Dance Education, Skill, and Behavioral Objectives

Of all the forms of human endeavor that may be found represented in an educational curriculum, the place and status of dance is perhaps the most ambiguous. On the face of it, dance as an art form requires much the same sort of educational spirit and approach as painting or music, but in most schools where it is taught, it is taught as a branch of physical activity by teachers of physical education. The reasons for this, of course, are neither unclear nor inconsiderable-both dance and sport concern the practice of physical skill, and both dancer and sportsman require a sophisticated level of physical training. I shall argue in this paper, however, that given the way that the current professional preparation of physical educationalists encourages them to view the notion of skill teaching, consequences for the teaching of dance in schools of its association with physical education can only be unfortunate. The present paper, then, may be understood as an essay in the philosophy of education rather than as a discussion of aesthetics or dance.