Sing&Grow Final Evaluation Report November 2019

Sing and Grow (Sing&Grow) is a federally-funded music therapy program with key objectives to develop positive communication and social experiences for parents of young children through group musical interventions. This report details a national evaluation project conducted in 2019. The research questions were: 1.Do Sing&Grow parent participants report increased parenting self-efficacy over time? 2.Do Sing&Grow parent participants report increased parenting responsiveness over time? 3.Do Sing&Grow parent participants report an increase in home uses of music with children? 4.Do Sing&Grow child participants show improvements in parent-reported self-regulation over time? 5.How do past participants describe the impact of Sing&Grow on their family and their child’s transition to school? Two phases of the study were conducted: Study Phase A - the Quantitative stage – collected pre and post survey data from 318 parent participants. Findings included statistically significant improvements from pre to post intervention for:•two parenting self-efficacy scales of discipline and play•parental use of music at home•children’s cognitive self-regulation. Study Phase B – the Qualitative stage – collected interview data from 10 participants through telephone or online video link, using semi-structured interviews of approximately 20 minutes duration. The findings suggested that participation in the Sing&Grow program encouraged social connectedness through promoting inclusivity, belonging and confidence boosting. Positive relationships were evidenced by improved bonding, and stronger relationships between siblings, caregivers and children. Parents believed the program educated them about child development, culturally accepted parenting and gave them parenting tools. Parent-reported benefits for children include developing confidenc