AESTHETIC AND PROFESSIONAL MUSICAL EDUCATION - A CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS' COMPETENCIES

In line with the latest market requirements, marked by limited chances for permanent employment as well as continuous emerging of new professions, it turns out that the level of competencies is of substantial importance for the future work of professional musicians. Hence, establishing and developing competencies of students has become one of the important segments of musical education. The paper examines cognitive, social, emotional, and performance-related competencies and their correlation with the students' grade average and age. The sample (N=311) included 311 Serbian high school students of music (from Nis, Leskovac, Krusevac, Kraljevo, Negotin). The study confirmed the initial hypothesis on the correlation of the students' competencies with their grade average. However, a presumption that performance-related and cognitive competencies are dominant in the last grade of high school was not confirmed. The findings reveal that cognitive competencies are not mastered to the expected level and that they have the highest average rank in second graders. The results of the study reveal absence of certain significant competencies in the students' professional musical education, opening space for further studies of the quality of musical education in Serbia.