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CHAPTER V

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This thesis has focused on the impact of music on creative output of disadvantaged

children in creative and language activities.

Without a doubt, music is an integral part of life of every young child with its primary

objective being enjoyment. The important influences of music on children can be that

it enhances creative expression. Music is an important medium for communication

and self-expression. Children develop natural and spontaneous relationships with

music as they experiment with sound, participate in group singing, practice movement

skills, match tones, learn to keep a basic rhythm and hear different kinds of music.

Music serves as additional reinforcement in the routine activities. Music offers an

opportunity for children to explore materials like manipulative toys, crayons, paper,

glue, paints, blocks and books in a learning environment. A good musical

environment enhances the child’s. Children connect music with body movements as

the direction and flow of music invites children to respond to music with their bodies

and to express their feelings and thoughts. When teachers make music an integral part

of the school day, the children’s development is enhanced.

Similarly, art plays important role in the preschool curriculum. Children between the

age group of five to six years are symbol users. They communicate through symbols

using to represent things. At this stage children use symbols in their art work which

represent their experiences. These art symbols are used in visual artwork and

language. This power of art, children use in their drawings to communicate feelings.

As in the case of music, art is primarily a means of expression for the child. With

increasing perception, understanding and interpretation of the environment becomes a

language of thought. A child expresses thoughts, feelings, interests and knowledge of

the environment through creative expressions.

Blocks, are dynamic tools for early childhood classroom learning. Children can build

and rebuild things based on their own perceptions. Block building enables children to

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gain self-satisfaction, which helps to promote good self-esteem at an early age. The

block constructions and the little things children make to support their play are not

simply means of amusement. Similar to music and art, block play is also a means of

self expression.

In the present study, particular emphasis was placed on language, which is part of a

child’s total development. A child who has many verbal interactions with adults is

likely to develop greater verbal proficiency and confidence in the use of words than

the child who has not had such experiences. From a very early age children are

surrounded by visual images like pictures of toys logo on a serial box or shopping

catalogue in a shopping mall. Visual literacy can be defined as the ability to

understand and to produce visual messages because visual images are considered as

language. Children become visually literate by the practice of visual encoding and

decoding. The children decode visual messages in pictures and encode them in oral

language. A classroom in which children are given many opportunities to interact

with others is one in which language development is fostered. Interaction is an

important part of the communication. Children listen and speak as they play with

clay, dough, paint, pegs, blocks, sand and water. If they feel comfortable when they

talk, they are more to likely to experiment with language. In a house keeping area,

children talk to each other as they re-enact familiar roles. Children express creativity

through language. Language of art is an expansion of language of preschool. Both

use terms like colour, shape, line and size. This art talk connects children’s natural

desire to represent their experiences to comparable intention of the artist throughout

the ages.

Developmental characteristics of children between five to six years in music, art,

block play and language experiences have common values. If these experiences are

integrated it gives children the opportunity to think about what they are learning, as

they create representation and products that reflect their new understanding. As

children manipulate the art material, they learn about the characteristic of the art

materials. Integration of music with art and language can foster artistic and linguistic

expression through a certain mood, tone, tempo or beat. It can also trigger

spontaneous movement. Music and art are forms of non verbal expression. Music

time and art time provide good opportunities for children who are less articulate. Art

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talk, art words, musical painting, collage work and block play, manipulation and

exploration of fixing toys, clay playing, sand play and water play with background

music help in all over development of the child. Integration of music with creative

art, construction art and language helps children to express themselves, dramatize,

enjoy, experiment, create and have sensory experiences which help to enhance

physical, motor, social, emotional, language, creative, cognitive and intellectual

development. It makes the child holistic individual.

In Indian preschools the use of music as an aid to teaching is a common phenomenon.

In India, however, research to view and observe the impact of background music on

children in preschool is a rare phenomenon. This scene is slowly changing with recent

changes in the field of human development and with extra efforts on the part of early

childhood educators but more needs to be explored. The school authorities have

started realizing the value of integrated curriculum in the preschools. Urban

preschools have started adapting integrated curriculum but in the balwadis/preschools

in urban slums, tribal and rural areas, formal education still is considered important.

It is a downward extension of primary education.

The investigator has observed that background music has brought forth the best

creative talent and increased the attention span in children when they played with

blocks, indulged in indoor and outdoor play and in various other creative activities.

Children, by nature are curious and hence are easily distracted from the activity in

hand. The investigator has observed that background music has increased the attention

span of children to the activity in hand. While working with children from various

economically deprived groups the researcher felt that, if music is a liked aspect of

learning for all children, and if it is enhancing enjoyment, self expression,

dramatization, experimentation, sensory interaction and creativity, music can be used

as a stimulating factor for all activities of preschool.

This research has attempted to analyze the impact of music on specific creative

activities, such as crayon drawing and shapes collage and constructive art activity,

such as block play. The research also analyses the impact of music on verbal

responses of children in relation to these above mentioned activities and attention

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span while performing the activities. The research also studies the gender differences

in non musical and musical environments.

5.1 Methodology

The present study investigated the impact of music on the creative output in art and

language of disadvantaged children keeping the following objectives in mind.

1) To investigate the impact of music on the creative output of disadvantaged

children in art and language activities.

2) To study the differential influence of music on the creative output of

disadvantaged children in art and language activities in relation to sex.

3) To explore the impact of music on the attention span of disadvantaged children,

as they perform the activities.

4) To find out the differential influence of music on the attention span of children in

relation to sex.

The project was divided into phases. In the first phase, a pilot study was conducted in

balwadis to organize the type of musical environment for the present study. 20

children between the age group 5 to 6 years from two balwadis for disadvantaged

children were given art activities. A variety of music DVDs (Indian Instrumental,

Western Instrumental and Fusion Music) were played in the background while

children performed activities like, drawing, sticking, clay, and block play. After

checking the feasibility of various art activities and standardizing the procedure for

providing the art activities, three art activities were selected: Crayon Drawing

(individual activity), Shapes Collage (individual activity) and Block Play (group

activity)

To develop and formulate rating scales for art activities creative output sheets (COS)

of children in crayon drawing and shapes collage were given to three professional

artists. The researcher had devised five point rating scale (Vyavaharkar, 1993). This

scale was further tested in the present context and based on the expert’s suggestions

the researcher revised the five point rating scale to three point rating scale on the basis

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of aesthetic aspects of art like organization, balance, rhythm, colors and movement.

These aesthetic aspects of art were operationally defined. This rating scale was

considered as final scoring tool for crayon drawing and shapes collage activities. The

video cassettes of block play were transferred on to CDs and were given to three

professional artists to view and help to devise a rating scale for block play. Based on

their suggestions, the researcher devised a three point of rating scale on the basis of

five aesthetic aspects of art: utilization of space, co-ordination and movement, title

suitability, rhythm, and balance and organization. The rating scales were modified,

reliability was found and then they were pilot tested.

The children were given themes on myself. The children responded enthusiastically

for the themes on myself. So it was decided that theme on ‘myself’ in the first week,

‘myself at home’ in the second week and ‘myself in the garden’ in the third week will

be given to children to draw with crayons. In shapes collage activity children were

given four geometric shapes: round, rectangle, square and triangle in the first week.

Hexagon and star in the second week and heart and cloud shapes in the third week.

The Creative Output Sheets (COS) of children were collected and to elicit language

responses the children were asked questions about their art work on the checklists

which were formulated. The checklists for crayon drawing and shapes collage were

pilot tested, validated and modified according to the suggestions given by experts.

Block play was observed and it was decided that it will be recorded on video camera,

DVDs will be made and will be viewed by experts and observation will be reported.

Attention span was recorded in time in minutes as the children performed the

activities. On each COS and data recording protocol, the time was indicated.

The second phase involved the sample for the study. Children from seven

organizations were randomly selected for the study. Total sample consisted of 82

children (41 girls and 41 boys). The participants in the study were balwadi children

between the age group five to six years from seven balwadis for disadvantaged

children, situated in three locales of Maharashtra, five balwadis in Mumbai, one

Balwadi at Lonavala and one at Talasari.

In the next phase, the researcher focused on administration of art activities and data

collection at each balwadis in two environments namely non musical and musical

environments. Data collection was carried out at balwadis A, B, C, D, E, F, and G for

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four months. At each center for at first crayon drawing activity was given, then shapes

collage activity followed by block play. (refer to Table 5.1and 5.2)

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Table 5.1 Administration of art activities, data collection and scoring of data

Tasks Materials

provided Musical and Non Musical Environments

Record Keeping

and Preservation

of COS

Time recorded

Attention span Scoring tool

Crayon

Drawing

White sheet of

paper and 12

colour crayons

Themes:

Week I: Myself

Week II :

Myself at

home

Week III: Myself

in the garden

Portfolios Attention span in

minutes

3 point rating scale

Shapes

Collage

Marble paper

shapes of

different colours

Week I Square,

round, rectangle and

triangle

Week II:

Square,

round,

rectangle,

triangle,

hexagon

and star.

Week III: Square,

round, rectangle,

triangle, hexagon,

star, heart and

cloud.

Portfolios Attention span in

minutes

3 point rating scale

Block

play

Number of blocks included four dozen cubes, two dozen hollow

rectangular and square blocks two dozen rectangular big blocks, two dozen

square blocks, four big triangular block, two dozen cylindrical block, two

dozen long blocks and half dozen

DVDs Maximum time

given 30 minutes

3 point rating scale

144

Table 5.2 Data collection of verbal responses of children on COS and block play

Tasks Verbal

responses Musical and Non Musical Environments Scoring tool

Crayon

Drawing

Questions asked

on COS

Themes:

Week I: Myself

Week II :

Myself at

home

Week III: Myself

in the garden

Checklist

Shapes

Collage

Questions asked

on COS

Week I Square,

round, rectangle and

triangle

Week II:

Square,

round,

rectangle,

triangle,

hexagon

and star.

Week III: Square,

round, rectangle,

triangle, hexagon,

star, heart and

cloud.

Checklist

Block

play

Number of blocks included four dozen cubes, two dozen hollow

rectangular and square blocks two dozen rectangular big blocks, two dozen

square blocks, four big triangular block, two dozen cylindrical block, two

dozen long blocks and half dozen

Observations and

transcribed verbatim

on DVDs viewed

and recorded by the

researcher and

experts.

145

Coding and Statistical Analysis:

After three professional artists rated the COS and DVDs of block play were also rated

on prepared rating scale. The data was tabulated and coded according to the aesthetic

aspects of art in non musical and musical environments for all children of seven

balwadis by the researcher. The language checklist scores of all children were also

categorized, tabulated and coded.

Data was subjected to statistical analysis to test hypotheses framed.

Data was analyzed qualitatively for children’s art work. The rating scale used

for qualitative analysis was three point scales for each aspect of art which

depicted children’s art work in organization, balance, rhythm, colour and

movement. The averages of three artists’ rating were taken. ‘Paired t’ test was

applied to test association of music with each aspect of art in crayon drawing

and shapes collage.

Comparison of ‘t’ scores of boys and girls was done to find out impact of

music on aesthetic aspects in crayon drawing and shapes collage in relation to

sex.

Data was also analyzed qualitatively for children’s block play. The rating scale

consisted of five aesthetic aspects of constructive art: utilization of space, co-

ordination and movement, title suitability, rhythm and balance and

organization The averages of the scores of the three artists on the rating scale

in non musical and musical environments were taken. ‘Paired t’ test was

applied to test association of music with each aspect of art in block play.

Data for impact of music on language was available from responses of

children of their art work on checklist. The test used was ‘Paired t’ test for

number of pictures drawn, as reported by the children and word count. The

gender difference was also found out by using same test.

The data for attention span for children taken from the time recorded. The

effect of music on children attention span was analyzed by applying ‘Paired t’

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test. The significance difference between boys and girls for impact of music

on attention span was also calculated by the same test.

5.2 Results and discussions

The results of the present study are discussed below:

In the present study, disadvantaged children were exposed to two activities,

i.e. crayon drawing and shapes collage in non musical and musical environments. The

creative outputs (COS) of these two activities were rated on the continuum fair 1,

Average 2, and good 3. This rating scale was based on aesthetic aspects of creative art

namely, organization, balance, colour, rhythm and movement.

The results of the creative output of crayon drawing and shapes collage on

aesthetic aspects of creative art in non musical and musical environments showed a

strong significant association between aesthetic aspects of creative art and music. All

disadvantaged children performed better in musical environment than in non musical

environment on all aspects of creative art. (table 5.3)

In the next activity the children were given variety of blocks to play as group

activity in non musical and musical environments lead to creative outputs of the block

play that were rated on three point rating scale fair 1, average 2, and good 3. This

rating scale was based on aesthetic aspects of construction art namely, utilization of

space, co-ordination/movement, suitability of title, rhythm and balance and

organization.

It was found that there was no significant association in the performance of

children and music in most of the aspects of construction art in block play. In both the

environments children enjoyed the activity, made beautiful constructions with

enthusiasm and named them appropriately. There was a significant association

between music and suitability of title in block play. In musical environment children

named their constructions better.

It was observed that children were fascinated by the activity in all six sessions.

The reason behind it may be that in all the balwadis there was more concentration on

formal learning and activities like block play was rare phenomenon in their

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curriculum. When block play was given children were attracted by the different sizes,

shapes, and colours of blocks. Initially in the first two sessions an individual child

would collect the blocks and play by herself/himself. Later on after second session

children got used to the block play and realised that together they can construct and

reconstruct what they want to represent. They got involved with the block play and

their constructions. It also helped them to communicate with others. Their creations

were ingenious, depicted their creativity, and had variety. All stages of block play

could be seen in the constructions. They explored objects, made horizontal and

vertical arrangements, made constructions which depicted enclosures, bridges,

decorative patterns and layouts which were elaborate and complex. While working

with blocks, these disadvantaged children utilised the space fully, their movements

were coordinated, and their constructions had rhythm, balance, and organisation in

both the environments. The names given by them to their constructions were regional.

(Table 5.3)

Hypothesis Activity Treatment Outcome Tool

Method of

Analysis/

Test applied

Aesthetic

Aspects of

Creative Art

t value Significance Interpretation

Creative art

Crayon Drawing

(Individual)

Non musical vs

Musical

EnvironmentCreative Output of

Crayon Drawing Rating Scale Paired t test Organisation 3.59 p = 0.001 Sig

Highly significant

association with

music

Balance 3.5 p = 0.001 Sig

Rhythm 3.48 p = 0.001 Sig

Colour 4.72 p = 0.000 Sig

Movement 5.34 p = 0.000 Sig

Shapes Collage

(Individual)

Non Musical vs

Musical

Environment

Creative Output of

Shapes Collage Rating Scale Paired t test Organisation 17.35 p = 0.000 Sig

Highly Significant

association with

music

Balance 15.91 p = 0.000 Sig

Rhythm 12.18 p = 0.000 Sig

Colour 14.64 p = 0.000 Sig

Movement 15.62 p = 0.000 Sig

Creative

construction art

Block Play

(Group)

Non Musical vs

Musical

Environment

Creative output of

Block Play Rating Scale Paired t test

Utilisation of

Space 1 p = 0.356 Not Sig

No Significant

association with

music on all aspectsCoordination

and

Movement 0.88 p = 0.413 Not Sig

except Suitability of

Title

Rhythm and

Balance 0.88 p = 0.413 Not Sig

Suitability of

title 2.27 p = 0.063 Sig

Organisation 0.25 p = 0.805 Not Sig

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1)      Among disadvantaged

children, there is no

significant association for

different aesthetic aspects of

construction art in non

musical and musical

environments:

Table 5.3 Impact of music on creative and construction art (Summary)

1)  Among disadvantaged

children, there is no

significant association for

different aesthetic aspects of

creative art in non musical

and musical environments:

Creative Output of Crayon Drawing

149

It was evident from the results that there was no significant difference between

boys and girls in rhythm, colour and movement aspects of creative art and music in

crayon drawing except organisation and balance aspects. Whereas there was a

significant difference between boys and girls in the organisation and balance aspects

of creative art and music. It should be noted that music played in the background had

no change in the creative output of boys and girls on the aspects as rhythm, colour and

movement. (Table 5.4) It was also interesting to note that girls showed better

performance in all aspects of in crayon drawing than boys.

The above mentioned results may be due to the fact that these boys and girls

were from disadvantaged groups. In the balwadis which they attend crayons are not

given to children so often. The crayons are stacked in the cupboard and are used very

rarely. Most of the crayons are broken and are small in size with less variety of

colours. So when crayon drawing was given with 12 colours with a white sheet of

paper, children. So both boys and girls got stimulated in both the environments.

Though the girls were more organized in their art work and showed more balance in

their COS.

However, in shapes collage, results showed that music played in the

background did not have any influence on the creative output of boys and girls in all

aspects of creative art. It may be due to the fact that children were attracted by the

different coloured shapes and got so much involved in the task of sticking shapes to

make a composition that background music did not make any difference. (Table 5.4)

Hypothesis Activity Treatment Outcome Tool

Method of

Analysis/ Test

applied

Aesthetic

Aspects of

Creative Artt value Significance Interpretation

Crayon

drawing

Non Musical vs

Musical

Environment

Creative output

of boys and

girls

Rating

Scale Paired t test Organisation 2.44 p = 0.01 Sig.

Balance 2.49 p = 0.01 Sig.

Rhythm 0.91 p = 0.36 N. Sig.

Colour 1.63 p = 0.10 N. Sig.

Movement 0.58 p = 0.55 N. Sig.

Shapes

collage

Non Musical vs

Musical

Environment

Creative output

of boys and

girls

Rating

Scale Paired t test Organisation 1.23 p = 0.22 N. Sig

No significant difference

between girls and boys for all

aspects and music.

Balance 1.54 p = 0.25 N. Sig

Rhythm 1.63 p = 0.10 N. Sig

Colour 1.1 p = 0.27 N. Sig

Movement 1.28 p = 0.20 N. Sig

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Significant difference between

girls and boys for the aspects

organisation and balance and

music. No significance

difference between girls and

boys for rhythm, colour and

movement aspects and music.

2) There is no significant

difference between boys

and girls for different

aesthetic aspects of

creative art and music.

Table 5.4 Impact of music on creative art (gender difference) (Summary)

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All the children were asked to talk about their creative output in crayon

drawing in each session. Three themes were given to draw. 1st week: myself, 2

nd

week: myself at home and 3rd

week: myself in the garden in non musical and musical

environments.

Total numbers of pictures/items drawn were considered as the total number of

actual pictures/items as drawn as reported by the child verbally in all the sessions in

non musical and musical environments.

Total word count was considered as each and every word each child spoke

while talking about the picture drawn in the COS.

It was observed in the findings that there was highly significant difference for

both, total number of pictures/items reported to be drawn by the children and total

number of words spoken (word count) by children. These findings were encouraging

in the light of the fact that all children were exposed to both environments similarly,

however, they performed better in the musical environment. They drew variety of

pictures with given themes and their vocabulary also increased in musical

environment. It may be due to three different themes in each week and all the themes

were familiar to children. (Table 5.5)

In shapes collage activity, the difference was highly significant for the total

number of things reported to be made by the disadvantaged children in all sessions in

non musical and musical environments. (Table 5.5)

However, there was no significant difference in the total number of word

count of these children in both the environments. The total word count was low.

During the sessions it was observed that when questions were asked after the

completion of shape collage activity children spoke very little about their art work.

There were very few words used by the children in most of the balwadis. The children

were very much involved in sticking the different coloured shapes and wanted to stick

as many shapes as possible. This observation and finding shows that these children

are deprived of such activities in their balwadis, hence, the novelty of the task and

excitement was present in all sessions.

152

Both, girls and boys gave similar kind of responses for number of pictures

reported as created and the word count in crayon drawing. There was no significant

difference between girls and boys in both environments. (Table 5.5)

Whereas in shapes collage there was a strikingly high statistical difference in

boys and girls in the things reported to have been made and the word count. (Table

5.5)

It was observed that in crayon drawing for all the themes there was no

significance difference between boys and girls for number of pictures created as

reported by children and word count.

Block play activities in all seven centres were recorded by video camera in

non musical and musical environments. The video cassettes were transferred on

DVDs and these DVDs were viewed by the investigator and two more experts. The

observations were recorded in detail with conversation of children in block play

activity for language output of children.

The observations of children playing during block play revealed that while

involved in cooperative play children made complex constructions with rectangular,

square, triangular, etc. shaped blocks. To name a few, tunnel, railway stations,

buildings, towers, bridges, temples, various shaped houses, bungalows, fort,

household items such as stoves, bed, chairs, sofa sets, T.V., water tank, dam with

water canal, etc. All the structures were labeled and named. There were simple

structures like telephones, cars, buses, train, boat, etc. The block constructions

showed core idea. The constructers moved from simple to complex. Children talked

enthusiastically about their constructions, narrated ideas and described their products

in detail in both environments.

In the first two sessions in both environments, children made closed

constructions, flat to the ground. By the next session, collective efforts were seen.

Observation of the environment and effects of media was depicted in their products. It

showed that they were aware of their experiential background. Their constructions

were symmetrical and well balanced.

153

As block play activity was a group play, it enabled good social interaction,

communication, togetherness, concept of unity and collective efforts. It was also

observed that during block play, children learnt about spatial relationships, and

physical properties. They developed social skills while building and constructing

together, and through requesting and sharing blocks. They also used their creativity as

they constructed their unique works in non music and music environments.

Children learnt language through expressing their thoughts. Their social

communication improved as they cooperated and shared during block play. Social

partnership facilitated extensive construction projects in both environments. It

enriched the development of language skills through concept and vocabulary

development, naming and describing the structures, explaining, planning, classifying,

organizing the dramatic and role play with blocks in both environments.

Outcome: Answers on Checklist Test applied "Paired t"

t value Significance t value Significance t value Significance t value Significance

3.46 p = 0.00 Sig. 0.49 p = 0.62 N. Sig 1.82 p = 0.07 Sig. 2.48 p = 0.01 Sig.

t value Significance t value Significance t value Significance t value Significance

3.02 p = 0.00 Sig. 0.36 p = 0.72 N. Sig 0.33p = 0.73 N.

Sig.1.92 p = 0.05 Sig.

154

Word Count of

children

Word Count of

children

Word Count of children

Boys vs Girls Boys vs GirlsAll children n=82 All children n=82

Table 5.5 Impact of music on language in creative art (Summary)

No. of Pictures

drawn as reported by

children

No. of Pictures

made as reported

by children

Shapes Collage

Treatment: Non Musical vs Musical Environement

Crayon Drawing

155

It was evident from the findings that there was highly significant difference in

the attention span of disadvantaged children in non musical and musical

environments. The attention span increased in both the activities when music was

played in the background. Children concentrated more on the activities. (Table 5.6)

This may be due the fact that both the tasks i.e. crayon drawing and shapes

collage were challenging and interesting, and music in the background created a better

environment for the children to perform these two activities with more concentration.

It was observed that in the first week when children were given ‘myself’ as a

theme there was no significant difference in the attention span of children and music.

In the second and third week children performed for a longer duration in a musical

environment than non musical environment. There was an evidence of progress in the

concentration span of children while drawing themes ‘myself at home’ and ‘myself in

the garden’.

It was interesting to note that boys and girls performed similarly, and that

music in the background did not have any difference in the attention span of boys and

girls. A related study conducted by Larsen (1985) had similar kinds of finding. It was

found that the sex of children did not have any effect on the times spent on different

tasks by children. (Table 5.6)

During the first week and third week for the themes ‘myself’ and ‘myself in

the garden’ both boys and girls had a similar attention span. This means there was no

gender difference for attention span in both environments and in both themes,

though in the second week there was a gender difference for attention span when

children drew ‘myself at home’ in both environments. It was interesting to know that

boys performed better and had a longer attention span than girls in the second week in

musical environment.

t value Significance t value Significance

Crayon Drawing 3.16 p = 0.00 Sig. 1.04p = 0.30 Not

significant

Shapes Collage 3.33 p = 0.00 Sig.0.3 p = 0.75 Not

significant

Table 5.6 Impact of music on Attention span. (Summary)

Outcome: Creative output and attention span

Test applied "Paired t"

All children n=82 Boys vs Girls

Treatment: Non Musical vs Musical Environment

156

157

5.3 Conclusions

This study has been an attempt to explore and examine the impact of music on

creative output in art and language activities of disadvantaged children. Though

several conclusions which can emerge from the research of this nature, the

researcher has arrived at certain key summary conclusions.

Firstly, this study has found that music stimulated disadvantaged children towards

better performance and outputs in crayon drawing and shapes collage activities. Their

creative outputs (COS) depicted better performance on all aspects of creative art in

musical environment as compared with the performance in non musical environment.

Music thus emerged as an effective aid, in providing the conducive environment and

was an impetus for self expression by the children.

In crayon drawing with familiar sequential themes on the topics: ‘ myself’,’

myself at home and ‘myself in the garden’, it was observed that children could

express and relate themselves with the themes and their drawings depicted self

awareness, creative expression and capacity to aesthetically express their

environment in visual form.

In constructive art activity, which was block play, a group activity, the observer

noted progressive development in the children’s play. Children started with

individual play to smaller group play and then to cooperative play. Children

worked together and practiced social skills during group play. There was an

evidence of increased vocabulary during block play. Children elected to engage in

group play and also were involved in symbolic representation in their

constructions. The titles given were appropriate. The three dimensional block

constructions were horizontal and vertical depicting experiential background of

children. Their personal emotions, thoughts and ideas were expressed in their

creations. They personally used meaningful symbols to represent nature and their

surrounding environment.

Children enthusiastically responded verbally when asked about their art work in

crayon drawing, shapes collage and block play. While music did not have a

differential effect on the language output in crayon drawing activity and also on

158

the attention span of children in relation to sex, On the other hand, in shapes

collage activity, there was a significant difference between boys and girls.

Finally, it can be concluded that background music triggered artistic processing

in children and art performance was indeed enhanced in response to musical

environment. Disadvantaged children were able to release their feelings through

personal creativity as they performed the activities for a longer duration in musical

environment than in non musical environment.

Importantly, the present study created considerable awareness among teachers and

administrators of balwadis that music is a strong and effective medium in preschool

programmes. They were given to understand that integration of music with creative

and constructive arts has been found to be stimulating. It also enhanced vocabulary,

social communication, self-expression, creative expression, thereby leading to overall

development of the children in a holistic manner.

To summarize, the highlight of the findings of this study is to emphasize the

enhancement of preschool/balwadi meant for disadvantaged children by integrating

music in the daily routine, as this will stimulate the output in creative art, constructive

art and language activities.

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5.4 Implications

The findings of the present study lead to the following suggestions:

For the administrators of preschools and balwadis/ educationists/policy makers:

1. Music should be an important part of preschool/balwadi curriculum. The children

should get the experience of music throughout the day.

2. A music laboratory can be established in every preschool in which children will get

a chance to explore music. The laboratory should be fully equipped with music

system, variety of music CDs, DVDs, musical instruments etc. Ample time should be

provided to children to investigate music.

3. A collection of variety of music should be made available for children. The

collection can include instrumental, vocal, film, classical and fusion music.

4. A creative art centre or creative work station can be provided. This will create a

climate for artistic expression. Sufficient time should be allotted to children for self

exploration which will in turn lead to enjoyment.

5. The rating scale which was prepared to score the creative outputs of children (on

the basis of aesthetic aspects of creative art) and the checklists for verbal responses

can be of use for further research in the field.

6. Another important contribution of the current study is the rating scale developed to

score the aesthetic aspects of construction art in block play. The schools can

incorporate and use these tools to assess children’s progress.

For teachers and teacher training institutes:

1. The teacher carries a greater responsibility as she/he is involved in actually

providing music and art experiences to preschool children. The results of the present

study should enable teachers to envisage integration of music in the context of

creative and constructive art activities as well as assess the children’s progress.

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2. The teachers should function as motivators, planners, observers and even co-

participants while they integrate music with other areas of curriculum.

3. Teacher training institutes should include observation of block play and other

creative activities in their curriculum. This will help future teachers to get insight into

understanding children’s behaviour. The results of the present study can be

instrumental to appreciate that creative and construction activities are more than just

play.

4. Further the future teachers must realise that displaying children’s art work and

encouraging children to discuss their art will give children an opportunity to express

their ideas represented by them in their art work. The process will in turn enhance

their vocabulary and self expression.

5. The teacher trainees who are going to be future teachers should realise that the

theoretical knowledge should be put into practice. Music, language arts, creative and

construction arts are symbolic systems. If they are integrated together they do

wonders. The integration allows and encourages enjoyment and attentive listening,

enhances language and gives aesthetic pleasure.

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5.5 Recommendations for Further Research

The results of the current study suggest a number of directions for further

investigations into how the curriculum of preschool education can be enhanced

through integrating music with other areas of the curriculum. Further research on

music and children into larger context of developmental knowledge would be an

exciting task. Therefore it is suggested that further researches can be undertaken on

the following lines.

The study can be replicated with a larger sample, with different age groups and for

a longer period of time in order to get a wider and more comprehensive picture.

The study can be conducted to see the effect of music on other areas of preschool

curriculum in relation to age, socio economic status and influence of home and

family.

It would be worthwhile to investigate the effect of different types of music such as

classical, film music, fusion, western, instrumental and vocal, on advantaged and

disadvantaged children.

The comparative investigation can be carried out to observe block play with

children of various age groups from rural and urban settings.