Analyses of surface- and deep-level factors of music teaching at grammar schools and comprehensive schools in music profile classes as well as in classes without any profile

Abstract

This paper first describes the theoretical background and current discourses on the prevalence and implementation of music classes as well as on the quality of teaching in these classes. Despite their increasing popularity, there are hardly any quantitative-empirical studies available so far that deal with the surface and quality dimensions in music classes. Using a sample of n = 209 sixth- and seventh-grade students, we examined how characteristics of how instructional quality characteristics relate to the construct “interest in music”. The findings suggest that cognitive activation potential is associated with a stronger interest in music, especially in regular music lessons, although participation in competitions seems to be interrelated with interest in music classes. These and other findings are discussed in the light of recent research findings in order to establish links with practice.