Understanding music teachers’ formative assessment intention and implementation: A Chinese Mainland context

Abstract

Formative assessment is essential in music education as it supports the music learning process, which relies mostly on feedback from self and others to improve performance. Despite growing interest in formative assessment across various subjects, there is a lack of empirical evidence on how it is applied specifically in music education. Given the crucial role of teachers in the effective implementation of formative assessment, this study aims to examine music teachers’ intentions and implementation of formative assessment, along with the factors influencing them, based on the Theory of Planned Behavior. A total of 671 music teachers from 29 cities/provinces of Mainland China were surveyed. The structural equation modeling results indicate that in the Chinese Mainland school music education context, a positive attitude toward formative assessment, a supportive and collaborative social environment, and strong confidence in using formative assessment enhance teachers’ intentions to adopt it. Additionally, greater confidence directly increases actual implementation. However, increased school support did not significantly impact teachers’ intentions or their implementation of formative assessment. The findings suggest that school administrators should focus on helping music teachers build confidence and fostering a collaborative, supportive culture for using formative assessment practices to improve music learning.