Observable indicators of flow experience: a developmental perspective on musical engagement in young children from infancy to school age

Flow experience is an optimal state determined by an individual's perception of high skill and high challenge for a given task. In this study, young children's flow experience is examined in four naturally occurring music learning environments: infants and two-year-olds in childcare settings, and school-age children in Suzuki violin and Dalcroze classes. Descriptive observations of challenge-seeking, challenge-monitoring, and social context indicators previously used in flow analyses in four- to five-year-old children provided evidence that these indicators also function beyond that age group with varying degrees of intensity and frequency. Key findings included an age-related increase in observed self-assignment, which was observed to decline in children of school age. Additional findings include the accessibility and responses to musical structure for infants and toddlers, the role of gesture in helping children focus, the salience of adult awareness and the changing roles of peers across development.