Pedagogical Considerations Regarding Perceptions of Dance Competence

This study examined how college-age students in a beginning jazz and modem dance class construct their self-perceptions of dance competence. Each class was videotaped one class per week for 12 weeks. During the 12th week a perceived competence in dance scale was administered to the students ( N =26) and the teacher. Results indicated that 57.7% of the students’ perceptions of their competence were congruent with the teacher’s; 42.3% were incongruent (15.3% higher, 27% lower). Based on interviews, these groups displayed distinct characteristics regarding attribution for success, interpretation of feedback, and focus on classroom activities. Videotape analysis using the Dyadic Adaptation of CAFIAS indicated there was no differential treatment of the students by the teacher. It was concluded that, rather than the teacher expectation effect, the students’ interpretation of themselves in the instructional context accounted for their self-perceptions of their competence.