Pedagogical conditions for overcoming problems of initial accordion instruction in China: results of a quasi-experimental study

Abstract

The aim of the study is to substantiate and test pedagogical conditions that can help overcome difficulties at the initial stage of accordion instruction in China’s music education system. The article systematizes personnel and methodological, content and repertoire, organizational and material, as well as motivational and self-regulatory barriers, and presents an integrative-compensatory model combining a sequential technical core, culturally and age-appropriate repertoire, and a cycle of brief digital pedagogical feedback. The quasi-experiment was conducted at Yueyang Experimental Primary School with 60 pupils in Grades 3-4, divided into an experimental group and a control group of 30 participants each. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the development and testing of a model that coordinates internationally comparable requirements for basic performance skills with national-cultural content and methodically organized support for independent practice, as well as in specifying diagnostic criteria for its use in heterogeneous groups of primary school children. The results show that after one academic semester, the average increase across seven diagnostic indicators was 3.6 points in the experimental group and 2.2 points in the control group. The most pronounced changes concerned score accuracy, regularity of independent practice, hand coordination, and learning motivation. The findings indicate the practical promise of the model, provided that face-to-face lessons remain central and digital tools are used for targeted correction of home practice rather than as a substitute for the lesson.