Implementation and Exploration of Senior High School Dance Appreciation Courses from the Perspective of Aesthetic Education

Abstract

Against the macro-level background of global reform in arts education and China's new-era strategy for aesthetic education, this study focuses on practical innovation in senior high school dance appreciation courses in China. Taking Grade 10 students as the research participants, it examines their cognitive characteristics and the mechanism through which dance aesthetic education can be aligned with their developmental needs. Based on a review of international and Chinese reforms in aesthetic education, and drawing on questionnaire survey data and case analysis, the study identifies three major problems in current dance-related aesthetic education courses: an imbalance between classicality and contemporaneity in teaching content, which makes it difficult to meet students' transitional cognitive needs; a continuing reliance on traditional lecturing, which limits students' kinesthetic perception and emotional expression; and a single-dimensional evaluation model that lacks dynamic assessment of aesthetic internalization. Accordingly, this study proposes a three-in-one optimization framework. In terms of content, it has established a tripartite structure of classical, modern and local dance resources; in terms of pedagogy, it has created a spiral path of viewing, analysis and creation; and in terms of assessment, it has built a multidimensional system of cognition, skills and affect. The optimized framework will promote students' artistic participation and critical thinking, provide a good model for implementing Grade 10 aesthetic education courses, correct the lack of process-oriented evaluation, offer theoretical and practical support for the revision of China's senior secondary school arts curriculum standards, and promote the integration of dance education with core competencies.