Recently, the research paper Indigenous Development and Validation of the Music Performance Anxiety Scale, co-authored by Yang He and Liu Shalu, Year 2023 PhD students from the school of Education, City University of Macau, has been accepted for presentation at the Comparative and International Education Society Annual Conference (CIES 2026), one of the world’s top conferences in education.
The two students have been invited to present their paper at the conference in March 2026, sharing City University of Macau’s innovative interdisciplinary research achievements with global educators.
Music performance anxiety is a critical psychological issue affecting artistic performance and professional development. Most existing measurement scales are developed within Western cultural contexts, and their applicability in local settings is in urgent need of improvement.
To address this research gap, under the careful supervision of Professor Li Ying Cheng, Dean of the School of Education, Yang He and Liu Shalu adopted an interdisciplinary perspective, deeply integrating music education and mental health research.
Through empirical surveys of music students and instructors at tertiary institutions, they completed the indigenous adaptation and scientific validation of the scale, resulting in a measurement tool tailored to the Chinese cultural context.
This work not only provides precise and effective academic support for music education practice, psychological intervention design, and performance training optimization, but also expands research pathways for cross‑cultural scale development.
It demonstrates City U students’ academic commitment to focusing on real‑world problems and meeting practical needs.
As their supervisor, Professor Cheng Li Ying has long been engaged in interdisciplinary education research and talent development, advocating the philosophy that “academic innovation must be rooted in reality and integrate disciplines”.
In teaching and supervision, she has built interdisciplinary academic exchange platforms and guided students to connect cutting‑edge research with local needs through rigorous scholarship and global vision, providing key guidance and strong support for the study.
The acceptance of this paper reflects high recognition of the students’ academic abilities and exemplifies the school’s commitment to the educational model of “teaching students in accordance with their aptitude and integrating research with teaching”.
The CIES Annual Conference is hosted by the oldest and largest academic organization in comparative and international education.
Since its founding in 1956, it has promoted educational research and policy exchange from cross‑cultural and international perspectives, attracting over a thousand leading scholars and educators worldwide each year.
Leading universities, including Tsinghua University and East China Normal University, regard CIES as a top‑tier academic conference.
The acceptance of City U’s research marks a significant academic presence at an elite international education forum, showcasing the University’s research strength in education and injecting new momentum into cross‑border academic cooperation and internationalization.
In recent years, the School of Education, City University of Macau, has aimed to cultivate high‑level academic talents with a global vision and local rootedness, continuously optimizing the curriculum, strengthening research platforms, and promoting interdisciplinary integration and cross‑border academic exchanges.
The breakthrough by Yang He and Liu Shalu epitomizes the School’s efforts in interdisciplinary talent development and academic innovation.
Moving forward, the school will continue to leverage its disciplinary strengths, build broader academic platforms for students, and support more City U scholars to excel on the international stage.
