2024 PhD Project
About The Project
According to recent NHS England statistics, 1 in 5 young people experience a mental health problem, with most mental illnesses being established by age 14. Poor mental health can negatively impact young people’s prospects, limiting their life opportunities and resilience to cope with adversities. Given that professional mental health services are under high pressure, with wait times for an initial appointment reaching 18 months at the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), it is critical to provide preventive measures that sustain and enhance young people’s mental health in their everyday environments, such as schools.
Across Nottinghamshire, many schools integrate music and dance activities into their lessons to support pupils’ mental health and academic outcomes. However, there is little evidence for how these activities affect children’s mental health, making it hard to understand the potential positive impact of music and dance initiatives. Further, such activities are often undertaken on only a short-term basis due to practical issues, limiting their capacity to make a positive impact.
According to Census 2021, 58% of households in Nottingham are classified as ‘deprived’, with most Nottingham neighbourhoods being amongst the top 20% of income-deprived areas in England. To have the strongest community impact possible, this project will focus on children living in Nottingham’s deprived neighbourhoods as these children are at the highest risk of developing mental illnesses and having poor academic outcomes, which can limit future opportunities.
To address these concerns, this project looks to identify how different elements of music and dance (i.e., coordination and composition) enhance children’s mental health through strengthening social connections and improving academic outcomes. This project, undertaken with support from the Freedom Foundation, an organisation that delivers music and dance lessons to children and young
people in Nottingham, will also explore potential challenges to the adoption of school-based music and dance programmes through interviews with children, parents, programme providers and schoolteachers.
This project has been co-created and is supported by researchers from Nottingham Trent University, the University of Nottingham and partners at the Freedom Foundation. The successful candidate for this project would be enrolled at Nottingham Trent University.
Project Aims
The overall aims of the project are:
- To identify how school-based music and dance activities benefit children’s mental health and strengthen their social connections.
- To explore how school-based music and dance programmes can be adopted on a wider scale across Nottinghamshire schools.
The Project Team
- PhD Candidate: Dubheasa Mullins, NTU
- Lead Academic Supervisor: Dr Bahar Tunçgenç, NTU
- Academic Co-Supervisor: Dr Sobanawartiny Wijeakumar, UoN
- Community Supervisor: Laura Grant, Freedom Foundation