Teaching the Dance Subject in Australian High Schools

This article discusses qualitative research investigating experiences of school teachers delivering the dance curriculum in high schools in the state of Victoria, Australia. We questioned teachers on their day-to-day professional experience and its rewards and challenges. Interpretation of the data suggests that the participants in our study can gain substantial satisfaction from their work as they observe their students’ development through dance, sometimes building long-term mentoring relationships and relations of trust with their students in the dance studio environment. Nevertheless, the wider school environment, discourses, resources, and facilities can present difficulties or can even be lacking; rigorous forums for debating the aims, meaning, and practicalities of dance in high school education are few; and teachers often feel on their own in confronting challenges.