The effect of music education approaches on phonological awareness and early literacy: A systematic review.

The study compares the effect of the most prevalent pedagogical music approaches, namely Orff, Kodály, Suzuki, and Dalcroze, on sound comprehension (phonological awareness) and early reading and writing skills in children aged five to eight.

The results of the included studies showed that music lessons help children develop sound comprehension and early reading skills. However, in order to compare different music interventions directly, the researchers emphasise that more similarity is needed in how the studies are conducted.

The researchers systematically searched for relevant studies in five electronic databases. The criteria for selection included peer-reviewed articles in English from quasi-experimental or experimental research studies involving children aged five to eight. The musical intervention had to be based on the principles of Orff, Kodály, Suzuki, or Dalcroze, or a combination of these. The data analysis used narrative synthesis. Of 329 findings, five articles, published between 1975 and 2013, qualified for final inclusion in the systematic overview of knowledge.

Eccles, R., van der Linde, J., Le Roux, M., Swanepoel, D. W., MacCutcheon, D. & Ljung, R. (2021). "The effect of music education approaches on phonological awareness and early literacy: A systematic review". The Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 44(1):46-60.