Emotional Safety: The Key to Enhancing Student Engagement in Performing Arts

Abstract This research presents a qualitative study exploring student engagement in compulsory performing arts lessons among middle school students aged 10–13. The study was initiated in response to observed low levels of engagement within this age group, prompting investigations into the experiences that shape adolescent engagement and strategies that enhance it. The project used action research methodology and involved student and teacher participants in Aotearoa New Zealand. Data collected through focus groups, interviews, self-report surveys, observations, and reflective journals indicated that emotional safety was critical in shaping student engagement. This led to teacher participants adapting their practices to foster emotional safety. Grounded in social constructionism, participants moved through iterative cycles of action, development, and reflection. The study found that emotional safety can be cultivated through tailored approaches that align with students’ needs, interests, and comfort zones; strong student-teacher relationships; respectful peer interactions, and student agency in learning tasks and group selection. Findings suggest that practitioners and researchers examine individual engagement styles, account for a wide range of internal and external influences, and remain flexible in response to adolescents’ diverse and evolving developmental needs.