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Music education often struggles to sustain students’ long-term commitment, with many perceiving lessons as frustrating or unengaging, leading to discontinuation. To address this gap, our study aimed to elucidate the primary reasons for dropout from the perspectives of various stakeholders, including students, parents, teachers, and principals. Drawing upon the self-determination theory, our research comprehensively investigated external and internal factors contributing to dropout. Among external factors, competing extracurricular commitments, music theory and solfége lessons, and teacher’s approach emerge as the most prominent. Among internal factors, our findings highlighted the critical role of autonomy, competency, and relatedness in shaping students’ decisions to continue or discontinue music education. Inadequate teacher-student relationships, limited peer interactions, and uninspiring classroom atmospheres significantly impacted dropout. Moreover, challenges in the music school curriculum, such as difficulties with music theory and solfège, resource limitations, and excessive workloads, emerged as prominent barriers to student engagement. By addressing these multifaceted issues, our study underscores the importance of fostering supportive environments that cater to individual needs and interests, ultimately enhancing the overall music education experience and reducing dropout rates. This research represents the first systematic empirical study in Slovenian music education, laying the groundwork for future quantitative investigations to advance education practices in Slovenia.

Late adolescences, as a developmentally challenging transitional period between childhood and adulthood, provides a number of pressures that impact well-being of youth. Among approaches for facilitating well-being, music is reported to be one of the most effective ones, which was especially proven during Covid-19 pandemic. Given the significance of music and music listening in late adolescence, our study sought to examine the relationship between psychological well-being and music listening among university students (N = 603; Nfemale = 356, Nmale = 247) with a focus on the social, intrapersonal, and sociocultural context of music listening. The RESPECT music scale, the SPWB, and the PANAS were used to measure positive and negative affect as well as the six components of psychological well-being. The findings revealed that, while there were no gender differences in the sociocultural setting, females reported to listen to music more frequently than males in intrapersonal and social contexts. In two areas, female students rated their psychological well-being higher than male students: personal growth and positive relationships with others. They also reported experiencing positive and negative affect more frequently than men. Regression analyses revealed that the functions of music explained only a small amount of the variance in psychological well-being. Specifically, music listening in a social and sociocultural context significantly explained two aspects of psychological well-being: personal growth and positive relations with others. The intrapersonal context of music listening predicted a positive affect, while the social context predicted a negative affect. Our study highlights several implications of music listening in youth regarding gender either in everyday activities or in educational and clinical setting.

Flow is a specific state of consciousness when people are completely immersed and concentrated on a task, that they lose the sense of time, and feel as if doing things unconsciously. This article aims to provide a brief overview of the flow in music, focused on music performance, and shed light on aspects such as psychological correlates, occurrence and educational applications. Our objective is to build a bridge between theory and practice examining the implications of flow for improving the musical practice. Several studies analyse flow in various musical activities, including improvisation/composition, listening and performance. Music improvisation is considered one of the most crucial pedagogical tools for promoting flow from the early years of music education on. Flow in music performance is the most extensively studied, and practical implications to facilitate optimal experience and flow conditions could be developed. In the final part of the article, educational strategies for inducing flow are proposed based on the nine characteristics of flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990).

Adolescents are a population that is particularly vulnerable to the effects of music, while depression is the most common psychopathology in this developmental period. Studying the connection between musical preferences and depression in adolescents therefore needs to be given special attention. The purpose of our study was to examine how different musical preferences are associated with depression and whether these links differ according to gender. The database collected on a sample of 272 adolescents (193 female and 79 male) was obtained using the Beck Depression Inventory - BDI II and the Short Test of Music Preferences - STOMP. On the basis of results from the research, we found that a preference for Reflective & Conventional music styles was connected negatively to depression, while a preference for the Rebellious music style is positively connected to depression. The important value of our research consists in our having tested the Slovene version of STOMP. The results show that STOMP’s validity is questionable.

The aim of this study was to explore the differences in musical preferences between Slovene and Croatian students. The sample consisted of 369 students from Slovenia and 371 students from Croatia. The results show that there are significant differences in musical preferences between Slovene and Croatian students. Furthermore, differences with regard to gender, age and study program were confirmed.

The aim of our study was to explore musical preferences in preschool children and also to shed light on parental influence. Quantitative study was conducted on 250 five- and six-year olds, 118 boys and 132 girls In the second part, we performed qualitative study on 15 children and their parents. Participants evaluated 10 one minute long musical excerpts and in qualitative study also reported reasons for (dis)liking. The results reveal that preschool children appreciate most of the musical styles, among which they like children song sung by a child the most. Parental influence was confirmed in qualitative part.

Although flow has been studied extensively in music and sport, there is a lack of research comparing these two domains. With the aim of filling this gap, elite musicians and top athletes in Slovenia were contrasted in the current study. Differences for flow and satisfaction with life between elite musicians and top athletes were explored. Individual versus group performance setting and gender differences were considered. 452 participants; 114 elite Slovenian musicians (mean age 23.46 years) and 338 top Slovenian athletes (mean age 22.40 years) answered questions about flow and satisfaction with life measures. The results show differences between elite musicians and top athletes in four flow dimensions: transformation of time and autotelic experience were higher in musicians while clear goals and unambiguous feedback were higher in athletes. However, differences in global flow were not confirmed. Elite musicians and top athletes experienced flow more often in group than in individual performance settings and surprisingly it was experienced more in male than in female top performers. Satisfaction with life has a positive correlation with all nine dimensions of flow, but only challenge-skill balance was a significant predictor for satisfaction with life.

The aim of the present study was to investigate job resources and demands and their relatedness to work flow. In line with the three-dimensional model of flow, absorption, work enjoyment and intrinsic work motivation were explored as separate outcomes. Our predictions were tested using a sample of 293 higher education teachers in Slovenia. The participants indicated their levels of flow, job demands (e.g., workload) and job resources (e.g., variety and autonomy) using the Slovenian version of the work flow inventory and job demands-resources scales. Our hypotheses were tested using moderated multiple regression where main as well as interactive effects between job resources and demands were examined. Autonomy and variety were found to enhance absorption, work enjoyment and intrinsic work motivation. Furthermore, autonomy was found to be the most important predictor of all the work flow dimensions. In contrast, workload was not significantly related to any of the outcomes. We also found interactive effects of variety and workload as well as variety and autonomy on absorption.

This article examines the effects of Montessori music-movement activities on the development of the rhythmic abilities of 59 children from Montessori preschools, aged between 3 and 6 years. Children were deployed into two experimental groups (EG 1 (n = 20) & EG 2 (n = 22)) and a control group (CG) (n = 17). Our intervention consisted of introducing 15 to 20 min of unstructured movement time, either accompanied by a piano (EG 1) or recording (EG 2), three times a week for four months, whereas the control group carried on the usual Montessori program. We used a quasi-experimental nonequivalent groups design with pretest-posttest. Three tests for measuring rhythmic abilities were used: auditory discrimination of the rhythmic patterns, imitation of spoken rhythmic phrases, and determining the synchronization of movement with the rhythm of the music. The interventions had a positive effect on the development of the rhythmic abilities of children included in the study. The most significant effect was noticed in EG 1, while no effect of non-activity was detected in the control group.

The aim of the present study was to examine the predictive value of elementary school teachers' workplace characteristics on work stress and burnout. Workplace characteristics were defined as job demands and resources, which were further divided into general and specific, related to work with special education needs students. We examined whether variables related to work with special education needs students explained incremental variance in stress and burnout above and beyond general workplace characteristics. Elementary school teachers from all twelve regions of Slovenia (N ranges from 439 to 886) took part in the study. The results have shown that workplace characteristics independently predict a significant amount of variance in stress, emotional exhaustion and depersonalization among teachers. General job demands and specific demands related to special education needs students are the highest and most stable predictors of all three studied criteria. Based on our findings, we suggest several measures which can help to alleviate stress and foster efficient coping strategies.

Relationship between brain and music is of interest to musicians, psychologists and neuroscientists. In recent years no other area of psychology of music has seen as much advancement as neuropsychology of music. The aim of the article is to present some main issues in the neuropsychology of music abroad and in Slovenia, to classify research studies into larger categories and to predict the future development of this field.There are different levels of inquiry into the neuropsychology of music: (1) the analysis of normal and abnormal psychological and physiological functions to determine the principles and modes by which the human brain processes, codifies, stores, and produces music, and (2) a description of the clinical deficits in music perception or performance resulting from localized or diffuse damage to the nervous system. Main topics that occupy neuropsychology of music are neuropsychological models of musical processing, functional imaging of musical perception and cognition, and the use of music as a therapeutic and clinical tool. Although some important studies have already been conducted since the year 2003, in Slovenia we faced a "formal" turning point in acknowledging the importance of the connection between music, mind and brain with the Sinapsa's Week of the brain 2009 under the title Brain and music.

The pre-school period plays a very important role in the language development. One of the significant indicators of this development is the phonological awareness. Some of the previous studies reported the presence of the relation between the phonological awareness and musical abilities. Our main goal was to examine this relation with the Test of the phonological awareness and the Test of musical abilities on 67 Slovene preschool children, aged from 5 to 6. We also wanted to investigate the differences between boys (N = 36) and girls (N = 31) and the differences between two age groups (aged from 5 to 5.5 years, N = 32, and from 5.5 to 6 years, N = 35). The results confirmed the connection between musical abilities and the phonological awareness. They also indicated that the recognition of the first and the last phoneme is related to melodic awareness and that phoneme merging is mainly related to rhythm awareness. No significant differences were found between male and female children or between the groups of the children of different ages.

The influence of music on cognitive functioning was investigated with the Mozart effect, i. e. the increase in spatial-temporal reasoning performance immediately after exposure to the Mozart piano sonata K.448. The experiment was performed on the sample of 315 students. Based on the results of the main experiment, two groups) were formed: the enhancement group (N = 30) and the stagnation group (N = 30). Differences between these extreme groups in intellectual, personal, emotional characteristics, and in the learning styles were examined. The Mozart effect on the spatial-temporal reasoning performance was confirmed. The effect was not influenced by gender, musical knowledge, or the study area. It was also not affected by personality and emotional characteristics. On the other hand, there was an influence of the general intelligence factor (the effect was more pronounced in the individuals with lower IQ in comparison with those with higher IQ) and in the learning styles (the enhancement group processed information more on auditory and holistic level, while the stagnation group was more visual and analytical). Our study confirmed that Mozart's music has a positive influence on cognitive functioning, but this influence depends on intellectual capacities, perceptual style, and information processing style.

This article provides an overview of the theoretical underpinnings and some empirical findings regarding the Mozart effect. The "Mozart effect" refers to an enhancement of performance or change in neurophysiological activity associated with listening to Mozart's music. It was first reported in 1993 by researchers at the University of California, Irvine. They decided to choose Mozart since he started composing at the age of four. Thus they suggested that he was exploiting the inherent repertoire of spatial-temporal firing patterns in the cortex. Causal basis for relations between music ability and spatial reasoning ability is provided by the trion model of cortex. In this research context music is used as a window into higher brain functions. The Mozart effect can be referred to two different phenomena. The first is short-term increase in spatial abilities, the other is the possibility of formal training in music to bring benefits to other areas of human's knowledge. The effect can be found in the subsequently improved performance on spatial test results, increased EEG coherence, increased correlations of neurophysiological activity on the temporal and left frontal areas, increased spatial-temporal reasoning after piano lessons in preschool children, an enhanced learning of a maze by rats, changes in amplitude of alpha rhythm and increased interhemispheric coherence, in changes in EEG power and coherence, especially on the right temporal area, significant decreases in epileptiform activity, and enhanced short-term spatial-temporal reasoning in Alzheimer patients.

The aim of the research was to study the influence of performance anxiety on efficiency of solo music performance. Internal (self-contempt, positive self-evaluation) and external criteria (musical rewards, successful solo performances, successful auditions) of efficiency of solo music performance were taken into consideration. The research was grounded on studies from the field of sports psychology and on the few studies that were carried out in the field of psychology of music. The research was conducted on 94 students of Music Academy, grouped by gender and field of study (instrumentalists, solo vocalists and composers vs. students of music teaching). The symptoms of performance anxiety were measured by a part of the Performance Anxiety Questionnaire, and efficiency of solo music performance by the Efficiency of Music Performance Questionnaire. Both questionnaires were developed for the purpose of the study. The results reveal the interrelationship between the internal criteria of efficiency in solo music performance and performance anxiety. On the other hand, only trends of correlation were established between performance anxiety and the external criteria of solo music performance. The research findings imply the important role of cognition as a mediator between performance anxiety and performance efficiency.

The study deals with the topic of initiation, development and implementation of the idea of constructing a new theater building in Bratislava. Although the idea to build a modern Slovak National Theater has its origin already in the interwar period, it was only realized in 2007, when the new theater building was opened. The long process of the preparation and construction of the theater was primarily determined by the complexity of this task, which could not be solved satisfactorily for decades. The competition for the design of the theater was preceded by an urban competition for its location, where a decision was made between seven variants spread across the city. Later, the conditions of the architectural competition for the building (1979) were formed, which made extremely high demands on the architects, because the main goal was to create an innovative architecture not only from the formal, but also a technological point of view. In addition, another important goal was to combine spaces for drama and opera in one building, which was a unique solution at that time. Using the example of the genesis of thinking about the new modern theater building as one of the national cultural institutions, the study identifies and describes the key moments of the post-war architectural discourse. The aim of the text is to expand urban and historical-architectural research with new topics, especially focused on the reflections of the foreign architectural scene in relation to innovations in the architecture. It is also so far the most detailed analysis of the crystallazation of the designs of the new Slovak National Theater, closely linked to the wider context of post-war buildings intended for culture purposes in Slovakia, which are becoming national cultural heritage today.

Research has recently established the notion that humor in leadership contributes to the development of a positive professional relationship between leaders and followers. This relationship has been supposed to be the core mechanism via which humor in leadership unfolds its effects on work attitudes and behaviors. However, research has neglected the option that humor used by leaders might fail to amuse their followers. In this study, we investigate the role of failed humor for the relationship between leader and follower. More concretely, we develop a new scale for measuring failed humor in leadership and demonstrate its factorial and criterion-related validity. Using an automated item selection algorithm, we optimized the newly developed scale and derived a well-fitting six-item scale out of a pool of 12 items. In a study based on a sample of 385 employees, we were able to show that our newly developed scale is factorially valid. Moreover, we showed a negative correlation between failed humor and leader-member exchange. Furthermore, we showed incremental validity of failed humor in that failed humor predicted variance in leader-member exchange beyond well-established humor constructs such as affiliative and aggressive humor. Our study contributes to the development of the field of humor in leadership and opens up new options for further inquiry. Moreover, our study demonstrates the use of automated item selection algorithms in the applied field.

The industrial architecture of the 19th and 20th century offers various ways in which it can be studied from the point of view of modern architectural history. In the same time, this notion is shared just by a small number of experts – historians, architects or art his-torians – and the subject of industrial heritage stays to a large extent a domain of civic acti-vism. The growing interest of civic associations is driven by an outrage of rapid demolition of a number of key historical industrial sites in Bratislava in the recent past. In the contrast to the public interest, the expert research of industrial heritage might seem as less effective and understandable. The aim of this paper is to highlight the importance of existing expert research in a connection with interdisciplinary methods that are not yet developed sufficiently. The interdisciplinary team-work has to be done both on the level of official state heritage protection policies and civic activism, as it is confirmed also via contemporary international heritage discourse.