Training needs in pedagogical matters in high school dance teachers

Abstract

Introducción: This research topic arises from a personal need to recognize and reflect on a process from two perspectives: my educational field (Bachelor's Degree in Contemporary Dance) and the professional field (teaching dance within the National Education System); as a Bachelor's Degree in Contemporary Dance, my objective was to develop my artistic career, mainly as a stage performer and choreographer, and, on the other hand, a precarious and unstable economy as a dancer led me to seek a balance in dance teaching. In my experience, teaching dance became a space to identify my gaps in knowledge regarding education, teaching, and understanding of what I should do, structure, or adjust to teach my subject. This led me to pursue a second degree in pedagogy, which allowed me to identify theoretical and methodological resources supported by theoretical approaches. This enabled me to engage with the educational phenomenon not only as a teacher in front of a group of students but also as a dance professional who can understand, analyze, evaluate, diagnose, and investigate educational processes. Methods: This study was conducted from an interpretive paradigm, using qualitative methodology, and aimed to analyze and identify categories of pedagogical needs that a group of upper secondary school dance teachers in Mexico have in their practical work, using interviews as the approach technique. Results: As a result, seven categories were obtained: training and/or updating of the teaching profile, gaps in the curriculum for teacher training in dance, knowledge and application of pedagogical concepts, training related to the professional profile, respect, and appreciation for the subject. Aesthetic and artistic education, dance, teaching vocation and professional ethics, and, finally, comprehensive training for adolescents. Conclusions: It was concluded that, as this is an educational issue, it would be important to solve it by addressing the teacher updating for those dancers who count with a formal professional hiring profile in the Mexican education system, with the contribution of knowledge and pedagogical tools such as teaching, planning, structuring, methodology, etc., to prevent a situation of simulation, bad practice, or gaps in the teaching-learning process.