Learning and Instruction is soliciting submissions for a special issue entitled Minding Students’ Musical Skill Acquisition in Education which seeks to advance the understanding of the role that mindsets play in the context of musical skill development, both with regard to learning a musical instrument as well as for school music education.
The papers should focus on one out of the following topics: (a) the nature of musical mindsets and its multidimensionality, (b) the mutual relationships between learners’ mindsets and their musical and social-emotional competencies, (c) the fostering of musical skill acquisition through mindset interventions, or (d) the impact of educators (i.e., parents and teachers) and their mindsets on children’s musical skill acquisition and practice strategies. A broader understanding of mindsets may include fixed and growth mindsets as well as various cognitions such as expectations, beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions.
Papers should be based on samples that are sufficiently large to address the research topic in question, given the chosen methodological approach (i.e., qualitative or quantitative), and should not rely exclusively on self-report data.
More information is available via the following link.
Deadline for abstract submission: February 15th, 2026