Musical play and self-regulation: does musical play allow for the emergence of self-regulatory behaviours?

Abstract

This paper is a pioneering attempt to bring together the notions of musical play and self-regulation and reports on a study aiming to explore 6-year-old children's self-regulation during musical play. While musical play is one of the first manifestations of musicality, a fundamental aspect of human functioning [Trevarthen, C. (2000). Musicality and the intrinsic motive pulse: Evidence from human psychobiology and infant communication. Musicae Scientiae, 3(1), 155–215], self-regulation is crucial in children's learning. Self-regulatory abilities flourish in playful contexts [Bruner, J. S. (1972). Nature and uses of immaturity. American Psychologist, 27(8), 687–708], since play's specific characteristics promote self-regulatory development. Even though musical play shows these characteristics, its relationship with self-regulation is under-researched. This paper presents observations of ten 6-year-old children while they were engaged in musical play sessions. Having adopted a mixed-methods approach, the results suggested that musical play allowed for self-regulatory behaviours to emerge. An understanding of the link between musical play and self-regulation could inform not only the theoretical underpinnings suggesting a relationship between play and self-regulation, but also current teaching practice in relation to music education.

Keywords:

• musical play
• self-regulation
• metacognition
• musicality

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the participating music teacher for her willingness to provide access to her classroom, implement the musical play sessions, and for her invaluable help and insights into the development of the musical play activities.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Antonia Zachariou, BA, MPhil, PhD (Cantab), began her studies in Education at the University of Cyprus in 2005 reading for a BA in Education – Primary School Education. She went on to complete an MPhil in Education (Psychology and Education) at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge. Zachariou has just completed her PhD at the Faculty of Education of the University of Cambridge, exploring the relationship between children's musical play and self-regulation, investigating whether musical play supports children's self-regulatory development. She is currently a Research Associate at the Faculty of Education.

David Whitebread, BA, MEd, PhD, is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Early Years Education in the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge. He is a developmental psychologist and early years specialist. His research interests are concerned with children's cognitive development and implications for early years and primary education. Recent research has focused on learning through play and the role of metacognition and self-regulation in young children's learning. His publications include The psychology of teaching and learning in the primary school (2000), Teaching and learning in the early years (3rd ed.; 2008), and Developmental psychology and early childhood education (Sage, 2012).

Notes

1. From now on, the self-regulatory behaviours per minute will be presented as s.r.b./minute.