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Piano students' conceptions of learning, teaching, assessment, and evaluation

Abstract Artistic domains of knowledge, such as music performance, have not raised the interest of researchers focused on conceptual change. By adopting the framework of implicit theories, this article addresses the conceptions of learning and instruction held by students at professional music conservatories. More specifically, our aims were to study the conceptions of learning, teaching, and assessment/evaluation held by piano students at three developmental/instructional levels, and analyze whether their conceptions constitute theoretically consistent profiles. The participants, 215 students of Intermediate and Tertiary levels, were selected according to three levels of the combined variable “Age/Level of Instruction”. Data were collected through a multiple-choice questionnaire, and analyzed with descriptive and non-parametric methods. The findings suggested that: a) students' conceptions tend to be more sophisticated as their age and education level increase; b) each developmental/instructional group is typically associated to different conceptions; c) three increasingly sophisticated profiles of conceptions can be identified among these students. Implications for conceptual change research and limitations of the study are discussed. Further lines of research are suggested.