The Impact of Teaching Content on Teaching Behavior among Colleges and Universities School Dance Teachers in Hebei Province, China: The Mediating Role of Teaching Engagement

Abstract

Against the backdrop of the inward development of higher education and the continuous strengthening of aesthetic education, the quality of teaching behavior among dance teachers in colleges and universities has become a critical factor influencing the effectiveness of talent cultivation in dance majors. However, how teaching content is effectively transformed into concrete teaching behavior still lacks systematic empirical explanation. Accordingly, this study takes dance teachers from colleges and universities in Hebei Province as the research sample and examines the mechanism linking teaching content–teaching engagement–teaching behavior, with a particular focus on the mediating role of teaching engagement between teaching content and teaching behavior. The research objectives are to: describe the overall levels of teaching content, teaching engagement, and teaching behavior among college and university dance teachers; test the direct effect of teaching content on teaching behavior; and verify the mediating effect of teaching engagement. A quantitative, cross-sectional questionnaire design was employed, involving 183 full-time dance teachers from 13 colleges and universities in Hebei Province. Data were collected using revised scales measuring teaching content, teaching engagement, and teaching behavior, all assessed on five-point Likert scales. Stratified cluster sampling was adopted for data collection. Descriptive statistics, correlation analyses, and regression analyses were conducted using SPSS, and the mediating effect was examined with PROCESS Macro (Model 4) based on 5,000 bootstrap samples. At the theoretical level, grounded in cognitive development theory and the Knowledge–Attitude–Practice (KAP) framework, this study elucidates how teaching content, as a cognitive foundation, is progressively externalized into stable classroom teaching behavior through the transformational mechanism of teaching engagement. The results indicate that: first, university dance teachers demonstrate moderately high levels of teaching content quality, teaching engagement, and teaching behavior, suggesting a relatively stable foundation of teaching practice; second, teaching content exerts a significant positive predictive effect on teaching behavior, indicating that well-designed dance curriculum design, curriculum structure, curriculum content, curriculum implementation, and curriculum evaluation contribute to the formation of positive teaching behaviors; third, teaching engagement plays a significant partial mediating role between teaching content and teaching behavior, such that teaching content not only directly influences teaching behavior but also indirectly strengthens its impact by enhancing teachers’ emotional, cognitive, and behavioral engagement, including student-centered engagement, instructional preparation, and professional development. These findings provide empirical support for optimizing teaching content design and enhancing teaching engagement among dance teachers in colleges and universities. Future research may further deepen the understanding of the formation mechanisms of dance teachers’ teaching behavior by expanding the research regions, adopting longitudinal designs, or incorporating additional individual and contextual variables.