Mental Health in Future Primary Education Teachers: Music as an Ally for Professional and Classroom Wellbeing

Ana M Vernia Carrasco*

Introduction: Concerns about child mental health and bullying in primary schools motivated this study, framed by three complementary models of human flourishing: Seligman’s PERMA model, Ryff’s eudaimonic dimensions, and Diener’s subjective wellbeing framework. The study examines whether music can act as a proactive pedagogical resource for psychological resilience and for reducing relational harm in the classroom.

Method: An exploratory mixed-methods design combined a closed-item questionnaire with open-ended questions, administered to a purposive sample of pre-service primary teachers (N=36) who had just completed their school practicum. A 6-point Likert scale captured quantitative attitudes, while open-ended items supported inductive thematic analysis.

Results: 47.2% of participants consider music an important academic subject, yet 75.0% see it as highly beneficial for children’s mental health and 61.1% consider it effective against bullying. The qualitative analysis pointed to a strong overlap between commercially driven urban genres (reggaeton, trap, mainstream pop) in the private listening habits of both future teachers and their primary-age students.

Conclusion: Music appears to be a valuable, low-cost resource for student wellbeing, but it remains undervalued and underused in teacher training. Reforming initial teacher education to build musical competence and confidence is proposed as a policy priority.

Keywords:

Published on: Jul 21, 2026 Pages: 7-13

Full Text PDF Full Text HTML DOI: 10.17352/ojpch.000062
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