The predictive relationship between achievement and participation in music and achievement in core Grade 12 academic subjects

Abstract

The relationship between musical training and general intellectual capacity as well as academic achievement has been discussed in numerous contexts. In our study, we examined the relationship between participation and achievement in music and achievement in academic courses, based on data from three consecutive British Columbia student cohorts. Across the three cohorts, we consistently found that music participation was associated with generally higher academic achievement, and that Grade 11 music course scores predicted Grade 12 academic achievement scores in linear regression analyses. Our results support the notion that the time dedicated to music participation does not impede, but rather goes hand in hand with or even fosters academic excellence in other ‘core’ subjects.

Notes

1. We used Fisher z-Transformation as described in Bortz (1999, p. 210) to calculate average correlations.

2. Two t-tests were not conducted (listed as n.a. in Table 1), because the data contained fewer than 20 cases that had participated in that Grade 11 music course and had taken the provincial exam in Grade 12.