Cultivating 21st-Century Learning Skills: The Effectiveness of Song-based Music and Movement for Improving Children's Social Skills

Abstract

Researchers and educators asserted that music-based intervention is more effective than traditional teaching approaches when educating children due to the fact that music-based intervention promotes students' memory and interest. An ongoing imbalance in education that stands to be corrected is how parents and teachers may be more concerned with children's academic achievement than their social skills. In that context, this quantitative study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of song-based music and movement intervention in improving social skills among elementary-age children. The sixty participants (aged 7–9 years) were divided equally into three experimental groups (song-based, music and movement as well as song-based music and movement intervention) and a control group (no treatment). Quantitative data collected through pre and post-tests were assessed by three independent evaluators using the researcher-adapted Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Skills Measurement Form (IISMF). Participants' physical reactions, such as facial expressions, behaviours, and emotions, were observed. The results indicated that the song-based music and movement intervention had significantly improved the social skills on both dimensions of intrapersonal and interpersonal compared to the other interventions. This study provides insights to promote the implementation of song-based music and movement intervention for schoolteachers to improve young age children's social skills. Furthermore, social skills are one of the crucial elements in 21st-century learning skills that contribute to their future success.