Supporting Students’ Holistic Development Through Dance Education: A Successful Nonprofit Community-Based Program

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 3:20 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Contemplative Traditions for Creativity and Healing: Holistic Pedagogy (Table 9)

Abstract

Arts education can support students’ holistic development by providing opportunities for self-expression and creativity. But funding for public school arts education has substantially decreased in the United States, disproportionately impacting minoritized and lower-income students. This qualitative case study focuses on one community-based nonprofit arts program (dance program) that was developed to teach dance in a school without an arts budget. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with program alumni and staff, artifacts, and public media, our results describe how this program supports whole-person learning in several ways. The immediate impacts of the program include interpersonal development (e.g., empathy), intrapersonal development (e.g., self-confidence), and artistic/creative development. The medium-term and long-term impacts, respectively, include increased community engagement and an enhanced sense of life purpose.

Authors

• Deoksoon Kim, Boston College

• Katrina Borowiec, Boston College

• Susan Martinelli Shea, Boston College