{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,13]],"date-time":"2026-07-13T08:11:21Z","timestamp":1783930281867,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,11]],"date-time":"2026-07-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783728000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["J. Intell."],"abstract":"<jats:p>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 T\u00fcrkiye (N = 332). A cross-sectional correlational design was employed, incorporating descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-tests, one-way ANOVAs with Scheff\u00e9 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\u20130.26 for DM and DS) and grade level (\u03b7p2 = 0.03 for DM). Daily practice time was positively associated with deep approach scores (r = 0.409 and r = 0.386, both p &lt; .001) and negatively associated with surface strategy (r = \u22120.149, 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 (\u03c72\/df = 1.886, RMSEA = 0.054, CFI = 0.930); however, the Fornell\u2013Larcker discriminant validity criterion was violated for both within-approach factor pairs (DM\u2013DS: r = 0.836 &gt; \u221aAVE; SM\u2013SS: r = 0.789 &gt; \u221aAVE), and a competing two-factor model (deep vs. surface) fit the data equivalently [\u0394\u03c72(5) = 3.12, p = .681]. McDonald\u2019s omega (\u03c9 = 0.793\u20130.895) and corrected item-total correlations (all r &gt; 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\u2014a 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.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jintelligence14070146","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,13]],"date-time":"2026-07-13T07:28:27Z","timestamp":1783927707000},"page":"146","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Instrumental Learning Approaches in Pre-Professional Music Students: Associations Among Motivation, Strategy and Practice"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2232-9651","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"\u015eehriban","family":"Koca","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Musicology, Faculty of Music and Performing Arts, Mersin University, Mersin 33343, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"\u00c7a\u011flanur","family":"Sakarya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Educational Sciences, Mersin University, Mersin 33343, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8305-4252","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Atakan","family":"Kutlu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Educational Sciences, Mersin University, Mersin 33343, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0722-1116","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alican","family":"G\u00fclle","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Educational Sciences, Mersin University, Mersin 33343, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"K\u0131v\u0131lc\u0131m","family":"Pekpak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Educational Sciences, Mersin University, Mersin 33343, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Asl\u0131han","family":"Ergin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Educational Sciences, Mersin University, Mersin 33343, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"143","DOI":"10.23865\/nrme.v6.6471","article-title":"Developing musical creativity through technology\u2014How Finnish teachers utilize technology and implement creative and productive music education","volume":"6","author":"Ahtola","year":"2025","journal-title":"Nordic Research in Music Education"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"916","DOI":"10.1016\/j.sbspro.2012.08.263","article-title":"Scale for determining learning approaches to piano lesson: Development, validity and reliability","volume":"51","year":"2012","journal-title":"Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences"},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"Ayd\u0131ner Uygun, M. 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