorporated choral rehearsals, group instrumental performances, and music games, this study evaluated the efficacy of structured collective music-making in enhancing participants' social capabilities. A dual-questionnaire design employing a 5-point Likert scale was administered to both students and parents to capture behavioral and affective changes before and after the program. Findings indicate that collective musical engagement significantly strengthened students' teamwork capacities, communication skills, and emotional identification, with particularly notable improvements observed in group interaction and collaborative dynamics. Parental feedback further corroborated these results, reporting measurable progress in children's social behaviors post-intervention. The study concludes that systematically designed collective music activities constitute an effective pedagogical strategy for fostering social skill development in educational settings. These findings offer both theoretical grounding and practical guidance for integrating music-based interventions into holistic education frameworks.