The Influence of Dance Instructional Strategy and Teacher's Pedagogy Competence on Classroom Climate

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of various dance strategies and early childhood teachers’ pedagogical competence on creating a positive classroom climate which is important for children’s academic achievement and social development. This study used a quasi-experimental expost facto design method, with ANOVA to analyse data and test the hypotheses. The respondents in this study involved 176 early childhood teachers. The study found a result of sig. 0.036, indicating that the use of various dance strategies can have a significant positive influence on classroom climate. Other findings indicated that a ‘creative’ dance strategy that is student-centred, has a greater positive influence on classroom climate than an ‘imitative’, teacher-centred strategy. Future studies are expected to follow up on other factors that can influence classroom climate as a key to successful learning.