‘I did not know that the pupils loved dancing … until the projector came’: constructions of dance as learning activity in school-age educare

Abstract

ABSTRACT Interest in school-age educare has been growing internationally. School-age educare in Sweden emphasises learning and participation in aesthetic and creative learning activities. This study aims to critically examine how dance as a learning activity is constructed by educators in Swedish school-age educare. Discourse analysis is used to shed light on discursive constructions made by school-age educators when they reason about dance and learning in their educational practices. The empirical material consists of six focus-group interviews with 18 school-age educators. Three discourses are identified: (1) dance as a joy-filled activity, (2) digital tools as prerequisites for dancing, and (3) pre-choreographed dances as a preference. The results show that there is a lack of aesthetic and creative aspects in dance in school-age educare. School-age educators include dance because it is fun and is carried out by imitating movements without a focus on learning. The educators who appreciate dance lack the know-how to develop pupils’ dance skills beyond what they already know. There are holistic ambitions in school-age educare to let care, play, and learning intersect, but creative dance still has an untapped potential to engage pupils in cultural activities and to contribute to gender repositioning.