Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Date Created

12-2021

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ways in which a mindfulness-based curriculum would inform and effect creative, choreographic, and performance processes, as well as the effectiveness of serving as a social-emotional learning teaching tool in a high school dance classroom. Based on the results of this study, findings showed that implementing a mindfulness‑based curriculum, alongside connecting movement explorations, created an increase in the depth and breadth of student-created movement. Through this study, 37 student participants practiced mindfulness alongside correlating movement explorations to create movement for a culminating dance concert. Participants reported an increased sense of calm, focus, self-awareness, mind-body connection, and connection to the movement. These results suggest that the implementation of a mindfulness-based curriculum, in connection with movement, could simultaneously, and effectively, serve as a social-emotional learning teaching tool in a dance education setting. Limitations to this research study were unique due to COVID-19 restrictions and schedule changes arising in response to the global pandemic. Other limitations included possible bias, as the researcher also served as the student participants’ teacher. Restrictions to answering questions on the first questionnaire, which served as a research instrument, could also be considered a limitation to this research study. Findings from this study suggested a positive correlation between the implementation of a mindfulness-based curriculum in terms of student creative and choreographic process, performance process, as well as social-emotional responses in and out of the dance classroom. Further research is suggested to limit biases and determine consistency of these findings across different curricula and populations. Integrating mindfulness as a core part of a dance education curriculum could be a key factor in broadening and deepening meaning behind student-created movement, while simultaneously educating the “whole” student through social-emotional learning practices.

Keywords

MINDFULNESS; SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING; CHOREOGRAPHY; HIGH SCHOOL; DANCE

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