Didactics, dance and teacher knowing in an upper secondary school context

Abstract

This article deals with didactics, dance and teacher knowing in an upper secondary school context in Sweden. Dance is referred to as a western theatrical art form as well as to a subject mainly defined through its curriculum. A qualitative interview study with experienced dance teachers constitutes the base on which two overarching theoretical approaches are used. The first highlights the meaning and use of didactics as concept such as space, time and subject, while the second elucidates dance teachers professional knowledge in relation to Shulman’s seven categories of knowledge. Curriculum knowledge and the process of transforming dance as a field of knowledge into a school subject appear to be a problematic category in need for attention, while categories such as pedagogical content knowledge and knowledge of learners seem to be self-evident.