| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which playing background music
in a Lower Elementary Montessori classroom supports purposeful engagement. This study was
conducted at a public charter Montessori school in a Lower Elementary classroom in the
Midwest. In this classroom, there were 21 children aged 6-9 years old. Over an eight-week
period, divided into two-week intervals, three types of music were played and two weeks without
background music. These music types include jazz, classical, and piano music. This was a
mixed methods study with qualitative and quantitative data collected and analyzed. The data was
collected from observations and through a student survey. The results of this study suggest that
playing background music does support purposeful engagement in a Lower Elementary
Montessori classroom. This action research study provides evidence that background music not
only supports purposeful engagement, it also shows that playing background music fosters a
quiet, peaceful environment for children to engage in. | en_US |
