Longitudinal Research on Music Education and Child Development: Contributions and Challenges

Abstract

Based on a comprehensive analysis of 39 studies published in academic journals in the past decade (2010–2020), this article discusses the strengths of current research and the challenges that lie ahead for researchers interested in conducting longitudinal research on music education and child development. Among the strengths of the reviewed studies are multi-year projects, diverse study samples and programs, and a wide range of areas of interest—cognitive and neural to socioemotional and musical development. Challenges for future research are described in relation to three main perspectives. The methodological, the first perspective, tackles future challenges in terms of research approaches, population sampling, randomization, replication, and the lack of cross-cultural longitudinal research. The second perspective, the conceptual-philosophical, focuses on how children, music, and music education have been defined—in deliberate or tacit ways—in longitudinal works, and their implications for both research and practice. The third perspective, the political, focuses on the extent to which research on the effects of music education may be interpreted by some as promoting a neoliberal educational agenda. I conclude the article with suggestions for future research.