ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Performance Science
This article is part of the Research TopicPioneers & Pathfinders: 15 Years of Frontiers in PsychologyView all 4 articles
Music Engagement, Metacognitions, and Performance Outcomes: An Empirical Investigation among Chinese Advanced Music Students
Provisionally accepted
- Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
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Abstract Background: This study investigates the role of engagement and metacognitive factors in predicting performance outcomes among advanced Chinese music students. Drawing on theoretical frameworks in metacognition and self-regulation, the research tests a set of hypotheses examining both direct and mediated pathways linking students' engagement with performance success. Building on the metacognitive model of Wells and Matthews and the theory of self-regulated learning, this study conceptualizes three dimensions of metacognitive functioning—cognitive confidence, need to control thoughts, and positive beliefs about worry—as cognitive, regulatory, and motivational mediators that explain how engagement translates into performance achievement. Methods: The study sample consisted of advanced music students from various conservatories in China. Descriptive and correlation analyses were performed using SPSS version 29.0, while structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted with SmartPLS 4. Results: Findings support the direct influence of music students' engagement on performance outcomes, highlighting the importance of proactive involvement in practice. Cognitive confidence is shown to mediate this relationship positively, while the need to control thoughts has a minor mediated effect, and positive beliefs about worry demonstrate a negligible impact. Conclusion: These findings emphasize the multifaceted role of metacognition in music education, suggesting that metacognitive skills such as planning, monitoring, and self-regulation significantly enhance learning processes and performance. Practical implications include recommendations for music educators to incorporate metacognitive training into their curricula, fostering students' cognitive awareness and adaptive learning strategies. This study contributes to the growing field of metacognitive research in music education, offering insights into optimizing performance outcomes through targeted engagement and reflective practice.
Keywords: Music engagement, metacognition, Performance outcomes, Self-regulation, music education
Received: 24 Sep 2025; Accepted: 20 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jieru Zhang, zzuhenanyinyuexueyuan@gs.zzu.edu.cn
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