Literature Review: "Dance education: an examination of practitioners’ perceptions in secondary schools and the necessity for teachers skilled in the pedagogy and content of dance" (John Connel, Research in Dance Education, volume 10, issue 2, 2009)

In this article, the author has conducted a survey "examining practitioners’ beliefs, understanding and attitudes towards the teaching of dance in secondary schools" (Connel, 2009)

The aim of the study was to discover how the teachers in secondary schools that are responsible for delivering dance feel about the subject and how they approach it.

It was interesting that the findings suggested that a large proportion of the teachers of dance that made up the sample were non dance specialists. Out of 198 subjects, only 29 were trained dance teachers, and 8 dance artists. 146 were P.E teachers.

This seems strange to me. How would a parent feel if their child came home and told them that they were being taught maths by an English teacher with no experience or qualifications in Maths? This would be a problem surely? A school wouldn't dream of allowing a teacher with no experience in a higher profile subject to teach it, yet this is the case with dance.

Is this because there is a lack of dance practitioners applying? Or is it because most schools don't offer dance as an individual subject and therefore can't afford to employ a dance teacher to work with the P.E department? 

The study is 3 years old and since then a number of schools do now offer GCSE dance as a subject. It would be interesting to see how many of those posts are held by trained dance practitioners.

This study relates to my Inquiry as I am looking at dance teachers and dance students perceptions of the benefit of partaking in dance, and within the results of this study the respondents are quoted thusly:

"Participating in dance in school can improve understanding of the world in which young people live and this can be greatly increased through their artistic and aesthetic experiences of dance, enhancing their appreciation of the expressive nature of this subject." "In dance lessons, children have the opportunity to be creative and express themselves in different ways." "Children can improve their cognitive ability through the choreographic elements of dance and an appreciation of the fundamentals of movement; action, space, dynamics and relationships." "Performance with others, in the variety of relationships encountered through participation in dance, helps to assist a pupil’s consideration and appreciation of their physical, emotional, mental, social and cultural needs." "Participating in dance helps pupils develop an understanding and appreciation of their body in action, the necessity for safe practice, and the way their body moves and what happens inside the body as they move."                        (Connel, 2009) It will be interesting to see if similar opinions emerge from my study, which is gathering responses from teachers in the Private sector and in a community dance setting.