title: Longitudinal effects of group music instruction on literacy skills in low-income children.
abstract: Children from low-socioeconomic backgrounds tend to fall progressively further behind their higher-income peers over the course of their academic careers. Music training has been associated with enhanced language and learning skills, suggesting that music programs could play a role in helping low-income children to stay on track academically. Using a controlled, longitudinal design, the impact of group music instruction on English reading ability was assessed in 42 low-income Spanish-English bilingual children aged 6-9 years in Los Angeles. After one year, children who received music training retained their age-normed level of reading performance while a matched control group's performance deteriorated, consistent with expected declines in this population. While the extent of change is modest, outcomes nonetheless provide evidence that music programs may have value in helping to counteract the negative effects of low-socioeconomic status on child literacy development.
authors.affiliation: Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America; Department of Communication Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Slater
authors.affiliation: Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America; Institute for Neuroscience, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America.
authors.forename: Dana L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Strait
authors.affiliation: Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America; Department of Communication Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America.
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Skoe
authors.affiliation: Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America.
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: O'Connell
authors.affiliation: Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America; Department of Communication Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America.
authors.forename: Elaine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America; Department of Communication Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America; Institute for Neuroscience, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America; Department of Neurobiology and Physiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America; Department of Otolaryngology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kraus
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007804:Language Development; D007858:Learning; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D019303:Multilingualism; D009146:Music; D011203:Poverty / Q000523:psychology*