A comprehensive review of over 54,000 studies reveals that school music education significantly enhances cognition, personal agency, and wellbeing in children and young people, challenging narrow perceptions of its value.
Music education can do more than teach children how to read notes or play an instrument. A new Rapid Evidence Review led by researchers at the University of Birmingham and Birmingham City University says its strongest documented effects in English schools are on cognition, personal agency and wellbeing, even as the evidence base remains uneven across different outcomes.
The review, commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Cultural Learning Alliance, examined more than 54,000 published items from 2004 to 2024 before narrowing the evidence to 291 studies involving children and young people aged three to 18. Its authors grouped the benefits of school music into six broad themes: being and becoming, cognition, health and wellbeing, music education, subject learning, pathways, and transfer of learning to other subjects.
According to the Cultural Learning Alliance, the new review is one of a wider set of Rapid Evidence Reviews covering dance, drama and music, all designed to strengthen the case for arts education and support the alliance’s Arts Education Capabilities Framework. The Royal Shakespeare Company said the research adds to a broader body of work showing that high-quality arts teaching can help children and young people become more confident, creative and connected.
The findings also highlight a familiar tension in English music education. The review notes that the subject is still largely shaped by generalist classroom teaching under the national curriculum, which means provision can vary widely between schools. While the evidence base is broad, the authors say it is stronger on cognition, inclusion and wellbeing than on areas such as creativity and physical development, where fewer studies have been published.
That distinction matters because the value of music education is often discussed in narrow terms, such as whether it improves exam performance. This review suggests a broader picture. It points to benefits that extend beyond attainment, including personal development and wider participation, and it sits alongside other recent research from Birmingham City University showing that music programmes can support pupils at risk of exclusion by improving attendance and helping some to return to mainstream education.
The latest review also fits into a growing effort to measure the long-term effects of arts education more rigorously. Research supported by the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Cultural Learning Alliance has repeatedly argued that expressive subjects help shape young people’s identity, engagement and sense of agency. For schools and policy makers, the message is not that music should be justified by a single outcome, but that its contribution is multi-layered and, in many cases, difficult to replace.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
