Music boosts pupils' self-confidence, survey says

February 02 2010

Learning to play music instruments can help raise pupils' self-confidence, a new survey has found.

The University of Arts report, which surveyed 1,389 schools in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, found that 90 per cent of participating institutions believe that specialised music teaching can boost schoolchildren's self- esteem,

"Children get tremendous value from music. [It] can encourage the development of listening and concentration skills, appropriate behaviour, self-motivation, communications skills and teamwork," a spokesperson for the Department for Children, Schools and Families told the BBC.

Most of the teachers also said that music accomplishment prompted pupils to have a more positive attitude towards other academic subjects.

In other news, more than four out of five primary school teachers are using singing as part of their daily educational method, a new report has said.

Sing Up, the national singing programme, has found that singing is a widely used instrument during reception and year one, with 88 per cent and 58 per cent of teachers respectively using it to deliver lessons to pupils, according to the Teaching Times.

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