Effectiveness of Music Education for the Improvement of Reading Skills and Academic Achievement in Young Poor Readers: A Pragmatic Cluster-Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial

Hugo Cogo-Moreira,Clara Regina Brandão De Ávila,Jair De Jesus Mari,George B Ploubidis,Jerson Laks

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0059984

Abstract

IntroductionDifficulties in word-level reading skills are prevalent in Brazilian schools and may deter children from gaining the knowledge obtained through reading and academic achievement. Music education has emerged as a potential method to improve reading skills because due to a common neurobiological substratum.ObjectiveTo evaluate the effectiveness of music education for the improvement of reading skills and academic achievement among children (eight to 10 years of age) with reading difficulties.Method235 children with reading difficulties in 10 schools participated in a five-month, randomized clinical trial in cluster (RCT) in an impoverished zone within the city of São Paulo to test the effects of music education intervention while assessing reading skills and academic achievement during the school year. Five schools were chosen randomly to incorporate music classes (n = 114), and five served as controls (n = 121). Two different methods of analysis were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention: The standard method was intention-to-treat (ITT), and the other was the Complier Average Causal Effect (CACE) estimation method, which took compliance status into account.ResultsThe ITT analyses were not very promising; only one marginal effect existed for the rate of correct real words read per minute. Indeed, considering ITT, improvements were observed in the secondary outcomes (slope of Portuguese = 0.21 [p<0.001] and slope of math = 0.25 [p<0.001]). As for CACE estimation (i.e., complier children versus non-complier children), more promising effects were observed in terms of the rate of correct words read per minute [β = 13.98, p<0.001] and phonological awareness [β = 19.72, p<0.001] as well as secondary outcomes (academic achievement in Portuguese [β = 0.77, p<0.0001] and math [β = 0.49, p<0.001] throughout the school year).ConclusionThe results may be seen as promising, but they are not, in themselves, enough to make music lessons as public policy.

Highlights

Difficulties in word-level reading skills are prevalent in Brazilian schools and may deter children from gaining the knowledge obtained through reading and academic achievement
As for Complier Average Causal Effect (CACE) estimation, more promising effects were observed in terms of the rate of correct words read per minute [b = 13.98, p,0.001] and phonological awareness [b = 19.72, p,0.001] as well as secondary outcomes
Though Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) analyzed 15-year-old children, these indicators warrant attention from authorities in Brazil and in other countries with low achievement (e.g., Peru, Panama, Montenegro, Bulgaria, and the Russian Federation).The most common approach to reading intervention has a theoretical motivation: Good phonological and metaphonological skills are important for success in learning to read

Summary

Introduction

Difficulties in word-level reading skills are prevalent in Brazilian schools and may deter children from gaining the knowledge obtained through reading and academic achievement. Obtaining adequate reading comprehension of written material is the ultimate goal of reading, and achievement of word-level skills is used as an initial indicator of success in learning to read [3]. Though PISA analyzed 15-year-old children (an older population when compared with our sample of 8- to 10-year -olds), these indicators warrant attention from authorities in Brazil and in other countries with low achievement (e.g., Peru, Panama, Montenegro, Bulgaria, and the Russian Federation).The most common approach to reading intervention has a theoretical motivation: Good phonological and metaphonological skills are important for success in learning to read. Musical learning can assist in the processing of lexical skills [5] and in improving pitch discrimination abilities in both speech and reading among nonmusician children [6]. It has been pointed out that a link exists between musical abilities and phonological skills [9]; the bases of these links are not clear [10]

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