Our ability to acknowledge and recognize our own identity — our “self” — is a characteristic doubtless unique to humans. Where does this feeling come from? How does the combination of ...neurophysiological processes coupled with our interaction with the outside world construct this coherent identity? We know that our social interactions contribute via the eyes, ears, etc. However, our self is not only influenced by our senses. It is also influenced by the actions we perform and those we see others perform. Our brain anticipates the effects of our own actions and simulates the actions of others. In this way, we become able to understand ourselves and to understand the actions and emotions of others. This book describes the new field of “Motor Cognition”. Though motor actions have long been studied by neuroscientists and physiologists, it is only recently that scientists have considered the role of actions in building the self. How consciousness of action is part of self-consciousness, how one's own actions determine the sense of being an agent, how actions performed by others impact on ourselves for understanding others, differentiating ourselves from them and learning from them: these questions are raised and discussed throughout the book, drawing on experimental, clinical, and theoretical bases. The advent of new neuroscience techniques, such as neuroimaging and direct electrical brain stimulation, together with a renewal of behavioral methods in cognitive psychology, provide new insights into this area. Mental imagery of action, self-recognition, consciousness of actions, imitation can be objectively studied using these new tools. The results of these investigations shed light on clinical disorders in neurology, psychiatry, and in neuro-development.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions that came with it led to unprecedented disruptions in learner development and put them at risk of poor developmental outcomes. It is thus important that the ...extent of the disruption on their development and the support needs of learners be investigated. Researching the impact of the disruption should focus on holistic development. In this book, the authors use multiple research approaches and methods of gathering data in their respective fields to examine the impact of the disruption and determine the support needs of learners. Data gathered through the different methods are processed and findings are presented. The findings have implications for both practice and future research in the fields of inclusive education, learner support, educational psychology, movement education, Life Orientation and curriculum development.
There is international consensus that creativity is a fundamental outcome of schooling. Opportunities exist to enhance the creativity of schoolchildren, particularly in movement-based subjects such ...as physical education (PE). In this pilot study, we investigated the effect of a six-week dance-based PE intervention on children’s creativity in a primary school context. Forty second grade students participated in a controlled trial. One class (n = 20) was assigned to the intervention and participated in dance-based PE lessons (10 girls, 10 boys; age 7–8 years). The other class (n = 20) was assigned to the control condition and continued regular PE with no dance (10 girls, 10 boys; age 7–8 years). Pre–post assessment of creativity was obtained through an adapted version of Guilford’s (1967) Alternative Uses task. Data were analysed using linear mixed models, with adjustment made for children’s perceived dance ability and for baseline differences in creativity between groups. The overall effect of the intervention was small (d = 0.36, 95%CI = –0.21 to 0.92), but not statistically significant (p = 0.21). Post-hoc analysis revealed a large difference in the effect of the intervention between children with above and below-average baseline creativity (d = 1.26, 95%CI = 0.14 to 2.39, p = 0.03). Children with above-average creativity at baseline benefitted more (d = 0.99, 95%CI = 0.01 to 1.96, p = 0.047). This pilot study provides further support for the place of dance and creativity within the PE curriculum. However, particular attention should be given to students’ starting points.
Educators’ attitudes have drawn attention of researchers worldwide, where numerous studies have been conducted to explore the factors that influence educators’ attitudes toward educational topics in ...order to understand them and direct them in ways that contribute to the enhancement of the educational practices. In this study, we aimed to identify attitudes of early childhood educators in the Sultanate of Oman towards movement education, and to investigate the differences in attitudes according to nationality and qualification. The sample of this study consisted of 201 pre-school female educators in the Sultanate of Oman. The participants responded to Attitudes towards Movement Education Scale, which consisted of three dimensions (emotional, cognitive and behavioral). This scale was designed and modified for the purpose of this study. The results of this study revealed that the participants’ attitudes towards movement education were positive in general. The emotional dimension ranked first (87.7%), followed by the cognitive (82.6%) and behavioral dimensions (78.8%). The results also showed that there were differences in attitudes towards movement education due to educators’ nationality and educational levels.
* Younger children can also do gymnastics without getting bored, as long as parents, teachers, babysitters or siblings are involved and become their monitors. * It can be started at home, but if the ...weather is fine, it can also be done outdoors, preferably in a meadow or on the beach. The desire to play, which is never lacking in children, will do the rest. * This book offers you many useful tips and a host of games designed to develop children's motor potential and stimulate their imagination, imitation skills, balance, coordination, etc. * Each exercise is explained in detail in this book so that the child can have as much fun as possible. * To begin with, the simplest exercises, which can be done with the body alone, are presented for the youngest children. This is followed by a progressive description of games with a rope, a newspaper and a ball, which can be done alone or in groups to develop creativity and motor coordination. * Throughout these pages, you will see that gymnastics for children does not have to be tiring and monotonous.
From the 1970s on, case studies reported the effectiveness of therapeutic mirroring in movement with children with autism spectrum disorder. In this feasibility study, we tested a dance movement ...therapy intervention based on mirroring in movement in a population of 31 young adults with autism spectrum disorder (mainly high-functioning and Asperger’s syndrome) with the aim to increase body awareness, social skills, self–other distinction, empathy, and well-being. We employed a manualized dance movement therapy intervention implemented in hourly sessions once a week for 7 weeks. The treatment group (n = 16) and the no-intervention control group (n = 15) were matched by sex, age, and symptom severity. Participants did not participate in any other therapies for the duration of the study. After the treatment, participants in the intervention group reported improved well-being, improved body awareness, improved self–other distinction, and increased social skills. The dance movement therapy–based mirroring approach seemed to address more primary developmental aspects of autism than the presently prevailing theory-of-mind approach. Results suggest that dance movement therapy can be an effective and feasible therapy approach for autism spectrum disorder, while future randomized control trials with bigger samples are needed.
A central key-component in children's dance education is the promotion of creativity. This involves movement exploration, experimenting, and improvising with movement material, composing, and ...choreographing. These are necessary prerequisites for aesthetic and artistic development. Valid domain-specific test instruments are needed for the evaluation of creativity in dance. For this purpose, a test instrument for the assessment of creativity in dance for 3rd to 6th graders was developed. The aim of the present study was to investigate the construct validity of the Creativity in Dance Test (CDT) (N = 223, M = 9.55 ±1.29 years, girls: n = 110, boys: n = 113). The exploratory factor analysis (KMO =.731; Bartlett =.000; MSA >.50) showed a two-factorial structure, accounting for 51.8% of total variance. The CDT meets validity demands and thus is suitable for the evaluation of creativity in dance.
The aim of this paper is to suggest perspectives on movement capability and movement skill learning that take into account the intrinsic, meaningful value of moving in terms of the experience of the ...mover as a learner and a knower. Two perspectives on movement capability and movement skill learning will be presented and discussed here: phenomenology and phenomenography, with a focus on phenomenography. Since some similarities between these two perspectives has raised questions and caused some confusion, this paper attempts to clarify, mainly through empirical examples, some significant similarities and differences. An overall difference is that phenomenology is concerned with the question "what does it mean to be a learner"?, while a central question for phenomenographic oriented research is instead: "what does it mean for learners to learn and know what is expected to be known?" Both approaches share an interest in acknowledging the perspective of the learner.
The progressive and significant increase in motor and sports activities has allowed it to gain great relevance in different everyday life contexts, thus recognizing the educational nature that sport ...has taken on over time and becoming an important aspect of all the main social interaction contexts. In recent years, the body and movement have gained significant space among the areas of pedagogical reflection, and so motor and sports activities represent a remarkably important dimension as specific systems of education, the conditions of educability of which must be highlighted so that sport can represent a context of life aimed at empowering all subjects. Therefore, pedagogy offers young people a balanced growth also from a socialization point of view, aimed at promoting a healthy lifestyle, psychophysical well-being and the positive responses it generates throughout life. What emerges is the need to promote sports education, given its importance in the educational system starting from elementary school, up to secondary schools and universities. The need is to enhance the educational, sports, preventive, cultural and social purposes for the person’s growth in a free and democratic environment, which values diversity and therefore inclusion.
La discapacidad cognitiva ocasiona en muchos casos limitaciones psicomotoras, excluyendo a los estudiantes del sistema educativo, por lo cual se llevó a cabo este estudio donde se analiza la ...importancia de mejorar la atención y participación de estudiantes con este tipo de discapacidad, en especial en el área donde se requiere destrezas motrices como la Educación Física, para ello se realizó una encuesta a los docentes a cargo de la materia, luego mediante un análisis estadístico se verificó aspectos de cómo se está llevando actualmente la educación en este contexto. Los resultados muestran que hace falta más preparación y capacitaciones en el rol docente, también mejorar las habilidades motrices con programas didácticos, el rendimiento físico-emocional y la participación de los padres en su formación. Se concluyó contar con el trabajo conjunto y comprometido de padres de familia, docentes e institución que contribuyan al aprendizaje significativo del estudiante con discapacidad cognitiva.
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