Exploring the Impact of Music Education on the Psychological and Academic Outcomes of Students: Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy and Self-Esteem

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in scholars and practitioners to explore the factors that lead to an improvement in Students’ psychological wellbeing. Due to the tough challenges faced by students during their academic life, severe issues of stress, anxiety, and other mental health issues emerge, which affect their academic performance and have a long-lasting impact on their future careers. The pandemic accelerates the stress levels, anxiety, and mental issues of students. The main purpose of this study was to explore how music education impacts on Students’ psychological wellbeing and academic performance. This study also investigates the mediating effect of self-esteem and self-efficacy. To the best of our knowledge, there has been little to no study exploring the relationship of music education on the psychological wellbeing and performance of students, especially from the perspective of Asian countries. This study was conducted in undergraduate and graduate institutions of China. This study was quantitative in nature and data were collected from 319 respondents. The structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was employed for data analysis. Results reveal that music education has a significant positive impact on psychological wellbeing, which improves Students’ academic performance. Moreover, psychological wellbeing also has a significant and positive impact on Students’ academic performance. Self-efficacy and self-esteem significantly mediate the relationship between music education and psychological wellbeing. The findings of this study open new avenues for future research in music education and psychological wellbeing. This study suggests that the policymakers and practitioners should make such policies that encourage educational institutes to adopt music education to improve the psychological wellbeing of students.