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A STUDY TOEXAMINETHE IMPLEMENTATIONOF A DANCE UNITINTO ANELEMENTARY SCHOOL PHYSICALEDUCATI ON

PROGRAMBYANINEXPERIENCEDDANCE TEACHER

BY

F. CRAIGTREMBLETT

Athesis sub mit t e d to the Sc h oo l of Gradua teStudies in partialfulfilmentof therequi reme n t s for the de g reeof

Master of Edu c a tio n

Fac ult yof Edu cation Memorial Un i v e rs i t y ofNewf oun dland

Mar c h199 5

St.Joh n 's Newfou ndlan d

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The author has granted an irrevocablenon-exclusivelicence allowingthe NationalLibrary of Canada to reproduce, loan, distribute or sell copies of his/her thesisbyany meansand in any form or format, making thisthesis available toInterested persons.

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ABSTRACT

Histor ically,dance has been t''1ught in few Newfoundland and Labrador Schools. A new draft pr ima ry\elementaryschool physical educa tion cu rr i c u l um guide has recenLly be e n de ve lo p ed . Danceis a re qui r e d comp onent of the curriculum documen t.

However , the re are stillala r g e numberof peoplewho see dance as a soc ia l ac t i v ity and not as a compo n en t of elementary phys i cal educati on . Many people in rura l Newfoundland still se e da nc e as a 'f e ma l e ' activity . Many physicaleduca tionprograms th r ou gh o u t th e provincearestill fo cused on the soca l l e d 't r a d it.Io n a k' sports, Fordance to bea component of an elementaryphysica l education , teachers may be re qu i r e d to modify thei r thinki ng and t.e ac hinq methodol ogies. Many teachers may be resistantto this change, espec ia lly if they feel it is notnecessary .

This case studyfoc usedon the implementationof ada n ce unit in a rural Newfoundland elementary school physical educati on program. The researcher had to deal with many realities of such an undertaking, in clu d i ng the strugg lesof the untrainedteacher andstudentswho believed that dance was not an appropriate activity for thei r phyeLca L education classes. Many of the successesand barriersthat facedthe researcher throughout the development and implementat ion process are outlined . Valuableinsights weregath e re dthro ugh

iii

student interviews, atti tudina l surveys, audio-tape recorded le s s o ns, and teacher recorded field notes. While some students were reluctant and embarrassed to participatein many of the activities, others offered suggestions fo r improvements.

The study ccnc ludedthat student attitudestoward dance will improve significantly through exposure to dance activ ities . The researche r also c.oncluded that dance can be a valuable component of an elementary school physical educetLon program when many of th e ba r r i er s to dance are

iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

1 would liketo express my sincere thanks to a number of paop Le who were instrumentalin thecomp l e t i onof this thesis.

A special thank youto Dr .Gr eg Woodof the School of Physical Education and Athletics, for his guidance, superv ision.and friendship from the inception tothe finish of th i s the s is.

I would like to thankDr.Fr a n k Cranunof theFacultyof Educationfor le n ding his assis tanceand providing gu i d a n c e whenevercalledupon.

Special thanks to Ms. Mary Tucker for her val ua b l e suggestions, proofreading, and editing over the last coup l e of months of the study.

Finally, to my wife, Catherine, and daughters, Victoria and Sarah . tha nks forall your support andthanks for putti ng upwi t h me th roughmy frustr ati ons.

ABSTRACT . ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.

List of figures.

PAGE ....H ..iv . .xi

CHAPTER

I. INTRODUCTION... . ..• . •.. . .. ..•. .... .. .. . . .. • . . .. . . Rationale.. . ..•.

Research Go a l s . Hypothesis.... Null Hypo thesis . Delim it ati o ns . Lim itations..•. .

II. REVIEWOFLITERATURE•.•. ...•... .. ...••... .. Benefitsof Dance ...

Exclus i on of Dance .•... .. ... .. ..

Student Objections...• •.

14 14

~<1a1e/Fema1e Participationin Dance.... .. .. 14 Te a ch erTraining...

School Press ure s... . .. .. .•.. ....

18 19 Instructionof Da nce•... ..• .• .•••. .. . . .. .. .• 19

DancePrograms.. 23

Curricu lumChange in PhysicalEducation 24

CHAPTER

Need for change ...

The Teacher and Ch a n g e . Barriers to Change.... Mak ingActual Changes .•..•.. .

vi

PAGE 25 2.

29 30 curriculumImplementationin Physical

Educati on .. ... .. 33

Successf ul Implementation , 34

FactorsInfluenc ingImplementation. 35 Barriers toSuccessful Implementation. ... 38 The Teacher andImpl eme n ta t ion . . .... 39

III. METHODOLOGy .

Introduction ... Confiden t iality... .

Quantit a tiveMethodology....•.. . Sample Selection .

42

. , 42

43 44 44 Construction or Atti tudeSurvey 45 Reliability and Validity.. . . ... .. 46

CoEectionof Quantitative Data. 47

Attitude Survey Scoring... . ... 48

Statistical Procedures.. 49

Qualitat iveMethodology. . , 49

Sample selection .. ... ... 49

Construction of Interview Guide.. 51

CHAPTER PAGE Col IectIcn of Qua lita t iveData... . . 52

Intervie ws. .... . . ... 52 Tea cher Obser vationand Field No te s. 54

Data An a lys i s .

Role of Resea rche r.

.•• 55 .•. 56

IV. SCHOOL CONTEXT:.NDPROPOSED DANCEUNIT... 59 ..•60 62 66 66 60 69 70 71 .•. ..•.. . . 72

LessonOne .

r.es s on Three . Lesson Four Le s s on Five .

Lesson six .

LessonTwo...

i::leme n t a r yPhy si c a l Education Program ... Origi nal Le s so nPlan s .

~':lldingof Le s sonPl a n s .

Le s s on Seven... ... 73

Lesson Eig h t ... . . . .... . 74 Le sson Ni ne. . .. .... . .... . ... ... .. 75

LessonTen 75

r.es s.on Ele ven 76

Stude nt Eval u a ti on 77

Conclusion . 77

CHAPTER

v. DATA ANALYSIS.

Quanti ce tive Data.

viii PAGE 79 79

Gra d e 5. 79

Grade 4... . . .... .•.. .81

Totals .. .... . 82

Oth e r Results.... 83

Qualitative Data... 84

Pre-DanceInterview. .. .. 85

Reasons forparticipating. 85

New Activities. 8S

Friends . 86

Student ExperienceswithDance ..•.•...•87 In d i v i d u a l, Par t.ner , and Group Activities..88 Danceand Family Members..• . •. ... .• .. • . 90

Dancers.. ... 90

Exercise and Dance.. 91

Dance and The Physical Education Program...91 Post-DanceUnit Interviews .

Dance Unit ..• ... . . .. •... Teacher'sRole•....

In di vid u a l Dance.•.. CreativeDance ..

FolkDance.... Fe e l i n g s of Ot.hers.

93 94 95 96 98 99

CHAPTER

Incl ud i ng Dance in the Future.

Summexyof Interviews .

Field Notes and Reflections. ..

Successes .

Proble:ns . Reflections .

ix

PAGE 100 100

101 102 103 104

VI. SUMMARY,CONCLUSIONS,AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 10 6 Implementi nga Dance Unit . 10 6 Evalua tionof Implementation Process.

Specific ChangesandModifications.

The Roleof The Teacher .... The Roleof The Student.

Student Resistance..

112 11' 117 ... 12 0 122 Student AttitudesandExperiences 12 3

Gender Approp riateof Dance 124

Studen t Deve l o pme nt . Benefits of Dance . OtherAttitudesand Concerns ..

Conclusion .

Recommendations .

126 12 8 12 8 130 132

REFERENCES . . . ... 13 5

CHAPTER APPENDIXA.

Lettertc Parents . APPENDI XB ..

In t erv i e w Guides.. APPENDIXC.... .

SamplePre and Post-In terviews.

APPENDIXD .

SampleAudio-Taped Le s s on..

APPENDIX E .

Sample Fi e l d Notes .

APPENDIXF .

At t i t ude Survey .

APPENDIXG , .

PAGE 148

14'

151 152 154 155

16.

170 175 176 180 181 184 Sununaryof Statisticals.rc c ed ure s 18 5

APPENDIX H. . . .. 190

Lesson Plan s . 191

LISTOF FIGURES

Figure PAGE

1. Summar y of Grade 5 Means..••. ..• • ... .... 80 2. Summa ry of Grade4Means.. . ... ... .... . .... . . . 81 3. Summary of StudyGroup Means. .. ... .. ... .. . ... 83

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

Children deserve and have a right to receive a quality education. wit.h physical educat.ion playing an integral role in th e i r overall educational experience. Consequently, as a physical education teacher, t.his researcher is continuously st.riving t.o improve and refine t.he quality of his instructional physical education program.

Alt.hough dance is a recognized component. of physical educat.ion programs throughout. Canada and many other count.ries, generally it has been taught in few Newfoundland schools. Dance has been a part of the physical education teacher education program in Newfoundland for many years, however, until recently, when dancein s t ruc t. i on was offered it. was made available only t.o female undergraduat.e students. Today, dance is required for all students t.rainingto be physical education teachers.

Being a member of the teaching profession exposed the researcher to numerous discussions on the benefits of having dance as an integral part of anyphysical educati.onprogram.

Dance is now considered a wortl:while component because it offersstudents a chance to move and explore, while providing them wi th the opportuni ty to succeed to varying degrees regardless of their physical abilities. Most objectives of any physical education program can berealizedth r o u g h dance.

Over a t.hree year period.a minimal exposure to dance through

physical education journals and articles was gained. An imp o r t a n t learning experience oc c u r r e d through close observation of childrendancing. It was obv i o u s that while students thoroughly enjoyed it, th e y were being exposed to many principles of physical education, such as coordination andmov e me n t. Even following these exposures, there was a hesitancy and reluctanceto includedance in the rese archer's elementary physical education program. Muchof the reluctance ca me from lack of knowledge and training, having toch a n g e a well established program, the extra work required for preparation,and whetheror not the studentswould be willing to acceptdance. Upon furtherresearch and much consideration of the pros and cons, i t was concluded that dance could contribute significantlyto achieving some of the goals and objectives that were established for students in the elemen taryphysical educationprogram .

Physical educationte a c h e r s ha v e acknowledged the need for a new primary/elementary school physical education curric u lum. Due to th i s need, the Department of Ed u c a t i o n drafted a new physical education curriculum guide for primary/elemen ta rygrades entitled "Moving Towards Quality DailyPhysical Edu c a t i on ". Dance is a requiredcomponent of this curriculum document.

Knowing this wasthe determiningfactor in the decision to develop and implemen t a danceunit . This casestudy focused on the process of implementing .dance , into an elementary school physi c a l ed ucati on prog:ram. With this process cornea th e realitie s of a male . jock' teaching dance to a group of elementary co-ed students wi tho u t the instructional resources and "historical support" given to tradi t ional sports.

Rationale

The expecta t ion toimpl e ment a da nceunitis an important issue for physicaleduc ationteache rsthroughout Newf ound l an d and Labrador.Becausedanc e no longer canbeperce ivedas an optionalinstruct i ona l strate gy. quite the contrary, it will be re qu i r e d for all seude nte rega rdl ess ()f ge nde r. The provi ncial ccvemaent'S ~decision to draft prima r y/element ary scho olphysical educ ation curric u l um will ide n t ify for man y tea ch ers a need for themtocha nqe. This curriculum,of wh ichdanceisacomponent is to be impl e mented in th eprov ince ' s schools.

The presentphy si cal educa tioncur r iculumha s beenin ou r sc hoolsfor almost twe ntyyears . The focus wil l shift froma dsv e lopment-b ased educatio n model to a movement-based education mo de l. The developmen t- ba sedmode l concent r a t e son

par t i c ula r sport skills infu t ur e physicaleducation, wh ere a s a movement-basedmodelallowschildrento discover and exp lore theirwo rl d th rou gh movement. Mo s tpe op l ewill ag ree th a t change in physical educa tio nis necessaryand long overdue.

In asscctettonwi th the se changes, manyphysical edu cation teachers ar e going to havequestions and reserva tionsabout teachingdance because it is un familiarto many, andbe c a u s e of historical attitudes t(\ward dance. Many teachers and studentsfeel thatdanceisfor 's i s s i e s ' ,whic h necessi tates the needfor teach ersto cha ngetheirthinking first. Oncewe get beyondthe so called 't r adi t i onal' sportsmany questions and / or problems may arise. Tha t is, ma nyteach e rsare used to teaching sport in physi.cal educat ion which pradom£nan tly consisted of teacherdirected instructionalstrategies. Many teachers feel that their programs are quitegood and the need is not ev i de nt forchan g e.

Because of proposed cur r icular changes, this research foc u s e d on the implem e ntat ion of a danc e unit, wh ich W·'8 developed through involve ment in research and pz-ofes e i.onaL development, in t o one elementaryschool (Gra de s4 and 5). The unit was implementedand pr iorto, during, and followi ng the imp l e me n t a t i onan ev a l u at i o n of the unit wa s conducte d. Th e evaluati on of th e unit implementa tio n in clu ded ; a pre -pos t measuremen t of st ude nt att i t ud e toward dance,audio-tapingof

cla sssessionsto studyteac herimplement at ionstrategiesand student res pons es to the strategi es,studentint erview s to dete rmine st ud ent reaction tothe dance uni t, and finally, teacherfield no tes todocume nt the impl ementatio nprocess.

Research Goals

1. To analyze the development and implementa t ion of an el ementa ry schooldanceunit (grades4and 5) thro ugh:

a. examina tionof therol e of thetea c her in impl ementing the danceuni t.

b. examinat i on nf theroleofstude ntsinimplem en t i ng the danceunit.

c.examina t i on of studentexper iences towarddanceand the danc euni t.

d. measureme ntof att i t ud inal changein st ude ntstowa rd dance afte r exposu r etoa da nceunit .

Hypothesis

Par t icipat ion in the element aryphys ica l educa ti ondanc e uni twillre su l t inasignif ican t positive chan ge in student atti t ude toward dan ce.

NullHypothesis

Participation in the elementary physical educationdance unit will result in no significant changein student attitude toward dance.

Delimitations

Thisresearch was delimited to the study of one teacher, 112 grade 4 and 5 elementary school students, and their experiences of curriculum implementation in dance. The studen tswere from a primary/elementary school loc a t e d in a rur a l Newfoundland community. The school setting wa s the students' own school and regular classmates with whomthey were familiar. Also, the study was delimited to the dance componen t contained in the draft form of the primary/ elementa ryschool physicaleducation curriculum.

Limitations

The case study approach,usinga s LnqLe school setting, limi t e d thegeneralizabilityof there sul t s to thatparticular schooland the danceuni t imp l e me nte d . Thecul turalvaluesof a rural Newf o und landcommunit y towa rddance furt her limi t e d the gene ralizabili t yof the re sult s.

The students' familiarity with the researcher may have influenced their responses to the questions on both the- attitude survey andthe student interviews.

The attitude survey was administered th r ou g h a pencil/paperquestionnaire. Some's t u d en t s in grades 4and 5 ma y have had difficulty reading some of the various questions even thoughat t e mp t s weremade to make the languagegrade appropriate.

The study involved a teacher researching his own experience in teachingdance. Despite possible questionsof objectivity, rigorous qualitative and quan tit ativeresearch methodologies were followed throughout the research period.

REVIEWOFLITERA TURE

Human beings ha v e danced throughoutthe ages .They have danced toacknowledgethe seasons and eventssuch as planting andrea p i n g theharvest. Theyhave danced in the cele bration of their gods, as well as beforebattle, anddance hasoften been the medium for demonstrat i ng the ir athlet ic prowess (Nichols , 199 0) .

Children love to move! Children thrive on wa l ki n g, runn ing. jump ing. fidgeting, boun c i ng . hopping, gesturing, ski pp ing , and mimicking. These ar e on ly some of the components of dance (Ne i ll , 1990). Why th e n is dance noticeably absent fr om many Newfound land and La brad o r elementaryschoolphysical educationprograms?

Ben efitsofDanc e

The val ue of mov ement in the grow thand deve lopment of our childrenis gene rally undis p'..lte d (Ha n k in, 1992 ). "Danc e movement pr ov i d es an ide alvehiclefor chi ldre ntole a r n abou t thei r bodies and as s i sts in th e deve lopmen t of langua ge, imagi nation, and ideas. Da nc ein the ele menta ryschoolyears approp r i ately draws up on the neurologica l re adines s of the child for le arni ng" lCAHPER Dance Committee, 198 5 , p . 31). Aft erall, "da nce isa pa rtof the phy s ic a leducation

cur r icul umthat can be in t e gra t e d closelywith other elementsof an elementaryschool's program"(Bray, 1989,p.34) . Childrenin the elementary gradesarecurious,analytica l,and group oriented. They fr e e l y express the i r emotions, ideas, and dreamskina e s t h i c a 11y throughdanceexperiences and the y love toinvent new wa ys of doing things (Bu cek , 1992).

Movement programs are the natural way to physically educate young children (Kraft, 1986). -The child's body awareness isgr e a t.1y enhanced by t.he opport. uni ty to creat.e their own movement sequence sas they commun i c a te their ideas to others. This body awareness is furt h er developed as chi ldrenuseloc omo t or and/ornon-locomotor mo veme n t s intheir own dances orin more tradi t iona ltine s" (N'i'.:hols, 199 0,pp . 314- 315). Throughdance, "c h i l dre n are encouragedto expl oreand exp ardment; with th e basic elements of movement- (Ha nkin , 1992,p .22 ). Thesebasicmove mentscan be exp erienc e d through the active engagementof the indi v i d ua l in the act ofmoving thebody in time, throughspace, wi thene rgy (All en , 1988 ) . Othermovement conceptsbecome importan tas childrenlearn the effec tive use of space and experiment with the movement qual i t i es of force, bala nce, time , and flow (Nich ols , 1'901.

Benefi t s of in c l ud i ng dance in an Hl emen tary physica l education programhave been outlined in numerous st udies . Danc e is a ri c h educational expe rienc e that facilit ates physical,ernot.LcnaL, andcognitive growth (Ha nk i n ,1992 ) .

Physical benefits of dance include improved muscular growthand coordination (La n dy and Landy,1991;Schmitz,1989;

Yoder, 19 91l. Dance is also an important contributor to physi ca l fitness. Through dance activ i t ies agility and flexibility are greatly enhanced, as iscard ia - r e s p i r a to r y fitness (Gr i ff ith, 1986; Nichols . 1990 ; Schmitz, 1989;

.sil v e rma n 1986; Yod er , 19 9 1l. Ot h e r physical benefits of dance include increased endurance, the development of st r e ng t h, and the reduction of body fat (Gr i f fi t h, 198 6 ; Yoder,1991).

Inv ol ve me n t in dance/moveme n tprogramsalso contributeto the mo tordevelopmentand improve s thekinaesth~ticawareness of the child (Sc luni t z, 1989; Stinson . 1989; Weeks, 1986.

Si lv e r man , 1986). Dance can provide for physical/motor devel opmen t equal to sp cr t s (Weeks, 1986 ) . Weeks (1 98 6) further states th a t "both the dancer and athlete exhibit simi larqualitiesinthat, bothmove th r o u gh spacewithskil l, rhythm,grace, flow, andenergy" (p.72).

Improved motor de velo p men t leads to goodbody handling skills (Grin e s k i, 1988) . Good body handling skills give children confidence and helps them to improve on othe r challengessuch as,improving writing,playing an instrument. and the acquisitionof spor tsskills su chas th ro wi nga ball (F l in c hu m, 1988).

11

Danc e can also foster positive emotions in children. Through mov e men t education/danceprogramschildrenbecome more creat iveand self-developmentaloriented (Kr a f t . 1986). Kraf t (19861 also states that "in general val u esch a ng e through participa tion in suchprograms and that thereis ade gree of anti-competitivenessassociatedwithdanceprog rams~Ip.17). Ro s s and But terfield (1 989) support this notion by stati ng tha t recentstudies hav e supported thenot i onthatchild rens' emot iona l dev elopm ent is enhanc ed through participation in moveme ntarts. Aft er all,da n ce is anacti vitytha t prov ides an opportun i tyfor all childr en to experie ncesomede g reeof success(Al dri c h, 198 9).

·Childre n acquire self-confidence and self -esteemas a res u l t ofsuccessf ul experiences, particu larly inthe motor domai n- (Bun ke r, 1991 .p.4671 . Bunk e r 1199 1 1 fur the rsugges ts that movementactivitiesprovideopportuni tiesfor childre n to fee l confidentabou t their abili ties. Dance canhel pst udents exper iencea ful l range ofmov ement activi ties whil e val uing thei r ownunique styles (Hank i n,19921.

Ot her studies ha ve supported the not ion that part i c i p a tio n in dan c e / movement educa tion programs is an excellent means for improving sel f -es teem (Nicho ls. 1990 ; Schmitz , 198 9 ; Hank in, 1992; Ros s and Butterfield. 1989 ; Flinc hum, 19 881 . Alle n (1 988 )further suggests thatdeec e educa t ionis a means to promoteself-aware ne s s, self-

development, andse l f-fulf ilmen t.

Dance isdist i ngu i s h ed from ot h er act i vities in tha t it stressesind ivi d ual expr e s s i o n thr ou ghmoveme nt (Hank i n, 1992 ). Cha i k linsuggest s ·ifchildren ar eexpos e d toa large movementrep ert o ir e,of whichdanceisan essentialcomp onent, the better that ch ild will be able to cope wi t h the environment andwi th theirown emot i onsina flexi b leand mor e satisfactoryJr.ann er"(ci te d inHermanand Kirsche n bau m, 1990, p.20).

Childrens' intellectualdeve l opmen t is enhanc edthrough participationin ada nce/ mo veme n t educati onprogram(Ro s s and Butterfield, 19891. They additionallysuggested thereisa positive relat i onshipbetweenmoveme n t abilities andreadin g readiness.

Stinson (1989) states thi1tdance contains a ·cogn i tive componen t; chil drenlearnmov e ment concep ts dealing....i ththe body, spec e, time, energy,and therel a tions h ip between them- (p.207J . Allen (198 8 1supporesthisstatementbysay i n gtha t dance involves conscious awareness and It decision making proce ss. Various movementtasks canalsoimpr ove a student's proble msolving abilities and techniques as the y try to ana l y ze and perform the va r-Lcua moveme nt chal l enge s an d act ivi ties (Brown, 1986) . Other cogni tive be ne f its of par t icipa tioninIt da nc e/ move ment education pro g ramincl ude;

improv e dvis ua lrec a ll (Weeks, 1986) , lui)roved co mmunica t ion

13

skills (Nichols, 1990), and a more in depth understanding of various cultures(All en , 1988; Griffith,1986; Nichols, 1990).

As students acquire the·fundamental"skills required to perform a movement task or challenge they can begin to make plans that include combinations of movement patterns. This approach results in the studentIs taking more responsibility for their own learning,therefore,enabling the learning which takes place to have more meaning, to be stored more deeply in the brain, and to be remembered longer (Ainsworth and rex.

1.989) •

A very important reason for including dance tit the elementary school level istha t children enjoy themselves and have fun while participating in such activities (Brown, 1986;

Bunker, 1991; Griffith, 19 86 ; Neill, 1990; Nichols, 1990;

Wheeler and Spilker, 1991). Elementary children enjoy moving in a creative and unique manner (Br 0 NIl, 1986). They also enjoy moving together in various size groups (Brown, 1986; Bucek 19921.

Dance in elementary school physical education also promotes healthy social interactions (Yoder, 1991). It is a medium that allows boys and girls at the elementaryschool le v e l to learn and relate to each other in a socially acceptable manner (We r n e r et al., 1992). Social cooperation and group sharing can be developed through participation in dance activities (Schmitz, 1989). Participation is alsoa

means of meetingnew friends (Griffiths, 1986 ).

Exclus i on of Dan c e

St udentObj ec tio n s

Wh il e there ar e many reasons why danceshouldbe a part of any Eleme nt a r y School Physical Education Progra m, it is st i ll no ticeablyabsentin many schools. One reasonis that stu d e n t sar e hesitant about da nc e . Reasons why studentsare re l uc tan t include: stude nts aresel f-c on s ci ous about moving their bodies in unusual waysor wi chouta pieceof equi pme nt todivertt.hef efocus;theyar e worried about the comments and reactions oftheir peers; stud entsoften lack exposure to and experience with rhythmical activi ties; they of t e n lack experience with creative thinking and creative activit ies; students do not enjoy being singled out. and required t.o perf ormact.ivi t.iesinfront. oft.heirpeers;t.hey are unableco relat.e t.o t.h e music orth e music does not have a ','lell-defined beat or rhythm; th e y feel uncomfortable dancing wit.h and around st u d e n t s they do not know;and students lack confidence int.h e i r abilitiesandinth e ms e Ives (Me h r h o f et a L. , 199 3) ,

Male / Female Pa rt i c i p a t i on in Dance

It has also beensuggest.ed that danceisnot in c lud e din

15

physical education because boys do not like to dance (Brown, 1986; Ross and Butterfield, 1989) . Traditionally, boys have been hesitant about participating in dance and these traditions may have carried over to today (Ll oyd and West, 1988). Often inth e past,dance was only taught to girls.The practice of only including girls in dance only served to promote the idea that dance is a feminine activity (Weeks, 19861. Lloyd and West (1 9 8 8 ) further support thisnotion by stating that dance was or i g i n a l l y introduced in girls' physical education departments and only taught by women.

th e r e f o r e , it becameidentified with women. They even succcst that parents think that dance should be included in gi r h physical education programs but dance is not for boys. In the past, boys were not given the opportunity to participatein dance activitieswithin physicaleducation.

In a recent study, Pelletand Harrison (1992) examined children's perceptions of the gender appropriateness of physical activities at the elementary school level. Their study concludes that elementary school children perceive activities such as basketball, football, and baseball as gender appropriate for males and that dance is gender appropriate for females, while i t is considered gender inappropriate for males to participate in female activities. They also state that 'ma l e s are more stereotypical than females in labelling activities" (p.306).

Pellet and Harrison (1 9 92 ) suggest thati tis impor tan t for individuals to pal.,ticipate in both forma of·s t e r e o t yp e d"

activities because they believe that both genders fac e negativerepercussions by limitingthemselvesto only the "so called"g~nderappropriate activities. Females are believed to be especially at risk in limiting theirl if e options by engaging in onlygender appropriate activities(Ignico, 1990;

Igoicoand Mead, 1990). "Ma n y tr a i t s ; leadership,problem solving, strategicthinking, and the abilityto interact both competitively and cooperatively,which are believednecessary for successin what society considershigh-statuscareers,are further developedthrough male stereotyped act.ivities" tseco.

cited in Pellet and Harrison, 199 2 , p.3 0 9). Therefore, a consequencein limiting females'participation to only female genderappropriate activities is that "femal es learn skil l s that are not highly regarded by society and they are subsequentlyrelegatedtorower statusro l e s withinsocie ty·

(Pellet andHar r i s on. 1992,p.309).

They further state th a t males also face negative rep e rcussions in limiting themselves toge nde r appropr ia te ac t iv i ti e s . By not participating in all activities. males exclude themselves from other potenti~lly satisfy ing an d rewardi ngactivi t ies. Thisis important whencons ideringthat mal eswho fai l in ceern sportsface severepeer cr itic ismand rejection, which maycause lowself- esteem and aneg a tive

17

attitudeforex e r c i s e and sport acti.v.itiee (Ul r i c h, 1985), In addition, WheLton and Cameron (c it ed in Pelletand Harris o n, 1992,p.309) state th a t "b usin e s s skills that are developed tnrough male stereotyped activities (competitiveness, assertiveness,creativeproblem solving, and s orneLnf Luent.LaL sk ills) can be fur t h e r developed by participatingin female stereotyped activities. Ot h e r skills that ar e develop ed through femalestereotypedactivi ti es (c ompa s sion, emotion a l sensitivity, openness, nur turing ,and cooperation)can contributeto an ind i v i dua l s success withi nsociety'. Thus, eit h e r gender maylimi tfutureprofE:ssionalsuccess andlife options bylimi tingtr.e ir par ticipationtoexclusivelymal eor female stereotypedactivitieswithinand outsid eof th eschoo l setting (Pellet an d Harrison, 1992).

:"nthe past, as well as today,boys were no t given much oppor tunityto dance. In order to develop in t e r e s t indance, they must have th e opportun ity to da n c e (Lloyd and West, 19881. If students have positive attitudes aboutph y si c a l activitythen they may developpositi veattitudes towardda nce through ex posure (Carr olland Bandura, 1985).

"Ch il d re n also develop attitudes towa rd da n c e bas e d on

cultural practices, ster eo t yping, and pe er pr es sure wi t h li t tl e or no exp o sure to danceac tiv i t ies or oppo r tun i t i e s"

(Thompson. 19 86 , p. 54). To develop po s i t i v e at ti tude s and student acceptance,danceneeds to betaughttoboth ge nd e rs

beginning inat least the elementar ygradesand continuing throughout the re ma i nde r oftheschoolyears (We e ks, 1986) .

Lloyd and West119BB)also statetha t physicaleducators should info r m all studen ts, especiall y the boys, that participat ion in dance act iv i t i e s can he lp improve their sports skills. Thismay lead to a willingnessto exper ime nt with dance activities.

TeacherTraining

Anothe r m,:dorreasonfo r the exc lusionof dance in elemen tary school physical educa tion is the lack of past experience. knowl e dge about.and trainingin dance educat ion (Weeks, 198 6 ; Hood, 1990;Gross, 1989;Faucette et al.,1990:

Bray, 19 86 ; Hankin, 19 9 2 ; Fl inc hu m, 1988; Nichols , 1990; Mehr hof et al., 1993). This often leads to a feeling of discomfort and inadequacy on the part of the physica l educa tio n teacher when tr y i ngtopresent dance activi t iesto the ir students (Bra y , 19a 6). This la ck of knowl e dge, experi ence, and training indance educat ionoften leads to poo r les s on plans and frustrated students (Wern er et a!. . 1992).

The exclus ionof dance fro melementaryschoo l phys ical education programs may identi f y a "Lack of aware nes s and unde rs tandingofthe intr icaciesoi hu manlearn ing on the part.

of thephysi cal educa tor" (Buce k, 199 2,p . 39 ). Bucek (1992)

19

continues on to say the exclus ion of dance re fl e ct s an uninformed view of what it means to develop to one's fulle s t potential .

School Pressu res

o tnex re a s o n s have been given as to why dance has been excludedfrom elementaryphysical education. Some physical educators argue that there is insufficient time to do everything that they would like to accomplish(Brown, 1986).

Some say the reis too muchpressure to preparestudents for sports teams (Hood, 1990). Hood (1990) also states th at with

"a multitudeofsports-relatedprograms and activitieswithin and outside of the schoo l, the press nresimp lyd Lctac e sthat more ti me be spent on skill acquisition andthe reinforcement ofprevious learnedskills· (p.47).

Ins t ructi on ofDance

Many suggestions have been put fo r th for the teacher of dance to ensure that their endeavo rs are met wi th some constructing me an i ngf u l dance experienc es for childre n re qu i r e s an understanding of t.hei r develo p men t a l characte r i s ticsat variousjuncturesin theirschoolye a r s and th e use avarietyof teaching/l earning me thodsand stra teg i e s bythephy s i c a l educat ionteache r (Bucek, 19 92 ).

ao

Werner et al. (19 92 ) suggest that in teaching dance, teacherssh o u l d onlyuse steps and groupformationsthat are developmental ly appropriate for th at particular group of students . They su ggest tha t in planning for dance the physi cal ed u c a t ion teacher sho u ldesta blish both long and short term gO<l1.5 and objec tive s. Pl a n s should in clude individual ,partner , and groupexperiencesandthey should us e a variety of format i ons. Tha t is ,pLans shouldhavea fo cus anda structure,

with regard to cl a s s management, theysugg e s t that the class needs to have sort of struct ure so that conc e n t r a t i on and work like be h av iour can be encouraged . Organi z ation a l arrangements forpeople,equipment, andspace shouldbe clear from th e beginning of the cl a s sor unit.

~oJer ne r et al . (1992 ) al so suggest there are three

instructional La eu e-r that contribu te to success in tea ching dance to elementaryschoo l students. First, th e r e should be both student and teacher demonatirucLcns . Secondly , appropriate content progression shou l d be used, and finally, complexityshould be built into the dance lessons as they progress.

Mehrhof et a1. (199 3) offE'.rsome su g g e sti on s as to how a te a c h e r could increase their comfort leve l in teaching dance, thus helping them achieve some success for their efforts. First,tea chersshouldatt end workshops and

21

conferences to gain experience indan c e activities. Secondly, theyshould include rhythmical activit iesover short periods of tim e. Thirdly, activitieswhich the teacher is familiar with shouldbe used. That is, ifa teacheris a team spor ts person, use the motions of various sp.>rts and incorporate rhythms with these mot ions . Next, one cou l d use other teachers duringdance units. For example, th emus i c teacher would be an excellent person to help during a dance unit. Finally , the physicaleducation teacher needs to realizethe impo r t a nc e ofdanc e unitsto students.

Jo ne s (1 9 84) ou t lin e s severalsuggestions whichshould be givensomeconsiderationwhen developinga basic approach to teaching dance. She suggests thatsomebackgroundinformation about the dance shouldbe given. Also, the teacher shouldlet the children hear the musicbeforethe dance and teach the dance in parts. If possibl e , onemi'".y usea slower tempowhen teaching the various steps. The teacher shouldmodify the dance initially , if thatwou l d make i t eanLe z to teach, move from the easier to the more complex dances end evo fdspendi ng too much time on onedanc e. She also suggests that the use of dances without partn~rs ma y ease the initial reluctancy of pairing off.

Nichols (199 0) suggests that danc e ins t r ucti onrequi r e s creativeteaching. Succ ess may be de pende n tuponthe teachers ability to use problemsolving, as wellas, gui d e d and fr ee

exploratio n.

Dance exp e r i e n c e s shouldbe planned witha maximum of acti vity. The lesson shouldmove smoo t h ly from one activity to th e next, with some change of pace provided between ac t i vi ties that arevi g ou r o us. Movement challenges within the less on or un it shou ld mov e from the si mp l e to the more comple x . ,.nh is shou ldbe accompl i shedbyworkingwithsing le elements andgraLluallycombiningelementsas children areable to dea l wi thmore thenone elementat atime.

Nich ols (1 990) eucaea c c th a t adequate sp ace must be prov idedtogive ch i l d r e nth e freedomof movement requiredto develop to their own potential . Ch ildr e n shouldalsohave the oppo r t uni t y to workwithall thei r classmates at one time or another .

Se v era l oth er sugges t ions ha ve been giv e n tohelp the phy sic a l ed uc a t i on teachercreatea succeaefu),dance experience for chi ldr e n . The teacher should set a positive environmentfor the students (Schmi t z, 1989 , Mehrhof et al., 1993). ·Provi d i ngappropriateenvironmental stimul i canhelp in ensuring that optimum phy sical growt h and development result" (Flinc hu m, 1988,p.631.

weeks (1 98 6) suggeststhe teacher shouldrelate the si mila rit i e s between a dance step an d a spor ts skill.

Students also enjoy the use of popular musicoverthe use of moretraditionalmaterial. The teacher needs to be

23

enthusiastic and encouraging when presen tingdance ac t ivities to their students(Meh rho f et al . . 1993; Weeks. 198 6 ).

Hankin (1992) states that teachers may have to ge tpast the image of a 'dancer' in theirown minds to be successfu l.

They must learn tovaluetheinherent beaut yin variousforms of movement that takes place in dance, as well as. teac h ch i l dre n to val ue them. The teacher must alsohelp students experience a ful l range of movement activit ies while the y valuetheir own individual and unique st.yles.

Dance Programs

Danceprograms are gr a d ua lly becominga reality in more andmore schools (Ro ss and Butterfie ld. 1989). After al l, dance has a special placein theove r all physical education program of an elementaryschool. I tisaphysically vigorous activity whichis enjoyedin individual, partne r,or group wor ksitua tions (Wo t h e r s poon, 1982).

The word'd a nc e ' isno t as threateningtodayas it once was. We areexposedto movLe c , songs. andnumerous tel ev ision advert isements that are using danceto catch ebeeye of the poten tia l consumer. Pe ople in general, chi l d ren in particulAr ,are becomingmoreinter e ste din andcomfo rta ble with dance (Br a y. 198 6 ) . Also,ex ercis i n g to mus ichasbecome a dominantfactor in thelife styles ofmany people. Thishas

notbeen limited to any particularsegment of the population (Brown, :i986 1 .

The time is right to Lnt.xc du cedance intoour physical education programs within th e schools.Mor e and morechild r e n are wil l i n gtoac cep t andtrythi s typeof activity. We must nowget ov e r thehu r d l e s andproceed. The rewards of having da n c e in physicaleducationaretoonumer ous to excludeit any longer (Br a y, 1989) .

CurriculumChan ge inPhy s i c a l Educati on

Mor e andmore attention is being focusedon educational cha nge in the school. Sledentop (1 99 2) states that

"e d uc a t ional system s have beenbomba r d e d withcri ticisms of schooling and teachers. accompanied by cries for ma s s i v e reform" (p.6 91. Educatorsneed tothink differently about our presentsystem andbe preparedto change. "We mustexperime nt withdifferent formatsfor orga niz ingand presenting physical educationbe c au s e, in toomany places, phys ica l education is bei ng treated as a marginal subject"(S i e de n t o p, 1992,p ,69 ), Oliv e r (198 8 ) reportsthatch a nge in physical education is noticeably absentin discussionsabout school reform. I t is omit t ed from numerous commission reports, and is not subject to debate innumerous professional organ izations to which physical educators belong, Whyis thishappening?

25

After all, physical education has the versat1.lityin terms of expand ing the breath of learning ac t i v i t i e s tha t can be provided for our students. -cur e t c ut um change, is not a minor or incidentalch a n g e,but a substantial or long-rangechange. Thecomprehens ivenessofthepr oc e ss will depend onth e natu re of thech a n ge itself, the numberof pers onsaffe c ted by the cha n g e, and the time into the futurethe change willaff e c t"

(Mic h a l e t s , 1?85,p.l).

All strategies for curricul umchange involvepeople,and it is helpfultobe able toide n t ifythe internal and external factors which create an individua l's willingnes s toward accepting or resisting cur r i cu l um change. External factors inclu deschool-communityenvironment and the social structu re of the school. The attitudesandide olog i e s of the t.eachers and student.s would be considered in t e r na l factors.

Needfo rChange

Locke (1992) talks about. the need forchangi ng school physicaleducation proramming. He suggests that many physical education programs fail to achieve the i r objectives. He argues that many physicaleducators sayifa program is going well, why change it. Therefore, knowingexact.ly what. part.is not working (a nd why) is essential in decidingwhat sort of change is needed.

When think jngabout cur riculumchange, there isnotone but a numberof physical educa ti onprograms to th i n k about.

MWhe t he r or notthe forcesof central tendency in cur ri culum and instructionallowmeaningful tal kabouta dominantmod e l, th e programs inspecificschoolsdifferin real ways· (Lo ck e , 1992,p.362 ). He continues on tosayth a t it'snot'.a question of whether or not changes will take place - they will. As with oth e rsubj e c t areas, physical edu c a t i on wi l lbe apart of th e s e changes. Th e only question open to consideration is wh e t he r or no t st a ke hol d e r s such as teacher ed ucato r s . teac he r s,students, and parentswill ta ke any active part in direct ing those changes. If stakeholers ch oos e not to be involved, cha n ge will happen as a naturalcons equence of the socia l, politica l, and economic forcesat work. There is no reas on to believe that those na tur a l consequences will be favourable toward physical education in the school. It is th e r e f o r e imperative, that physLcul educators, as well as other stakeholders,be involved in the changesth a t will take place in physica l education .

The Teacherand change

In introducingchange that willhe l p solve significant problemsin a school,itis the teachers whomust identifyand define the probl ems, teachers who must planwha t is to be

27

done, and teachers whohav e to do the work (Lapor te, 19 8 6 ; Locke,1992; Mumme s Weissqlass, 1989). Ma ny teachers enga ge in a continuous effort to change. As individualprofessionals they devise new methodsofin s t r uc t i on,new contentunits,new means of organizing students, and new st rategies for evaluat ing. Teachers know what needs tobe done to improve edu cation. That is the most importanttyp e of change (Locke, 1992) .

T-eachers need to collaborate on designing and testing ideas about change until they understand it. Then. other teachers may regard the productas bothcred i b leandpr ac t i c a l for us e in their own classroomsand they may make efforts to implement the changes (Lo c k e, 1992; Radnor, 1991; Rennie, 19B?) •

Locke (1 99 2) also states that ·t he nature of their workplacepreven tsteachersfr om improving the i r practice. If theyhad more time torefle c t , morere s our c e s todraw on, and more inservice help withdeveloping skil ls neede d for new units, thente achers wo uld be the source of major change in education. Removing the barr ierspreve ntingthemfrom working on cur ric u l um is the keytoen listing their efforts·(p.J66) . Locke (1992 ) lis ts sev eral other variables that arekeys tosuc c e s s f u l cur ricu lumchange in physica leducation. Firs t, good change efforts must begi n wit h needs asses s men t and detailedplann i ng. Secondly, thepeople involvedmus t hav ea

hig h conunitment to their effort. Next, the availability or resourcesis criticalin any change effort. Finally,smaller, tightl y focused , highly specific. and immediate practical changeshave a mu c h betterprospect fo r adopt ionby teache rs than do lo ng er, more ambitious sche mes that simu ltaneo us ly target different aspects of a school or program. Mo st researchand practicein curriculumchange implies that teachers shouldbere ga r d e d as leaders in every activity involving educati onal change. Also. teacher collaboratio n shouldbe one of the main th emesin school restructuring {Le e

&Reigeluth,1994} .

Th e curriculumin the new school system will l ike ly be planned to reflec t the nature of chang e in our global environment (Bu r n s. 1989) . It wi l lemphasizesocieta l ne eds . familyneeds , and student needs. When examining changes in society,we canidentifythedevelopment of globalknowledge, mental and physical health, and effective communication skills.

Le e andReigeluth (1994) utece that "te a c h e r swill ne e d a construct ivistprospective for curricu lumdevelopment. Th e dramati c changesin every aspectof society havemad ech a n g es in curriculum and in the paradigms of ins truct ion inevitable"(p. 62 ). As a result, teachers must careful ly consider ane w education'il agendadue to thenew needs of our socie t y anditsstakeholde rs . Theywillhave to cha ngethe

29

contentof the traditionalcurriculum, reorder the curricul um based ..m a new ar r a y of skills, and change the str uctureof the cu r ric u l um and the style of classroomInstructLon(Gi bb o n . 1987: McGee, 1987) . Furthermore , they will reorgani ze curr iculumdelivery,developstrategies forcurr i c ul um change, impl e me n t th e curricu l um,and evaluateits implementa tion (Lee and Reigeluth, 1994)..

Barriersto Change

The biggest barrier to cu r r icu lumchange in educat ion appears to be tha t of teacher resistance (Sparkes, 1990). Many physicaleduca torsworkingin scho olsettingsconti n u e to te achmuchas they alwayshave, quite untouchedby research findings {pLa c ek and Locke. 1986 ) . Eventhoughmany changes in education are legally possible, economicallypractical, administrat ively feasible, publicly acceptable, and experimentally defensible, th e y not admiss ible psychologicallyinto certainteachers minds(S t oy n off , 19891.

Several personalitycharacter isticshave been ide n t i fi e d in teachers who are resis tant to change. Th ey incl u d e: authoritarianism , def ensiveness, insensit i vi ty to pupils need s, and preoccupation with discipline. Also, those te a che r s who arenot ready toch an g efind mor e total barrie rs,

both Lncexnet and external, then tho s e who are willing to ac cep t chan g e ($toynoff .1989 ) .

Ma k i n gAc t ual Ch ang es

Reports of cur r icu l umcha nge in physicaleducationtend tobe anecdotal re po rts of ideas forclasses (p l a c e k . 1989). Some reports merely show thatthr oug h direct intervention on a smal lscale, teacher behavioursca n bechan g e d (Fa u c e t t e and Graham ,1986; Ratliffe, 1986).

Oneof t.odaytele a d i ng researchersin physical education argues that research on char..ge in physical educationneeds to be stimulatedby enthusiasti candvi g o :;:,':lu Sindividuals (Ki r k, 1989). He questi onsthemethodof how we go abouti ...itiating ch a ng e in physical education. "I t appears that basic strategy , thus far, for bringing abou t change in physical educa.tion is to conduct research, communicate th i s through journal andconferencea~ticles, use the findings in teacher educationcourses, and then wait for the findings to filter do wn tothe pointof implementationin the gym"(p. 12 6 ). Kirk suggest,> that whileth i s strategyfor changehas its place i t cann o t stand alone.

Kirk (1989) also sta testha t "i f change is a genuine aim of research,then political actiononth e part of teachers and researchers. incon j un ct i on wi th administra torsand other

31 interested part ies such as parents and students . is una v oi da ble . Chan gedoesno tha ppenthroughrat i ona l pla nni ng alone. Chan g e occu r sthr ough th e exerciseofpower.andpower in thecontex t oftransformativesocia l actioniscen t r all y to do wi ththe polit lcal "(p.1271. We are encouraged to believe thatchange canbe conductedscientif ica lly , rationally .and apoli tically. In the process ,theexerciseof powerbecomes invisible, or atlea s t opaque , andis acquiredbysome tothe disadvantageof many others.

Kirk (1 98 9) off e r s thr ee suggestions which gi ve an alte rnateview of change. First, re searche r s nee dto begin thinkingmore inte r ms of workingwithte ac he r s ratherthan workingon them, in otherwords. teachersneedtobe viewed less as obj e cts in the natural science sense and more as consc i ous agents of change who have valuable insider knowledge andthe abilitytocont r oltheirown destini es.Secondl y. the preoccupationwithdoingscient if icresearch hascre a t ed some entrenched op i ni ons that have led tona r r ow viewsofchan gein physical education . Ifresearchersare to workwithteachers then theyneed theore ticalperspect ivestha t allow,for them to cons i der boththe inner workings of the everyday life-wor ld and the structuri ngandint e r pe ne t r a t i on of thisworld and of human consciousnessbywider social for c e s. Finally. we in physical education need to begin developing a more sophisticated under sta ndi ngofthe pro cessofchange, bothat a widersocie t al leveland also within ourown subject.

Other developments in the curriculum field have emphasizedthat there willbe some sortof politicalstruggle if curriculumchange isto occur (Ki r k, 1988; TNhitty 1985). Kirk (1989) suggeststhati fwe are genuinely interestedin bridging the gap between research and curriculumpr~ctice,our first major step i!'lto recogniz"l tha t todo this we must become politically active.

Physical educators must believe in their abilities as human beings toshape their own destiny. Theymust findtime tounderstand and plan for change(She r ri ll,1983) . tie need to think differently aboutphysical education for youth. "tie mustre s t r uctur e,take risks,and produceresults' (Siedentop, l~9 2 , p .70). siedentop(199 2 ) implie s thatchangeoccurs as newknowledge is acqu.i r-ed and positioned within existing structures . This ne.wknowledgewill aidin the developmentof new structures or methods designed to reinterpret old info r mat i on or to better accommodate the additionof new knowledge .

When stakeholderssee a change produce the re sul t s they want, they will persiston anewcour s e and it willbecome permanent. More particularl y ,when teachers actuallyobserve students learning mor e , assigning more value to~'hat they learn ,and wanting toparticipatein classactivities,there canbe no ttrongerguarantee that a curriculumchange will be adopted(Locke, 1992).

33

CUrriculum Implementation in phyBical Education

The profes s i onal literature in phy s i cal education has treated curric ulumimpl emen t a ti on issu e s on a mi n o r scale in re c e nt years. Host research ha s dealt with curr iculum plann i n g an d development withli ttle re g ard for curricu lum implemen t a t ion (Virg i l io , 19E:4 l.

Edu c ational change tak espla ce whenimproved prog r ams or methods are implemented or actually used in cl a s s rooms.

Howe ve r, because of the structu reof schoo ls, impl e mentat ion isfrequent ly diff i c ul t. Sc hoo l s traditionallyar eor ga nize d with individu al teachersworki ng re l at ively autonomous l y in ce l lul ar class ro oms. Teac h e rs receive li ttl e fi n a nc ial incentive or oppor tun i ty for soci a l re cogn iti o n for better perfo rma nce. 'rn e e eeeo-e , the lev e l of implementation of change in educa t ional programs large l y depends on the char ac teris tics of the te a cher s (Pooleand OKe a f or. 1989).

Oft en, imple me ntinga cu rric ulumhas beencon side r ed a cr ucial stagein thucurriculumpla nning process IHunkins and Orn ste i n, 1969). All too often. cu r ricu lumchang e s that were basedon sou nd id easha ve failedbecauseof the inadequacy of the process of imp leme nt a t i on. If th e process is not adequate, te a c h e r s mi ght be ill pre pared to implem~nt the changeandothe rstakeholder s may resi stthech a ngebec a us eit wasnot effe ctivelycommuni c a t e d tothem IMic ha le ts. 1985J.

SUccessful Implementation

Fo r curriculum change to be imp l e me nte d successfully a well developedplan for a set of guidelines must be developed (Bos er, 1991). The implementation of new curricula means getting educators to shift fromth e cu r r e n t program to a new prog ram. Thisinc ludesthe decisions, actions, and procedures involved in putt1ng a change into use (Bennett et a1., 1992;

Boser, 1991; Dow et al. , 1984; Hunkins and Orns tein,1989;

Loucks andLie b e r ma n,1983; Poole and OKeafor,19 8 9 : virg ilio, 1984).

Virgi lio (1984) outlines a plan for curriculum impl ementa t ion in physical education th a t is supported in various ways by othe r re sea r c h. He states the process of curr iculumimplementation can be brokendown into two phases, the preoperationa l stage and the operation alstage.

In the preopera tionalstage, curriculumleadersandstaf f should establish the procedu ral steps for pilot ing.

Preoperationa lactivities also attend to developing schedules for both pilotingand finalimplementation, theprepa r ationof physical facilitiesso thatnew programscan be accommodated, and the preparationand purchase of equipmentnecessary for successfully activating the program. Also, at this po i n t , policy and budgetpreparations should be completeand amea n s fo r communicatingto the public shouldbe developed.

J5

Piloting is a criticalphase ofthe preoperationalstage.

The data ga t he r ed from piloting is us ed to substantiate recommendationsmadebycurr icul umdevelopersto in terested educators, parents, students, and other atakehojdera.

Pilotinghelpsin addressingtheques t ionof whetheritis as effective asi tcla i ms andwhat revisionsshouldbe madettl bringitupto par.

The operat i on al phase occurs wh en ,!Ill plans ar e activated . Thi s stage involves decisionsand act ions that guide the placement of the cur ricu l umunits in physical educa ti on classes.I tis here that the resp ons i bili t y for the teachi.ngunits and instructionalmo7l.~.erialsis specified. This isus ua ll y done by the principalor the physical education coor di na to r. Th i s stage al so invo l ve s managing and coor di na t i ng suppor t systems to help teachers in the implement ation process.

FactorsIn f l u enc i ng Implementation

Severa l key elements that r...e linked to successful impl emen t a tion have beenident ifi ed in the literatu re. While eachfac t or hasa uniquerole.itis the culminationof the s e factorsthatca n help with ensuringsuccess fu l implementa t i on.

Supportisoft ennegl ec t edat theimplementat i on stage (Vir gilio,19841. Supportcan be sepa r ated in totwo

categories, materia l support and human support. Ma t e ria l suppo r t is mostimportantin the initial stages vmenne w mater ials . supplies, and equipment are needed 101s hit ain, 1989). Nothingdelays implementation more than late arriving materialsor the lackof funds to suppo r tthe instructional goa l s (Lou c ks and Lieberman, 1983 ) .

Human support is alsopivotal. At theschool le v e l,the principalis the key element. The principalcan remindusers of new cu r r icula that it is a priority to follow this cu rr i c u l um. demonstrate informa l interest. and ",rovide some mot i v a tion (PooleandOKe a f o r , 1989 ; vi rg ili o, 1984). Another impor tantaspect of human support is peer suppo rt. Teachers shouldwork together, share ideas,developnew material,:;,and dis c over inte r e st i n gte c h n i qu es toenhance the new cur r iculum pro cess (Hunkins and Ornstein, 198 9 ;Virg i l io, 1984) .

Anot he r impor tan t fa c t or in implementation is that of communication."Commun i c a t i on isextremelyimportant fromth e pilot i ng through to the final dissemination " (Vi rgi l io, 198 4, p. 61 ). The most common communication techniques available to the school system ar~ staff meetings, newsletters, system bulletins, workshops , small group meetings, hand outs, PTA meetings, andfoc u s groups which may deal specificallywithphysical educationcontent(Michalets, 198 5; Hunkinsand Ornstein, 1989) .

37 Staff developmentis another important factor in successful implementation. All to often, implementation efforts fail becauseadequate staff development opportunities are neglected.It is sometimes assumed that teachers already have the expertiseto implement the change with little or no assistance (Virgilio, 1984; Michalets, 1985; David, 1986;

Bennett et a L,, 1992; Olshitain,1989; Hunkins and Ornstein.

1989; Boser.1991; Pepple, 1986; LOUCKS and Lieberman, 19831.

Instructional plam1ingmaybe considered the final factor in successful LmpIeruerrt.atLon (Vi r g i l i o , 1984). Plans that support a curriculum have to be translated into instructional plans; unit plans, lesson plans, student needs, teaching styles, ins t r uc t i ona l resources, and eve.ioat Lon instruments. The implementation stage is complete when instructional plans are put into action.

Boser (1991) offers some interesting guidelines for implementing curriculum change that add to and reinforce those already cited. He s eeees tilat implementation should proceed from a knowledge of the change process. Involvement of students, parents, teachers, administrators, and interested individuals and organizations external to the school couldbe quite helpful. It becomes necessary to identifythe existing barriers to change and develop strategiesto overcome these.

Finally, one must seek input from those individuals who are resistant to implementing change as well as those who are supportive.

Barriers to Suc c e s s fu l Implementation

When any newcur-rLcuIwnisbeing implemented intoa sch o ol ce r t a i n barriers are going tostandin thewa yof its success (Dow et a1., 1984). These barriers need to be addres sedbefore successtul implementationcan occur.

One of the major barriers to implementation is time constraints. Implementation shoul doccur graduallyinstead of ove r n i g h t (Lapo r t e,1986). Oft en teachers are presented with new materialand toldto implementi tright away withouttime toprepa reandplan (Pooleandoxe a r c r,1989) . Many teachers lack mate r i a l s andotherfacilities.as wellas ti menecessary for implementation (Pep ple,1986 ).

Some teachersfeel thecontentofthene wcurr icu l um just is not corr e c t (Pla cek, 1989). That gives the m a la ckof motivation co go ahead with theimp l eme n t a t i on (Dow et al.

1984). Also ,there is often no system establishedth a twill assu rethat teachers are actuallyteaching the newcur r i culum (Wa t k i ns, 1983) .

Doing things difterently can create frictionbetweeni'l.

tea che r andtheirfelloweduca t or s ,administrators,students, andparents. Many teachers wouldrather notwork wi thsuch friction in their envi ronme nt. That is not to say that individua l te a che r sca nnot implementchange,but teache rs

39

working inis o l a tio n will find theta s k much moredi f fic u lt (t·:umme and Weissglass, 1989).

Dow et a1. , (1984) out l i n e several other barriers to succe ssfu lcurri cu l um impl e men t atio n . Theprincipal 'sroleis of t e n unc lear. The curriculum guid eis unreal istic in terms of the amount of material thatteachersare expectedtocover. Teachers ha v e be en given insuff icientoppo r tunity toprovide feedbackrela t ed tothene wcu rricul um. Finally .moresupport from central off ic e resource personnel could provide mor e moti vationforteache rs .

The Teacher and Implementa tion

Teachers are the mos t important factor in the implementation of newcu r r i cu l um. Because teachersarethe ultimate impl ement e r sof curriculum,i tis important thatthey playa rolein determiningthe pr ocessbywhich newcur ric ul a isimp l e men t ed (Mummeand Weiss q1a s s ,1989 ) . "Whe n teachers partici pate in decisions made during the process of impl e me nt a t i on , the likelihoodof successful implementationis increased" (Louc ks andLie be r ma n ,1983 , p. 13l). If teachers ar e involvedinthe process the perceivedne e d for change is muchcl e a rer to oth e r educators (Pl a c e k, 1989) .

Curriculumimplementationrequiresind i v i d ua l initiative andcr e at i v i t yon the part of the teacher nsesesi, 1988 J• In the end, it is the te a c her that holds the power whenit comes tocurriculum implementati on . Without the teacher's support, effort, and cooperation , even the most carefully conceivedcurri cu lum is doomed tofailure (La Po r t e, 19861 . Usually, th e teacher 'sreward forthe extraeffortrequi redto implement a change include personal sa t i s f a c t ion from achieving valued outcomes with students, worki ng with colleagu es to influence th e achievement of or g a niz a tion al goals , and receiving re cog ni t ion from administrators and colleagues (Pooleandoxe e tor, 1989)

It isevidentthatif new curricu laandchangeare goi ng to be successfula well establishedplan for implementation needs to be putin?l a c e. As Virgilio (198 4) states, ~today greateremphasis mustbeplacedon the implemen tationstage to ensure tha t curriculumai ms,goals, and objectives are being facilitate in our elementary physical education programs"

(p.63 ).

As muchofthe literatu resuggests,i fthe irtq)l ementa t i on of a danceun i t is goingto be successful,a well thought out pl a n needs to be devised. For th e inexperienced dance teacher, this may meana shift from analreadyestablished pr o gr am and methodof instruc t ion. Developed plansne edto be modi fi e d throug houttheimplemen tationprocess to ensur e

41

established objectives ar e being meet. Te a c he r s of dance need to add r e ss suc h iss ues as gender. lack of materia ls, teacher tr a ining, ti me, and st u d en t resistance if any new in n o vat i o n is goingto succ e e d.

METHODOLOGY

Intr oduction

This case stu dy inv o l v ed the introductionofa dance uni t into an elementary school 's physical education program. A combinationof qualitative and quantita tiveresearch methods were used when eval ua t ing the devel opmen tand impl e me n t at i on of the unit,as wellas student attitudes towards dance. The developmentof th e lesson plans and the unfolding of these plans are alsoconsidered in this study.

It was decidedto use bothmethods ofre s e a r c h so thata more meaningful picture of the whole process of implementing a dance curriculum could be obtained. Using quantitativedata allowed the researcher to investigate ch a n g e s in attitudes using statistica l testing . Thisda t a was gatheredbe f o r e and after the danceun Lc was taugh t toallclasses involved in the study. Qualitat iveresearch methods provided the studentsand teacher the opportunity to exp r e s s theirdailyexperiences, feelings, and opinions.

Wh i l e both quantitative and qualitativeresearchmethods wereus e d throughout the study, mo r e emphasis was placedon the qualitative portion. Dance being much mare of a

"qua li t a t i v e - activity, re qu i r ed for the most par t, qualitativemethodo l ogy. Vin(c it e d in Merriam,1988) stated thatqu a li t a t i v ere sea r ch is preferredin examining

43

contemporary events, thus relying on the t.echni.ques of direct observation and systematic interviewing, Its unique strength is its ability to deal with a full variety of evidence _ documents, interviews, and observations.

Itwasdecided by there s e ar c h er to implement the dance unit into th e physical education program of grades 4 and 5.

All students inthese grades participated in the unit. but only those students who volun teeredactually completed the attitudinalsurvey. A groupof 10 students were selected for an oralinterview.

The dance unit consisted of 11 instructiona l periods.

Duri ngtheseper iods th e children were exposedto structured dances. creative dance, andfolk dance.

Confidentiality

When students were asked to participate in the study they were informed that their identitywould not be revealed to anyone. In addition to being a requirement .of et h i c a l research, i twa s hoped that the studentswould expresstheir true feel ings, opinions, and experiences about all topics discussed. Chi ldrenat this aqe are self-conscious about what their peers think about them and this may inh ibit them fr om conveying their tru e feelingsand attitudes, especiallyif

they feel their thoughts are not consistentwith those of their friends .

For the survey portion , the students were assigned id~nti ty numbers. This was done to enable a comparison between individual pre-testand post- tes t.scores. Pseudonyms wez e used 1n the Lnt e r vLe ws and fieldnotes . Theseremained consistent.throughoutthe period of research.

Quant i ta t i ve Methodol ogy

Sample Se lecti on

All grade4 and 5studentswithin th e school were asked to participatein the study by completinga survey. Students were giveninformationabout the study and informed that thei r help and cooperation wouldbe greatlyappreciated. At this initial stage, they were given mi n i ma l information so that their answers to the survey questionswouldnot be influenced.

I twas explained that theirparticipation in this part of the study was voluntary. A consent form explainingthe intentof the case studywas supplied to the students whichth e y were asked to bring horne to theirparents. If bothth e student and pe r ent; agreed to the student participating in the att i tude

45

survey and/o r an inte r vi e w. ba chsignedthe consentformand ret u rned it to the researcher .

Onlythose stu d e nts whoreturned theircon s e n t forms too k partin the attitudesurvey. Of th e 11 2 co n s e n t fo rms that weresenthome ,74 werereturned with the requiredsigna t ur e s.

Const ruct ionofAtti t u d e Surve y

The survey was adapted from two previ ouslyused att i tude surveys of elementary sc h oo l children towards physical educatio n ; "Inventoriesand Norms for Childrens' Attit udes toward Physical Activity· (Sch ultz et aL, , 1985). and

"At t itud e s towa rds Physical Education in Elementary School aeudenea- (Mar tens, 1985).

Thesetwo surveys , in addition to infor ma t ion obtained abou tdance throug han extensiveliteraturereview,were used toco ns t r uc t the survey. In all, 32 statements were co ns t r uc t e d for the survey. The possible responses ag r e e , disagree, an d unsure .

Some statements we r e worded posit i vely and statementswere worded negativel y to ensure that the st udents werereading each question. On severa l occa sions the same statement was worded differentlyand placed in a dif f e r e n t location in the surveyas a reliability check.

"

A list of activities . with which most students were fami l i ar was also in cluded in the survey. Dance was intent ionallyincludedin this li s t. A totalof 15acti v i t ies were incl ud ed. St u de n t s were asked to rank the activit ies fromtheirmost preferredto their Leeet;preferred.

ReliabilityandVa lid i ty

Reliabili tyof theattitudesurvey was checkedbyusing the test-retestmethod. Withthismethod the same test was gi v e n to the same gr oup of stud ents on two different occasion s . The ti me between theadministeringof both sur veys was one week. A reliabili tycoeffic ientof .82was measured.

Therefore , the attitu d e su rvey can be cons i d e r e d to be reliable .

Ameasuringinstrumentis considered va l id to the degree thatitmeasures wh at it isintende dtomea s u re (Ba r t z, 19 BB). Thi s paztLc uLar at titude survey was con s truc t e d from two previo us validatedattitudeinventories ce n t re d around elementary school physicaleducation. Most of the contentwas ada p t e d from recent literature in th e area of elementary school dance . St a t eme nt s de a lt with areas that would be covered in the impleme n tation of the dance unit in the physicaleducation classesof those elementaryschoolchildren who completed the attitude survey. The grade level of