Background/Purpose
The Alabama State Department of Education (2009) recommends specific dances be taught in every grade, yet untrained teachers omit this integral component of physical education from the curriculum. The purpose of the study was to determine preservice teachers' appreciation of the importance of dance in P-12 physical education.
Method
Undergraduate preservice physical educators(n=13) were grouped by limited art education exposure, specifically limited general education courses and no dance courses taken. Subjects were asked by pre-post survey to Likert scale rate their degree of agreement or disagreement regarding dance being included in grades P-6 and 7-12. Posttest ratings occured following 19 hours of exposure to dance through a comprehensive community-based art education field experience.
Analysis/Results
Appreciation for dance activities was assessed through the use of paired samples t-tests. The paired samples t-test for the first factor (P – 6) revealed a significant difference among pre- and post-response means = 7.407, p = .000; and for the second factor (7 – 12) revealed a similar significant mean difference = 7.146, p = .000. Upon completion of an extensive art education/dance field experience, including participation in a community on-the-square dance performance, preservice physical educators showed significant changes in appreciation toward dance and strengthened agreement in the importance of dance being taught at all grades.
Conclusions
Results confirm the importance of undergraduate training in the area of dance and the necessity for current physical educators to receive inservice opportunities which will equip them with appropriate instructional strategies and the confidence needed to teach dance.
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