The Impact of Music Education on Students’ Cognitive Development of Creativity in Elementary Schools

Abstract

Music education in the elementary ages of a child’s life has proven to be connected to cognitive outcomes. However, how it influences a child’s creativity is a field that has not been thoroughly researched. Understanding the impact of musical education on a child’s neurological development and creativity is paramount to gaining a holistic understanding of cognition in children. Literature exploring the development of divergent thinking, executive functions (EF), and neurological functioning from music training provides insight into the multiple ways that music impacts cognition. Databases ​including ​ OVID Medline, ScienceDirect, and PubMed were ​searched​ , and the CRAAP test was used to ​assess​validity. Findings suggest a strong positive correlation between high intrinsic motivation levels among students in music education and divergent thinking skills. Neuroimaging results pointed out an underlying co-activation in the Inferior Frontal Gyrus, a brain region associated with divergent thinking and creative idea generation, particularly evident during musical improvisation [1]. Results also indicate varying strengths in associations between music training and the development of three EFs (working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility). Greater cognitive flexibility and lesser inhibition are also correlated with creativity, thus demonstrating the need to further research the relationship between EFs, music education, and creativity. Musical education is also associated with increased cognitive functioning, including auditory processing, reasoning, and language abilities. Additionally, certain styles of musical education are hypothesized to increase perseverance and attention. Such findings imply that further research can be done to understand the mechanisms through which musical education impacts creative thinking in children and would be useful for further applications of musical education in educational and recreational settings.