["European Journal of Education, Volume 61, Issue 3, September 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThe aim of this study is to examine the impact of dance activities, designed to initially involve large group activities, then paired dances and finally individual performances in front of a group, on second‐grade students' school liking, school avoidance and public speaking anxiety. A total of 199 s‐grade students (109 in the experimental group and 90 in the control group) and their 15 teachers participated in the study. After assessing the students' levels of school liking, school avoidance and public speaking anxiety using pre‐tests, classroom teachers implemented two specifically designed dance activities each week over an 8‐week period. At the end of the 8 weeks, students were re‐evaluated using the same scales. The results revealed that students in the dance group exhibited significantly lower levels of school avoidance compared to the control group. Additionally, the self‐confidence of students in the dance group regarding public speaking showed a significant increase from pre‐test to post‐test compared to the control group.\n"]