The effects of music education on psychosocial functioning in primary school children: data

This dataset is part of a study that investigated the effect of increasing the frequency and quality of classroom music activities on the self-esteem and social skills of primary-aged school children. The data described here covers the component of the study relating to Grade 3 children (N = 149) recruited from schools in a rural region of Victoria, Australia. Schools were allocated to either the control condition or the treatment condition. In the treatment condition, the children received additional instrumental classes which were predominantly strings-based. The children in the control condition continued to receive their usual curriculum. The effect of the school-based music classes on children’s self-esteem and social skills was assessed across the 2 years of implementation, using the Culture Free Self-Esteem Inventories Third Edition (CFSEI-3) and the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS). Data collection occurred between 2006 and 2009. The data imply that an increase in quality arts-based activities is beneficial to children's self-esteem.