Instrumental Learning Approaches in Pre-Professional Music Students: Associations Among Motivation, Strategy and...

Instrumental learning in pre-professional music education involves complex associations among motivational orientations, cognitive strategies, and practice habits; however, their individual-level interrelations have received limited empirical attention in domain-specific research. This study examines these associations among pre-professional music students enrolled in Fine Arts High Schools (FAHS) in Türkiye (N = 332). A cross-sectional correlational design was employed, incorporating descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-tests, one-way ANOVAs with Scheffé post hoc tests, Pearson correlation analyses, multiple linear regression, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The Instrument Learning Approaches Scale (ILAS) was used to assess four subscales: deep motive (DM), deep strategy (DS), surface motive (SM), and surface strategy (SS). Students predominantly reported deep motivational orientations (M = 3.57, SD = 1.19) and deep learning strategies (M = 3.47, SD = 1.21), with surface-oriented patterns reported at substantially lower levels (SM: M = 1.84, SD = 1.17; SS: M = 2.09, SD = 1.20). Small but statistically significant group differences were observed by gender (d = 0.25-0.26 for DM and DS) and grade level (η_p² = 0.03 for DM). Daily practice time was positively associated with deep approach scores (r = 0.409 and r = 0.386, both p < .001) and negatively associated with surface strategy (r = -0.149, p = .007), disconfirming H4 for the surface strategy component. Regression modeling showed that DM and DS shared 70.2% of their variance (R² = 0.702), while SM and SS shared 63.1% (R² = 0.631). CFA revealed acceptable global fit (χ²/df = 1.886, RMSEA = 0.054, CFI = 0.930); however, the Fornell-Larcker discriminant validity criterion was violated for both within-approach factor pairs (DM-DS: r = 0.836 > √AVE; SM-SS: r = 0.789 > √AVE), and a competing two-factor model (deep vs. surface) fit the data equivalently [Δχ²(5) = 3.12, p = .681]. McDonald's omega (ω = 0.793-0.895) and corrected item-total correlations (all r > 0.30) supported subscale-level reliability. These findings indicate that the ILAS functions as a two-dimensional rather than four-dimensional instrument in this pre-professional sample-a novel psychometric contribution. The most defensible empirical contributions are: the demonstration of two-dimensional ILAS collapse in this population; the independent association of practice duration with lower surface strategy endorsement; and small but replicable group differences by gender and grade level. Implications for ILAS validation, music pedagogy, and future longitudinal research are discussed.