JOURNAL ARTICLE REVIEW: EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT 2
Article Review
This article focuses on how music, rhythm, and movement could enhance self-regulation in early
childhood classrooms. According to the article, “self-regulation refers to managing emotional, cognitive,
and behavioral processes that are conducive to positive adjustment and social relationships” (Williams,
2018, p. 85). In recent research, there has been an increased focus on developing children’s self-
regulation skills to prevent, or at least diminish, learning and achievement gaps among children. Without
these self-regulation skills, students will struggle to get along with peers, overreact to various situations,
and have trouble dealing with their negative emotions. The author of this article discusses how music,
specifically rhythm and beat synchronization activities, could help improve students’ self-regulation skills.
According to Williams, “Recent evidence from auditory neuroscience indicates that beat
synchronization skills are an important neurodevelopmental marker” (Williams, 2018, p. 88). Essentially,
this means that children, even as young as infancy, show tendencies to move with the music, although
obviously not in rhythm with the beat at this age. A study mentioned in this article showed that 3- and 4-
year-olds show more stability in speech processing patterns in the brain if they have better beat
synchronization skills, as opposed to children who have poorer beat synchronization (Williams, 2018).
Specifically relating to early childhood, children typically develop better self-regulation skills
when involved in music experiences outside the home, as well as in a childcare center or preschool
setting. A study done by Winsler et al. (2011) showed that 3- and 4-year-old students that received
weekly Kindermusik music and movement classes showed better self-regulation skills in a variety of tasks
and scenarios than the control group of students that did not attend those classes. The students that
attended the music classes were also more likely to use self-regulatory strategies during tasks that
required attentiveness and patience (Williams, 2018).
This article provided much research to advocate for the use of rhythmic and beat
synchronization activities to promote positive self-regulation skills in early childhood-aged children.
JOURNAL ARTICLE REVIEW: EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT 3
There are many ways that teachers could implement musical activities in their classrooms to help
students learn and practice necessary self-regulation skills.
Classroom Implications
The knowledge gleaned from this article could be very advantageous for teachers of
young children. Music and movement time is easy to implement into a child’s school day, but
providing purpose for that music time, such as focusing specifically on creating or following
rhythms, could have a positive effect on students’ self-regulation skills. There are a few ways
that this could be implemented throughout the academic school day.
First, rhythmic activities could be implemented at the beginning of the day during
community circle time. For example, as a “warm-up” to start their day, the teacher could do
various rhythm patterns (clap, stomp, clap, stomp, clap) and have the students repeat those
patterns. This would not only ignite students’ thinking first thing in the morning, but it also
provides a fun activity for students to do to start their day.
Throughout the day, music and movement focusing on rhythm and beat could be
incorporated into academic areas. For example, during math time, if students are working on
patterning, the teacher could recreate the activity done during community circle time. The
teacher could also choose various students to create a rhythmic movement pattern for the rest
of the students to follow. More math activities could involve YouTube videos that have songs
about whatever the skill is that they are working on in the classroom. During calendar time,
students could sing rhythmic songs to help them remember the days of the week, months of
the year, names and attributes of shapes, and counting.
JOURNAL ARTICLE REVIEW: EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT 4
In literacy, a great example of incorporating beat and rhythm into the students’
academics involves syllables. If the students are working on counting syllables in words and they
clap, snap, or stomp the number of syllables, that is an easy way for them to follow a beat.
The article mentions that “music activities such as singing (including action songs,
counting songs, nursery rhymes, and children’s songs), generating original songs to accompany
routines, dancing, and listening to music” (Williams, 2018, p. 92) are all important in the
development of students’ self-regulation skills.
Music and movement times are relatively simple to incorporate into an early childhood
classroom. However, teachers must strive to be intentional about incorporating activities that
focus specifically on beat synchronization and rhythm to increase students’ self-regulation skills.
JOURNAL ARTICLE REVIEW: EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT 5
References
Williams, K. E. (2018). Moving to the Beat: Using Music, Rhythm, and Movement to Enhance Self-
Regulation in Early Childhood Classrooms. International Journal of Early Childhood, 50(1), 85–100.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-018-0215-y
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
