# The effect of music training on students’ mathematics and physics development at middle schools in China: A longitudinal study

## TL;DR

This study explores how music training affects math and physics performance in Chinese middle school students over time.

## Contribution

It reveals that music training does not independently boost academic achievement but interacts with other factors like parental education.

## Key findings

- Non-music students outperformed music students in mathematics and physics.
- Music training's impact is intertwined with factors like parental education and out-of-school engagement.
- The study suggests potential implications for integrating music in non-musical cognitive learning.

## Abstract

As a descriptive-inferential study, this research aimed at revealing the relationship between music training and academic development with the Chinese middle school students' academic performance of mathematics and physics skills. The participants of this study consisted of the students from two different middle schools located at two cities in Shandong province, China. From each school 250 students were selected, and the statistics was used to analyze both the academic performance of the students and the data obtained from the scale designed by the authors. The research results show that the non-music students outperformed music students on both mathematics and physics development. In addition, music training did not contribute to the academic achievement independently but rather integrated with several factors like parents’ education and out-of-school engagement. The findings suggest the positive influence on non-musical cognitive learning, and it has potential implications for the Chinese middle school education.