RETRACTED: Exploring children’s well-being and creativity in Chinese folk music lessons

Abstract

• Music is an essential part of human creativity. • The study aims to determine the creativity of children in Chinese folk music lessons. • The results of this study can be useful for school principals. • The author recommends including additional folk music lessons in educational process. Music is an essential part of human creativity from the earliest stages of life. This study aims to determine the well-being and creativity of children in Chinese folk music lessons. For the experiment, 446 children were selected from four public schools in Hechi, China; four children refused to participate during the experiment. The participants were divided into two groups according to age: primary school children (average age 10.4 years) and secondary school children (average age 14.2 years). To determine children's well-being in Chinese folk music lessons, the questionnaire was developed and used, namely, “Well-being during Chinese folk music lessons”. The Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) was used to determine the general level of creativity. The analysis results showed that approximately 59% of children felt well during Chinese folk music lessons, 33% - excellently, while 3% - bad. The relationship between the results of TTCT and “Well-being during Chinese folk music lessons” showed a positive correlation (r=0.58). The results show that the percentage of children with a high level of creativity is over 20%. The results of this study can be useful for school principals as well as teachers in developing lesson plans. In connection with the positive results obtained, the author recommends to include additional folk music lessons in the educational process.