The Need for Culturally Grounded Pedagogy in Chinese Ethnic and Folk Dance Education

Abstract

Chinese ethnic and folk dance is a core component of higher dance education in China, yet its teaching often prioritises technical accuracy, repertoire completion, and performance outcomes over embodied cultural understanding. This study examined the needs for developing an embedded cultural Chinese folk-dance teaching strategy for art university students. Guided by a qualitative needs analysis design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 undergraduate dance students and six lecturers who had direct experience in Chinese folk-dance teaching and learning. The data were analysed thematically to identify students’ learning needs and lecturers’ pedagogical needs. The findings revealed that students required cultural content that was concise, movement-specific, emotionally supportive, and directly applicable to performance practice. They also needed progressive scaffolding to connect technical execution with cultural meaning. Lecturers reported the need for structured teaching frameworks, practical resources, assessment alignment, and institutional support to integrate culture systematically into studio teaching. The study concludes that cultural embedding should not be treated as additional background explanation, but as a pedagogical organiser that connects movement, meaning, engagement, and assessment in Chinese folk-dance education.