The current study, JC Project MuSE, is a multi-year project aimed at initiating transformative changes in the lives of young learners in schools with a lower socio-economic background through the integration of music and sports education. The research project posits that engaging in structured music and sports programmes can lead to significant improvements in educational performance through the enhancement of executive functions. The research further explores the longitudinal effects of continuous music and sports training, examining the impact of these interventions on developing a greater sense of appreciation for these activities in these young learners. This research is a 3-year study that examines theoretical underpinnings, methodological approaches, and the impact of music and sports interventions to empower youth in schools of lower socio-economic background and promote holistic development through the synergistic effects of sports and music education.

JC Project MuSE is a school-based music (Mu) and sports (S) education (E) programme, initiated and funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. It offers free, high-quality and tailored music and sports programmes to primary school children in the most impoverished areas of Hong Kong. It aims to develop children's artistic and physical literacy and to enhance their positive whole-person development, emotional well-being and academic advancement, thereby endowing them with the best opportunities for future growth and development.

The overall research will study the impact of the sports and music interventions provided in Tier 2 of the project and aims to bring transformative changes to underprivileged children by enhancing their social, emotional and cognitive development through 3-year sports and music education. Primary outcomes include executive functioning, psychological well-being, social-emotional competence, and academic results (e.g., scores of major subjects and attendance record).

This study will adopt a parallel-group, 4-arm randomized controlled trial design. Upon assessing the eligibility of the participants, they will be randomized into four groups, including (1) continuous music training, (2) continuous sports training, (3) continuous music and sports training, and (4) treatment-as-usual control. Outcome measures will be assessed at six time-points (T0: Baseline, the start of the first school year; T1: the end of the first school year; T2: the start of the second school year; T3: the end of the second school year; T4: the start of the third school year; and T5: post-intervention, the end of the third school year) to assess the effects of continuous music and/or sports training on the students' psychological well-being, executive functioning, social-emotional competence, and academic performances.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Primary two to four students and their parents or guardians at local government schools or aided schools
• The school has 30% or more of their total student population receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) and School Textbook Assistance
• Have provided informed consent indicating participation in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

• Presence of significant physical, psychological, and cognitive comorbidities that will hinder participation in research procedures and the designed interventions of continuous music or sports training.

The data of this study are available from the principal investigator upon reasonable request. The data are not publicly available because they involve personal and clinical data from primary school students.

3 years after the completion of the study

The principal investigator will evaluate each request to determine if the data is accessible to other researchers.

Due to the nature of this trial, neither the staff, participants, nor care providers can be masked to allocation. The data analyst will be blinded after study completion by having the intervention group information coded.