Designing a Huayao Yi Folk Dance Curriculum to Enhance Third-Grade Students’ Cultural Knowledge

Background and Aim: This study aims to develop a Huayao Yi folk dance curriculum to enhance third-grade students’ cultural knowledge and raise their awareness of intangible cultural heritage (ICH). Given the significance of ICH education in elementary schools, the curriculum was systematically designed based on the Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL) approach. Materials and Methods: The curriculum framework follows the four instructional phases of CTL proposed by Sa’ud (2014): (1) Invitation—introducing cultural contexts to engage students’ interest; (2) Exploration—guiding students to observe and experience cultural elements; (3) Explanation and Resolution—facilitating students’ understanding of cultural knowledge and dance movements; and (4) Action Decision—encouraging students to apply their knowledge through creative dance activities. The curriculum integrates experiential learning, role-playing, cultural immersion, and dance performance strategies. This research adopted a curriculum development approach and employed the Index of Item-Objective Congruence (IOC) for expert validation. Three experts, including a Huayao Yi dance inheritor, a dance education associate professor, and the director of the Shilin County Educational Research Institute, assessed the curriculum’s content validity. Results: The IOC evaluation results ranged from 0.67 to 1.0, indicating acceptable to high levels of content validity concerning cultural authenticity, scientific rigor, and educational feasibility. Conclusion: This study provides a structured curriculum model that integrates ICH education into elementary school learning. The findings support the curriculum’s relevance and potential in promoting cultural knowledge and heritage preservation among young learners.