International Journal of Education & the Arts

Citation: Giguere, M. (2022). Social, emotional and cognitive engagement in dance for children: An examination through the lens of equity and racial justice. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 23(SI 1.8). Retrieved from http://doi.org/10.26209/ijea23si1.8

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students everywhere are exhibiting gaps in their social-emotional development. Dance advocates propose the prioritization of dance classes as a way to facilitate social-emotional learning. This essay examines the logic behind these advocacy efforts, but also cautions readers that social-emotional learning, even in the arts, can be misused to promote racial injustice and inequity if not properly structured. In the social arena, the idea is examined that social learning may be co-opted to reinforce obedience in children, and that “appropriate” social behaviors in a dance class may actually be the normalization of white middle class actions. In the emotional realm, the presumption that dance teaches emotional expression, must be linked to the awareness that the expression of emotion is a culturally contextual concept. Finally, from a perspective of cognition, dance can improve critical problem-solving skills, but only if the engagement is truly student centered.