WWC review of this study

The Effects of a Creative Dance and Movement Program on the Social Competence of Head Start Preschoolers [Creative dance and movement program vs. play time without music or dance]

Lobo, Yovanka B.; Winsler, Adam (2006). Social Development, v15 n3 p501-519. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ942189

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
     examining 
    40
     Students
    , grade
    PK

Reviewed: February 2022

No statistically significant positive
findings
Meets WWC standards without reservations
Social-Emotional Learning outcomes—Statistically significant positive effect found for the domain
Outcome
measure
Comparison Period Sample Intervention
mean
Comparison
mean
Significant? Improvement
    index
Evidence
tier

Overall social competence (teacher rating) from Social Competence Behavior Evaluation (SCBE): Preschool Edition

Creative dance and movement program vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Full sample;
40 students

151.37

133.86

No

--

Internalizing behavior problems (teacher rating) from Social Competence Behavior Evaluation (SCBE): Preschool Edition

Creative dance and movement program vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Full sample;
40 students

87.58

83.60

No

--

Externalizing behavior problems (teacher rating) from Social Competence Behavior Evaluation (SCBE): Preschool Edition

Creative dance and movement program vs. Business as usual

0 Days

Full sample;
40 students

91.42

87.34

No

--


Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.

Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.


  • Female: 49%
    Male: 51%

  • Urban
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    Northeast, South
  • Race
    Asian
    5%
    Black
    16%
    Other or unknown
    79%
  • Ethnicity
    Hispanic    
    67%
    Not Hispanic or Latino    
    33%

Setting

This study was conducted among preschool children attending a large Head Start program. The preschool was located in the metropolitan area somewhere in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States.

Study sample

The study's analytic sample consisted of 40 preschool children, aged 3 to 5 years old. Approximately 49 percent were girls. In terms of racial characteristics, 16 percent were African-American, 5 percent were Asian, 7 percent were Arabic, and 5 percent were White or other. About 67 percent of students identified as Hispanic. All students were receiving free or reduced-price lunch.

Intervention Group

The intervention was an eight-week instructional program in creative dance and movement. Participants met for 35 minutes each session with two sessions per week, in a separate room in the preschool. The dance program was researcher-designed to be appropriate for children ages 3 to 5. The program was structured around six dance concepts that allowed students to invent movements according to their preferences: (1) body parts, (2) movement/locomotor, (3) space, (4) time, (5) force, (6) form. Each session proceeded with a greeting, warm-up and stretching, short-story and dance improvisation, and a goodbye dance/cool down.

Comparison Group

The comparison condition consisted of play time with regular curriculum activities and toys during the pull-out sessions. Available toys consisted of puzzles, games, blocks, balls, and others that were in the room. No music or dancing occurred in these sessions and an experimenter remained in the room to observe and play with the children.

Support for implementation

The study does not describe any support for implementation.

 

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