Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop and apply a dance literacy-based dance education program for young children and to examine its effects on cognitive balance. Specifically, the study aimed to verify the educational effectiveness of the...
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop and apply a dance literacy-based dance education program for young children and to examine its effects on cognitive balance. Specifically, the study aimed to verify the educational effectiveness of the program by analyzing changes in perceptual-motor ability and cognitive self-concept.
Methods: Twenty children aged 6–7 years were selected using homogeneous group sampling and participated in a 12-week dance literacy program (once per week). The program was designed based on the core components of dance literacy— physicality, sensitivity, cognition, and sociality—and validated by experts. Data were collected through pre- and post-tests using standardized measures of perceptual-motor ability and cognitive self-concept. Paired samples t-tests were conducted to analyze differences before and after the intervention.
Results: The results showed significant improvements in perceptual-motor ability (t = -9.328, p < .001), including all subdomains: body perception, spatial perception, directional perception, and visual perception. In addition, cognitive self-concept significantly improved after program participation (t = 6.725, p < .001).
Conclusion: These findings indicate that dance literacy-based dance education positively influences young children’s perceptual-motor development and cognitive self-concept. The study suggests that dance literacy can serve as an effective arts education model that supports integrated sensory-cognitive development and holistic growth in early childhood.