How teachers develop self-motivation through instructing group performance at athletic meets: Interviews with elementary school teachers

Abstract

Many elementary schools are replacing expressive movement (creative dance) with practices for group performances at athletic meets. This occurs due to teachers’ concerns, such as their difficulty in understanding the contents of expressive movement instruction and their lack of confidence in teaching the skill. In this study, we conducted interviews at a school where expressive movement was replaced by group performance to determine the cause of the current situation. Our goals were to discover ways to create group performances incorporating expressive learning at athletic meets.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 elementary school teachers, who instructed group performances. The data obtained from the interviews were analyzed using the modified grounded theory approach (M-GTA).

As a result, 17 concepts in six categories were derived. The data revealed that the group performance teachers recognized that this activity fosters collaborative learning through communication and teamwork. However, they were also anxious about the free expressive movements that should be included in their curriculum and the group performance.

The data suggested that teachers instructing group performances for athletic meets were　conscious of the ingenuity that led learners to make good movements, which improved their willingness to teach, given the stress of creating these teaching materials. Future studies should further investigate how teachers can incorporate expressive movement learning into group performance curricula with greater confidence.