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Dance-ability: A Mixed Methods Study of Dance and Development in Preschool Students with Disabilities and Adaptations for Sustainable Dance Programming

Pierman, Eleanor L
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1586543857308249

Abstract Details

2020, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Arts Administration, Education and Policy.
The increasing constituency of children with autism and the need for accessible early intervention strategies has sparked my interest in dance as not only a teaching tool, but as a means for inclusive education. Though we have made headway with modifications and differentiated instruction for students with disabilities, most practices still take place within traditional education structures. Instead, I argue that teachers should expand their pedagogies to include less traditional methods of instruction that may be accessible to and foster growth in all students, not just the “average” student that many curricula are tailored to. Dance education is one avenue that has not been greatly explored but has the potential to enhance inclusive education practices. The primary research question in this mixed-methods study asks whether or not a ballet company’s pre-kindergarten creative movement program influences development for students in inclusion classrooms, and to determine if dance correlates with socio-emotional development and/or executive functioning. For the purposes of this study, I conceptualized socio-emotional development in terms of five categories: emotion expression, identifying emotions about oneself, emotion understanding, emotion regulation, and social relationships. Executive function was broken down into categories of inhibition, shifting, working memory, and planning and organizing. Each of those categories also had a number of sub-themes operationalizing specific behaviors that exemplified the main category. Additional emergent themes included attention and engagement, comprehension and creativity, independence, and following along. Data collection involved pre- and post-surveys assessing elements of socio-emotional development and executive function, my own participant observation of the dance program in three inclusion residencies, and interviews with the ballet company’s teaching artists as well as the classroom teachers. Following holistic analysis of all data sources, I determined that over the course of the program, all students experienced growth in each of the aforementioned categories of socio-emotional development and executive function. Those results were particularly robust for the students with autism, suggesting a potential gap-bridging effect of dance in preschool for students with disabilities. Furthermore, I was able to identify several necessary infrastructures and adaptations to make the program accessible to students with disabilities and their same-age peers. Much of the original program structure and all adaptations align with established learning theories and disability pedagogies, which ensures that the dance program is meaningfully inclusive. Using those adaptations, it is possible not only to effectively use dance as an experiential learning opportunity for students with autism, but to adapt other existing programs to become more accessible to all populations.
Shari Savage, PhD (Advisor)
Joni Acuff, PhD (Committee Member)
Margaret Wyszomirski, PhD (Committee Member)
Laurie Katz, PhD (Committee Member)
461 p.
Art Education; Dance; Early Childhood Education
dance; dance education; creative movement; disability; autism; socio-emotional development; executive function; inclusion

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Pierman, E. L. (2020). Dance-ability: A Mixed Methods Study of Dance and Development in Preschool Students with Disabilities and Adaptations for Sustainable Dance Programming [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1586543857308249

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Pierman, Eleanor. Dance-ability: A Mixed Methods Study of Dance and Development in Preschool Students with Disabilities and Adaptations for Sustainable Dance Programming. 2020. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1586543857308249.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Pierman, Eleanor. "Dance-ability: A Mixed Methods Study of Dance and Development in Preschool Students with Disabilities and Adaptations for Sustainable Dance Programming." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1586543857308249

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1586543857308249
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