A teacher's resource guide addressing health and dance issues: a delphi study

Date

5/30/2005

Authors

Guess-Hall, Wendy

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to produce a list of essentials components that should be contained in an K–6 grade teacher's resource guide, addressing the health issues through dance. A panel consisting of members of the Texas Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (TAHPERD), who were considered to have expertise relating to the topic, generated this inventory of components. The Delphi method was utilized to achieve consensus among these experts. A series of four general questions were distributed to the panel of committee members from the Association.

The study was conducted in two rounds. In Round One panelists were asked to respond to the four general questions relating to elementary dance; (1) list 5–10 essential components of movement/dance concepts and skills; (2) list 5–10 genres of dance; (3) correlate to other subjects, and (4) list the ways that dance promotes health lifestyles. Round Two contained the participants' responses from the previous round grouped thematically by question and by context. The panelists were asked to rate each response using a 5 point Likert scale, indicating how essential they felt each item was in relation to dance at the elementary level. In addition, participants were asked to associate each item with one of four fine arts strands found in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, where the secondary dance is included.

The essential components for a resource guide resulting from this study include: rhythm, locomotor skills (run, jump, etc.), effort (bound, free, etc.), teaching progressions for presenting material, creative dance, recreation & partner dance (square, swing, etc.), fitness dance (yoga, aerobics), and World Dance (folk, ethnic, etc.). The essential subjects to be linked to dance include Fine Arts, Health, Physical Education, and Social Studies. The essential health promotion benefits included fitness, social, emotional and intellectual benefits.

The recommendations gained from this study will be presented to a committee from the Dance Division of the Texas Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, with the understanding that an essential resource guide could then be produced in a manner acceptable to the majority of potential users.

Description

Keywords

Health education, Physical education, Dance, Communication and the arts, Health, Obesity, Teacher's resource guide, Education

Citation

Collections