Development and validation of a measure assessing children's creative practice ability in music

Abstract

Developing students' creative practice ability in music helps them to participate in and understand society and culture. However, existing measures of musical creativity have only addressed creativity without focusing on practice. This study presents the design and validation of a measure for assessing children's creative practical ability in music (ACCPAM) in schooling contexts. The measure consists of six tasks encompassing various aspects of musical creative practice. Five factors were used to assess students' musical creative practice behaviors: Musical Completeness, Musical Richness, Musical Personality, Musical Affectivity, and Musical Culturality. Scoring criteria and rubrics were established for each dimension to ensure reliable and valid assessment. The measure was evaluated by experts (N = 5) and pilot-tested with a sample of students (N = 50) and teachers (N = 2) who scored their tasks with ACCPAM utilized. The results showed satisfactory content validity, discriminant validity, and inter-judge reliability, with some areas for improvement. The measure provides a comprehensive and reliable instrument for musical creative practical ability assessment. Future research could incorporate qualitative interpretations of individual factors along with quantitative measurements, expanding evaluation methodologies and incorporating peer perspectives.