Protecting Philippine Dance Traditions via Education of Tomorrow's Pedagogues: The Role of Individual Interest and School Engagement

One of the primary purposes of higher education is to shape future educators into preservationists of the Philippines’ intangible cultural heritage, such as folk dances. As a result, it is critical to evaluate students’ individual interests in Philippine traditional dances as well as their school engagement. This guarantees that knowledge is adequately transmitted for these future educators to fulfill their role in strengthening the country’s national identity. In this regard, the purpose of this research is to examine the differences between gender, age groups, and school/campus in terms of their individual interest and school engagement. More importantly, its primary goal was to investigate the relationship between individual interest on school engagement. After collecting data from 408 undergraduate students pursuing a Bachelor of Physical Education at the three Higher Education Institutions that offer the program in the Philippines, it was determined that there is no substantial variance in terms of individual interest between gender, age group, and school/campus. Surprisingly, there was a significant difference in students’ school engagement among schools/campuses. Most importantly, a strong and positive link between individual interest and school engagement was observed. Finally, individual interest, along with its three factors, has a direct influence on school engagement and its three dimensions. This examination to effectively train future educators as agents on the safeguarding of Philippine dances yielded recommendations for future research direction and proposals in enhancing students’ individual interest and engagement, as well as proposals for teacher professional development.