Dance Education students participate fully in technique classes, performances, and a variety of dance coursework while also earning a certification to teach dance as an educator in a public or private school in South Carolina or your home state. The teacher certification program does require additional education coursework, including a semester of student teaching. 

 

Our Vision of Dance Education

Dance Education students  are provided with multiple opportunities for professional engagement during their studies that will set them apart from other emerging educators. Upon graduation, our alumni are prepared to enter the field as leaders who will contribute to the discipline’s progress and sustainability in education for future generations.

Dance education learning outcomes include the opportunity to:

1. develop comprehensive knowledge of Dance Education as a discipline that extends beyond best practices in the classroom and includes awareness of the social, cultural, and political entities and perspectives that impact their future teaching and presence of dance in education;
   
   
2. develop leadership skills by participating in professional venues at the local, state, and national levels and pursuing leadership opportunities at the university and beyond;
   
   
3. demonstrate competence in the classroom by teaching and mentoring students from a variety of age/grade levels in a variety of areas within the discipline; and,
   
   
4. develop reflective skills to analyze their progress and inform their own practice and philosophy of teaching.

 

What Can I Do With a Degree in Dance Education?

Pursuing a certification provides students with the credentials to teach in a public school in the state of South Carolina and beyond; however, the skills acquired through dance education studies are applicable to teaching dance in any environment. The National Dance Education Organization, the primary professional organization for dance education in the United States, reports that thirty-nine states offer licenses, endorsements, and/or certifications in dance. While graduates earn K-12 certification in the state of South Carolina, the reciprocity process among states is relatively easy if one chooses to teach elsewhere. However, the Dance program has regularly achieved a very high placement rate for graduates desiring to work in public schools in South Carolina.  K-12 Dance Education programs can be found in every major city within South Carolina, with approximately 36 programs located in the Columbia Metropolitan area.

 

What will I learn while pursuing a degree in Dance Education?

In addition to the Carolina Core and requirements of the BA degree in Dance, students who elect the Dance Education major also take coursework in the areas of dance education and education that focuses on pedagogical theories, practices, and disciplinary content that prepare graduates to work with diverse populations in a variety of educational environments.