Cultivating 21st century Learning Skills: The Effect of Song-based Music and Movement on Elementary-age Children’s Kinesthetic Skills

Kinesthetic skills play a crucial role in young children’s growth development, yet this development had received less attention. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of song-based music and movement intervention on kinesthetic skills among elementary-age children. Ancillary purposes of this study were to investigate the contribution of kinesthetic abilities to 21st century learning skills. The participants for this study consisted of 60 students with ages ranging from 7 to 9 years from four different daycare centers in Malacca. This study conducted a randomized pre-post-test between-subjects experimental designs and participants were exposed to no treatment, song-based, music and movement, and song-based music and movement interventions. The treatment sessions were 30-minute session per week for an eight-week duration. The kinesthetic skills were assessed through researcher-adapted measurement forms, Kinesthetic Skill Test (KST). The results indicated that the song-based music and movement intervention significantly improved kinesthetic skills and the kinesthetic variables contributed to critical thinking and creativity skills. The suggested intervention is highly beneficial in preparing young children to become successful learners.