Home All Issues Issue articles Previous article Next article

Integrating music and dance: Challenges and solutions for effective teaching

Tran Quoc Viet 1 * ,
Do Thi Mai An 1
1 Hanoi Metropolitan University, VIETNAM* Corresponding Author
Educational Point, 2(1), 2025, e113, https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/16092
Publication date: Mar 08, 2025
Research Article
Open Access Open Access
Download PDF

ABSTRACT

Currently, the integration of Music and Dance into curricula has become increasingly common due to its clear benefits in developing social communication skills and improving students’ mental and physical well-being. However, effectively addressing the complex relationship between Music and Dance when combining them into a single subject remains a significant challenge for educators. This study aimed to identify the causes of these challenges and propose solutions to overcome them. Through document analysis, a mixed-method approach (qualitative and quantitative), and field observations, the study collected participants’ insights on the impact of separating Music and Dance in teaching. The results showed that, in addition to the benefits of integrating Music and Dance in enhancing student interaction, improving communication skills, and fostering practical learning abilities, the separation of these two elements reduced the educational effectiveness of the subject. Based on the findings, the study proposed key pedagogical principles and specific solutions to address the challenges of integrating Music and Dance. These findings could serve as a theoretical framework for innovating course content and teaching methods, thereby contributing to the overall improvement of educational quality in this subject.

KEYWORDS

music and dance teaching challenges integration educational effectiveness curriculum innovation

CITATION (APA)

Viet, T. Q., & An, D. T. M. (2025). Integrating music and dance: Challenges and solutions for effective teaching. Educational Point, 2(1), e113. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/16092
Harvard
Viet, T. Q., and An, D. T. M. (2025). Integrating music and dance: Challenges and solutions for effective teaching. Educational Point, 2(1), e113. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/16092
Vancouver
Viet TQ, An DTM. Integrating music and dance: Challenges and solutions for effective teaching. Educational Point. 2025;2(1):e113. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/16092
AMA
Viet TQ, An DTM. Integrating music and dance: Challenges and solutions for effective teaching. Educational Point. 2025;2(1), e113. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/16092
Chicago
Viet, Tran Quoc, and Do Thi Mai An. "Integrating music and dance: Challenges and solutions for effective teaching". Educational Point 2025 2 no. 1 (2025): e113. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/16092
MLA
Viet, Tran Quoc et al. "Integrating music and dance: Challenges and solutions for effective teaching". Educational Point, vol. 2, no. 1, 2025, e113. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/16092

REFERENCES

  1. Appiah, K. N., Aboagye, E., & Mensah, D. D. (2023). Students’ perception of integration of physical education, music, and dance (PEMD) as a course in colleges of education in Ghana. European Journal of Education and Pedagogy, 4(2), 237–245. https://doi.org/10.24018/ejedu.2023.4.2.627
  2. Bebetsos, E. (2015). Prediction of participation of undergraduate university students in a Music and Dance master’s degree program. International Journal of Instruction, 8(2), 165–176. https://doi.org/10.12973/iji.2015.8213a
  3. Carr, P., Dennis, R., & Hand, R. (2014). Dancing with inter-disciplinarity: Strategies and practices in higher education dance, drama, and music. https://www.academia.edu/10794772/Dancing_with_inter_disciplinarity_strategies_and_practices_in_higher_education_Dance_Drama_and_Music
  4. Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple intelligences. New York, NY: Basic Bocks.
  5. Georgios, L., Aspasia, D., Maria, K., Evgenia, N., & Basiliki, T. (2017). The effectiveness of a music and movement program for traditional dance teaching on primary school students’ intrinsic motivation and self-reported patterns of lesson participation. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 8(1), 227–236. https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2017.v8n1p227
  6. Goldberg, M. (2021). Arts integration: Teaching subject matter through the arts in multicultural settings. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780367809805
  7. Hagen, E. H., & Bryant, G. A. (2003). Music and dance as a coalition signaling system. Human Nature, 14(1), 21–51. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-003-1015-z
  8. Hao, B. P. (2022). Âm nhạc trong một số tác phẩm múa [Music in some dance works]. http://thuvienlamdong.org.vn:81/bitstream/DL_134679/69005/1/CVv247S5032022074.pdf
  9. Harvey, M., Walkerden, G., Semple, A. L., McLachlan, K., Lloyd, K., & Baker, M. (2016). A song and a dance: Being inclusive and creative in practicing and documenting reflection for learning. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 13(2). https://doi.org/10.53761/1.13.2.3
  10. Hung, N. H. (2018). Luận án Đổi mới chương trình môn Âm nhạc - Vũ đạo cho sinh viên Trường Đại học Thể dục thể thao Bắc Ninh [Thesis on renewing the curriculum of Music - Dance for students of Bac Ninh University of Physical Education and Sports]. https://luanvan365.com/tom-tat-luan-an-doi-moi-chuong-trinh-mon-am-nhac-vu-dao-cho-sinh-vien-truong-dai-hoc-the-duc-the-thao-bac-ninh-82302.html
  11. Kauppinen, P., Luusua, A., Sassali, N. S., & Hakosalo, O. (2023). Better together: Toward a joint pedagogy in folk dance and music. Dance Articulated, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.5324/da.v9i1.5062
  12. Kibirige, R. (2023). Dance-musicking: Non-prescriptive dance, music, and dance-music engagement in cross-sectoral collaborative teaching and learning. Dance Articulated, 9(1), 144–162. https://doi.org/10.5324/da.v9i1.5055
  13. Koff, S. R. (2015). Applied dance curriculum: A global perspective. In C. S. Nielsen, S. Burridge (Eds.), Dance education around the world (pp. 3–10). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315813578-2
  14. Li, C. (2015). The study of musical and dance improvisation teaching in higher normal university. In 2015 International Conference on Management, Education, Information and Control (pp. 1325–1332). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/meici-15.2015.234
  15. Mason, P. H. (2012). Music, dance and the total art work: Choreomusicology in theory and practice. Research in Dance Education, 13(1), 5–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/14647893.2011.651116
  16. McCarthy, M. (1996). Dance in the music curriculum: Music and dance are natural partners in a general music curriculum with a multicultural focus. Music Educators Journal, 82(4), 26–29. https://doi.org/10.2307/3399008
  17. Nannyonga-Tamusuza, S. (2015). Music as dance and dance as music: Interdependence and dialogue in Baganda Baakisimba performance. Yearbook for Traditional Music, 47, 82–96. https://doi.org/10.5921/yeartradmusi.47.2015.0082
  18. Nor, M. A. M., & Stepputat, K. (2016). Sounding the dance, moving the music: Choreomusicological perspectives on maritime Southeast Asian performing arts. In K. Stepputat (Ed.), Performing Arts in Changing Societies: Perspectives from Southeast Asia (pp. 223–240). Routledge.
  19. Norrgrann, A. (2024, March). Using music to assemble dance and exercise class experiencescapes. In M. Jaskari (Ed.), Building strong brands and engaging customers with sound (pp. 152–175). IGI Global Scientific Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3693-0778-6.ch007
  20. O’Connell, S. R. (2021). Exploring the relation between musical and dance sophistication and musical grand musical groove perception. Truy cập từ. https://www.proquest.com/openview/ed84ac255ddac069ecc418e0c25415c9/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y
  21. Petrie, J. L. (2020). Advancing student success: Assessing the educational outcomes of Music and Dance education in Ghanaian senior high schools. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 50(3), 332–351. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2018.1513319
  22. Phương, L. T. (2023). Vai trò âm nhạc trong nghệ thuật múa [The role of music in dance art]. https://vhntct.edu.vn/bai-viet/500/vai-tro-am-nhac-trong-nghe-thuat-mua
  23. Sutela, K., Kivijärvi, S., & Anttila, E. (2021). Moving encounters: Embodied pedagogical interaction in music and dance educators’ expanding professionalism. In H. Westerlund, & H. Gaunt (Eds.), Expanding Professionalism in Music and Higher Music Education (pp. 89–101). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003108337-8
  24. Taryana, T., Budiman, A., Karyati, D., & Julia, J. (2021). Enhancing students’ understanding and skills on dance music: An action research. Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences, 16(5), 2621–2639. https://doi.org/10.18844/cjes.v16i5.6334
  25. Zejing, M., & Luen, L. C. (2023). New ways to cultivate university students’ emotional expression in dance pedagogy. International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 12(4), 1623–1630. https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARPED/v12-i4/18659

LICENSE

Creative Commons License
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.