The Factors Which Influence Primary Student Teachersí Confidence to Teach Dance

Abstract

This article reports selected findings from a study that examines the factors which influence student teachers’ confidence in teaching the arts in primary schools and focuses on their teaching of dance. A sample of 12 second-year teachers gave a semistructured interview before, during and after a 10-week school-based work experience in a primary school. The students were following a four-year BA (Education) course which prepared them to teach the full range of 10 school curriculum subjects. The procedure of recursive comparative analysis was used to reveal a complex interaction between prior experience, content of the initial teacher education programme and the quality of school experience. Within the narratives there were perceived to be consistent factors which contributed to the student teachers’ confidence or lack of it. The implications of the results for student teachers’ initial training are discussed and some suggestions are offered about the design of teacher education courses and the support of students in schools.