Welch, Graham Frederick;
Baxter, Hazel;
(2025)
Singing, health and wellbeing in young children.
Frontiers in Psychology
, 16
, Article 1595834. 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1595834.
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Abstract
This exploratory, pre-post study considers the impact of collective singing within inner London Primary classrooms on young children’s vocal development and sense of health and wellbeing. Data on singing and wellbeing were collected from children between the ages of five and seven before and at the conclusion of a whole class singing program. The program was led by professional singers from a charitable singing foundation who visited the school every 2 weeks over a period of 6 months (January 2024 to June 2024). Class teachers were expected to lead collective singing with their classes between the visits and the program concluded with performance in central London. Singing development was measured using the Singing Voice Development Measure (SVDM) and a revised model of vocal pitch-matching development (VPDM). Children’s perception of their health and wellbeing was assessed through the Very Short Wellbeing Questionnaire for Children (VSWQ-C), the PANAS-C measure of emotional wellbeing (modified for younger children) and focus groups at the end of the program. Results suggest that there was a significant improvement in children’s singing competency and that their perceptions of health and wellbeing were sustained across the period. However, there was no clear evidence statistically of a significant relationship between singing, health and wellbeing, primarily because, although their singing competency improved, these young children were very positive on the health and wellbeing measures throughout the focus period. Nevertheless, children in focus groups reported being very positive about the singing program and its positive impact on their health and wellbeing.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Singing, health and wellbeing in young children |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1595834 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1595834 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. The images or other third-party material in this article are included in the Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Keywords: | Children, singing, development, health and wellbeing, exploration |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Culture, Communication and Media |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10212530 |
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