Abstract:
Despite increasing recognition of the benefits to dance learning, teaching practices within dance education can be problematic. This study investigates dance teaching practices in relation to the selfesteem of students. Driving this inquiry is the motivating question: How can teaching practices within dance education diminish students’ self-esteem? Using a narrative inquiry method within a qualitative research approach, this study applied multiple theories – Abraham Maslow’s humanistic psychological theories, notably the hierarchy of needs (1943) and The Dynamics of Psychological Security-Insecurity (1942), Mark Leary’s sociometer theory (1999), and critical dance pedagogy, along with other humanistic educational theories, to clarify the understanding of the role of dance education, to challenge the dominant assumption that dance is always benevolent, and to examine the impact of dance teaching practices on students’ selfesteem. Through the collection and analysis of seven student participants’ dance learning experiences, it is revealed that three particular dance teaching practices can have a negative impact on students’ selfesteem. Employing chosen anecdotes, students’ experiences of teachers’ non-rationalised, aggressive and humiliating actions directed at them, along with their corresponding feelings of insecurity (as a response to unsatisfied esteem needs) are discussed and presented thematically. This research approach is taken to initiate critical reflection and purposeful dialogue within the dance, and particularly, the dance education community. It hopes to spur purposeful discussions on the importance of dance education to examine intentional and unintentional teaching practices that impact students’ self-esteem. Finally, it aims to serve as an instigation in proposing for a range of possible future research directions that concerned dance researchers could consider pursuing.
