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Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
A Preschool Rhythm and Movement Intervention: RCT Evidence for Improved Social and Behavioral Development
Behavioral Sciences, Vol.16(1), pp.1-17
2026
PMID: 41595041
Abstract
Active music and movement engagement has been widely integrated in human socialization across history and cultures, and is particularly prevalent in early childhood play and learning. For clinical populations, music therapy is known to support social skills and wellbeing for young children. However, there is less evidence for the value of active music engagement for non-clinical populations in terms of supporting social and behavioral wellbeing in the early years. This study reports results from the Rhythm and Movement for Self-Regulation (RAMSR) program delivered by generalist kindergarten teachers in low socioeconomic communities. This randomized control trial involved 213 children across eight preschools in disadvantaged communities in Queensland, Australia. The intervention group received 16 to 20 sessions of RAMSR over eight weeks, while the control group undertook usual preschool programs. Data was collected through teacher report at pre and post intervention, and again six months later once children had transitioned into their first year of school. Robust mixed models accounting for repeated measures and clustering of children within kindergartens (random effects), evidenced significant intervention effects across the three time points for improved prosocial skills (p = 0.04, n p 2 = 0.02), and reduced externalizing (p < 0.01, n p 2 = 0.03) and internalizing behavior problems (p = 0.04; n p 2 = 0.02), with small to moderate effect sizes. These findings highlight the valuable role that intentional active music engagement in universal settings such as preschool can play in terms of social and behavioral wellbeing. The importance of these results lies in the fact that children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to experience risks to social and behavioral development, requiring additional supports, yet experience inequities in access to high-quality music and movement programs.
Details
- Title
- A Preschool Rhythm and Movement Intervention: RCT Evidence for Improved Social and Behavioral Development
- Authors
- Kate E Williams (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Education and Tertiary AccessLaura Bentley - The University of Queensland
- Publication details
- Behavioral Sciences, Vol.16(1), pp.1-17
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Date published
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.3390/bs16010100
- ISSN
- 2076-328X
- PMID
- 41595041
- Copyright note
- © 2026 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.
- Data Availability
- The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in the QUT Research Data Finder at https://researchdatafinder.qut.edu.au accessed 12 January 2026.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Education and Tertiary Access
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991196750902621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Psychology, Multidisciplinary