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AN EXAMINATION OF ECONOMIC DIVERSITY ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE REACH OUT AND DANCE PROGRAM A Thesis Presented to The Graduate Faculty of The University of Akron In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Masters of Arts Administration Kara M. Stewart December 2011 AN EXAMINATION OF ECONOMIC DIVERSITY ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE REACH OUT AND DANCE PROGRAM Kara M. Stewart Thesis Approved: Accepted: _________________________ _________________________ Advisor Dean of the College Mr. Durand L Pope Dr. Chand Midha _________________________ _________________________ Committee Member Dean of the Graduate School Mr. Neil B. Sapienza Dr. George R. Newkome _________________________ _________________________ Committee Member School Director Ms. Krista Arico Neil B. Sapienza _______________________________ Date ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ………………………………………………………………………. v CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………….. 1 Current State of Dance Education in the Public Schools……………………...1 History of National Dance Institute……………………………………….......4 Overview of Reach Out And Dance…………………………………………..5 Reach Out And dance Pedagogy………………………………………………6 II. PROGRAM IMPACT AREAS….……………………………………………….13 Arts Appreciation …………………………………………………………....15 Self Confidence In Teamwork……………………………………………….16 Self-Efficacy………………………………………………………………...18 NEOUCOM Results and Implications…………………………………...…19 III. SCHOOL DEMOGRAPHICS………………………………………………….20 Demographic Verification…………………………………………………. 21 Case Elementary School…………………………………………………….21 Preston Elementary School………………………………………………….22 Silver Lake Elementary School……………………………………………..22 Overview of Research Methods…………………………………………….23 Limitations of the Study…………………………………………………….24 IV. METHODS AND RESULTS…………………………………………..………25 iii Research Methods…………………………………………………………..25 Arts Appreciation……….…………………………………………………..26 Results Overview: Arts Appreciation………………………………………28 Self-Confidence in Teamwork……………………………………………...29 Results Overview: Self-Confidence in Teamwork…………………………31 Self-Efficacy………………………………………………………………..32 Results Overview: Self-Efficacy…………………………………………...34 Limitations of the Study…………………………………………………….35 V. CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………37 Summary……………………………………………………………………37 Suggestions for Further Research…………………………………………..39 Conclusion...………………………………………………………………..40 VI. WORKS CITED..……..……………………………………………………….41 VI. APPENDICES…….…………………………………………….……………...44 APPENDIX A. REACH OUT AND DANCE STUDENT SURVEY...……….45 APPENDIX B. NEOUCOM STUDY RAW DATA…………………..…….....46 APPENDIX C. FEDERAL FREE LUNCH GUIDELINES……………………49 iv LIST OF TABLES Table Page 4.1 Arts Appreciation……………………………………………………….…28 4.2 Total Arts Appreciation Scores……………………………………………29 4.3 Self-Confidence in Teamwork…………………………………………….31 4.4 Total Self-Confidence in Teamwork Scores………………………………32 4.5 Self-Efficacy……………………………………………………………....34 4.6 Total Self-Efficacy Scores……………………………………………..….35 v CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Current State of Dance Education in the Public Schools In the United States, it is widely accepted that Arts Education is a valuable part of public school curriculum and is key for developing well-rounded students. Forty- nine states have established content standards that outline what students should know about the arts, and forty-three states require arts instruction as part of the school day (Ruppert 3). Music, visual art, and even drama, which are often a part of language arts curriculum, are a regular parts of most students’ school week. Notably, the art of dance is absent from the standard list of arts programming provided during the school day, and experts are beginning to questioning this omission (Horowitz 2003). In the past, the art of dance has been limited to those who could afford private lessons or those lucky enough to have it offered as part of after school programming. Growth of in-school programming has increased over the last two decades as research has identified the unique benefits of dance education. In addition to presenting the fundamental mechanics of the art- steps, musicality, choreography, phrasing, and physicality- dance education inherently teaches life skills such as persistence, self- control, and confidence (Snyder 2009). In 2003, content standards for dance were established by the Ohio Department of Education to delineate what K-12 students should gain from dance programming. This codification process grew out of the No Child Left Behind mandate from the Federal Government which states that the arts should be considered a “core” subject, and that all students should have the opportunity to participate in arts programming (Ruppert 7). Benchmarks of the academic content standards for fine arts are identified by grade clusters (K-4, 5-8, and 9-12). These benchmarks allow educators to monitor students’ progress toward meeting the fine arts standards. For example, by the end of grade 4, dance education in the public schools should address and ultimately achieve the following standards: 1. Historical, Cultural and Social Contexts: Students should be able to identify and perform dances from a variety of cultures, explain why and when dance is found in their lives and the lives of others, and recognize how choreographers, dancers, and dance contributes to cultural heritage. 2. Creative Expression and Communication: Students should be able to create, perform, and improvise with kinesthetically aware movement, use the elements of dance to express an idea or mood, and be able to invent different solutions to a movement problem that has varying space, time and energy components. 3. Analyzing and Responding: Students should be able to use dance vocabulary to describe their movement experiences, participate in 2 discussions about interpretations of dance performance, and explain the relationship between the audience and the performer. 4. Valuing the Arts/Aesthetic Relationships: Students should be able to recognize and discuss their feelings and impressions about dance experiences, and demonstrate inquiry skills when stating their views of dance. 5. Connections, Relationships and Applications: Students should be able to relate ideas from other art disciplines to the art of expressive movement, apply basic skills and processes of other disciplines to the study of dance and discuss how dance contributes to healthful living (Ohio Department of Education 64-66). The success of reaching these benchmarks and ultimately integrating dance into the public schools relies heavily on the expertise of teachers and the opportunities for students to receive dance instruction on a regular basis (Ohio Department of Education 2). An article in The Journal of Dance Education states that “Its marginalized status in pre-collegiate education means that it is too often absent from schooling. When taught at all, it is often used for the purpose of increasing student engagement or advancing understanding in another subject. In such a role, the standards, concepts, and methods of dance are not usually upheld (Rhoades, 2006).” Effectively addressing academic content standards in dance requires the presence of teachers with expertise in the area of dance. While a physical education teacher may be well equipped to teach a square dancing pattern, he/she may not be well versed in the intricacies of the choreographic process, the history of dance, or the mechanics of movement that are required to perform intricate sets 3 of steps to music. Just as music teachers are educated in their specialty and have either instrumental or choral performing experience, a highly trained dance professional with a performance background should be present if students are going to gain full understanding and benefit of the art. While the majority of Ohio’s public schools employ music and visual arts teachers, do not have a dance teacher on staff (Ohio Department of Education). It is therefore often necessary for educators to seek outside assistance from dance organizations if they are dedicated to providing their student body with dance education programming. History of National Dance Institute The National Dance Institute of New York, and its affiliates across the country, serve as excellent examples of how non-profit dance organizations can support their public schools’ need for dance programming. National Dance Institute (NDI) was founded in 1976 by former New York City Ballet dancer Jacques d’Ambois to bring dance to boys who would not otherwise have the opportunity to experience the art. He began by inviting his sons and their friends to Saturday morning dance classes in their school gym. The unique pedagogy of NDI was born when Jacques employed the structure of a ballet class, to instill discipline and self control, into the classroom but used highly accessible movement such as marching and jumping, to engage his students. The boys jumped, spun, posed, and stomped their way through exacting choreography, each week learning more and more steps and becoming increasingly more dedicated to the process. Word quickly spread, the class grew exponentially, and d’Ambois was encouraged to include girls. These highly energetic classes were built on d’Ambois’ 4 belief that “the arts have the unique power to engage and motivate children to develop discipline, a standard of excellence, and a belief in themselves that will carry over into other aspects of their lives”(Oppenheimer 17). Today this quote is the mission statement for more than 10 programs that are NDI affiliated around the country. Like George Balanchine, New York