About the REACH Lab
Music and the arts cannot erase poverty or related stress and trauma. However, they have the potential to counter some of the toxic effects of adversity on young children and their families.
For that potential to be fully realized, children and families facing poverty and related risk must have access to high-quality arts experiences which recognize how their experiences and strengths contribute to their development, the wellbeing of their communities, and the flourishing of the wider world.
To enhance and expand opportunities for high-quality arts experiences, the Research on Education and the Arts in Childhood (REACH) Lab’s multidisciplinary team of investigators aims to develop a rigorous evidence base that showcases the varied ways in which specific arts experiences directly benefit children’s and families’ development. In this work, we collaborate with cross-disciplinary researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and, most importantly, the families and youth in our partner organizations.
Currently, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, REACH researchers are diving deeply into the ways in which music might play a significant role in the lives of young children and their families. More specifically, we are conducting studies that examine the role that active musical participation may play in:
- Strengthening family bonds, increasing mutual regulation, and nurturing early communicative development in toddlers and their caregivers;
- Improving young children’s capacity for self-regulation in preschool settings; and,
- Developing the neurophysiological functions that may underlie self-regulation.
Across all of our studies, we aim to understand how offering high-quality musical experiences in home visits, early childhood educational settings, or as an integral part of early grade school can contribute to positive outcomes for young children and their families.
The REACH Lab’s work lays the foundation for examining the impact of many forms of arts activities on children’s and families’ development.