Movement is an essential human characteristic. It is happening everywhere at alltimes; it is a fundamental fact of life. The urge to move appears to be genetic, beginningin utero and continuing throughout prenatal and neonatal development. At birth, patternsof movement are in the form of primitive reflexes that are designed to guarantee the infants’ survival. These primitive motor schemes also represent the beginning ofcognitive development. As children begin to explore, understand, and interact with the environment and the people in it, the schemes become increasingly.
According to Martin (1965), “In everyday life our first reaction to every object andcircumstance is in terms of movement” The relationship between motor behaviorand cognitive development is a significant one. Cognitive and motor developmentsconstantly interact; cognitive development depends on the individual’s movementcapabilities, and motor development depends on intellectual capabilities. As childrenlearn to organize, adapt, and refine motor schemes in such a way that it increases theirmastery of skills and behaviors needed to successfully act in one’s environment, there is aparallel increase in cognitive development. Children need to learn to operate effectivelyand efficiently within their physical and social world. This developmental sequence hasbeen described by Piaget (1972, 1990) as a series of four discrete stages of cognitivedevelopment, with children’s thinking at any particular stage being qualitatively differentfrom that which preceded it or that which will follow it.
Educators are interested in accessing cognitive and motor development becauseboth are directly related to learning. Learning is inextricably intertwined with activity;when students are given opportunities to manipulate material and engage in purposefulexperiences, they improve motor and cognitive development. As children mature and move through the school system, the curriculum offered by the schools providesopportunities for motor development; traditionally these opportunities were restricted tophysical education courses. However, some curricula introduce students to specialopportunities such as dance.
Dance is a unique form of movement; it is more than a mere physical movement,
dance is aesthetic. Through dance, movement is transformed into a purposeful phrase ofaction that encompasses physicality, emotion, and cognition. Dance uses “the movementof the body in its reactions to the environment” As a unique form of movement, dance is a direct and natural way to move; one that inspires creativity, motivation, self-discipline, and self-awareness. Dance education is a structured approach to instruction and can serve as a valuable method of learning because students are exposed to a curriculum that challenges them to integrate that unique experiential education into their everyday life and culture. Dance education has been a part of the comprehensive school movement in the Philippines. Originally, dance was taught mainly as an activity within the physical education curriculum. Currently, it is recognized as an art form comparable to music, drama, and the visual arts. Both physical education and aesthetic education have embraced dance as a part of the curriculum . Given that dance is taught in a structured format in public schools, it would seem that dance instruction would enhance recipients’ personal competence and self-efficacy.
Movement not only serves as a “vigorous medium for both expression and
perception” it also plays a vital role in the developmental process.For an infant, movement is the “first instinctive reaction to life. Newborns are constantly experiencing the environment through autonomic, reflexivemovements. Eventually, through repeated experimentation, infants begin to progressthrough an identifiable developmental sequence in which they learn how to exercisecontrol over their appendages so as to make voluntary movements. Dance offers a different and intriguing look at how children and adolescents learn,in addition to how they dance. How children dance may both reflect and inform howthey learn other skills and understand the world around them.Once the dancer learns tocoordinate cognition and feeling with movement, a new powerful source for growth andautonomy is acquired.
Dance, as an art form and formal training method, may be a valuable resource thatcan serve as a bridge to cognitive development, emotional growth, and psychologicalhealth in children and adolescents, which is associated with academic performance in students. The relationship between dance and itsinfluences by comparing students who are and are not involved in highschool dance programs in Secondary School in City of Balanga in MAPEH subject and Special Program in the Arts – Dance (SPA).
By: Jennifer N. Tallorin | T-I | Bataan National High School
