Focusing on Arts Education from the Perspectives of Well-Being

Abstract

The place of well-being has been the focus of arts pedagogy and research and practice of lifelong learning for some time. This is because arts education itself is seen as a challenge today, as it is included in performance-oriented curricula. They are based on the contradiction between organizing and maintaining high-quality learning experiences and achievements through a well-being perspective. Within the framework of this research, one of the sub-branches of art pedagogy – dance pedagogy – has been studied. Dance pedagogy has been chosen because, firstly, it still has implications of authoritarian pedagogy in its particular cultural environment, and secondly, dance pedagogy as a component of quality of life and healthy ageing in the context of lifelong learning is beginning to significantly strengthen its place. The purpose of this publication is to identify the components of well-being formation in an adult dance class from the teacher’s point of view. This choice of focus was determined by the results of the previous research stage, where one of the criteria of well-being was identified in the dancers’ interviews: the personality and professional mastery of the teacher, as well as the still current idea that the vital aspect of art pedagogy is how the teacher conceptualizes the pedagogical process. The respondents were selected during the nomination process, i.e., the candidates were nominated by the dancers and industry professionals themselves. Data were analysed using the qualitative data processing program NVivo 12.0. As a result, the dance teachers’ vision of the pedagogical process was identified, which promotes the dancer’s well-being, where the following criteria are established as an essential part of the pedagogical process: the student’s personality understanding, involvement and preparedness, and psychological knowledge. The results of this research will serve as a basis for the creation of a professional development program for art teachers.