THE INFLUENCE OF EDUCATIONAL DANCE ON THE MOTOR DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN

ABSTRACT Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the motor development of children who practiced educational dance with the motor development of children who did not practice it and to verify the results obtained after six to eight months after the end of the intervention. Methods: The study was carried out with 85 children enrolled in the first year of elementary school in two schools located in the south of São Paulo city (São Paulo, Brazil). Children were randomized by lot in two groups (intervention and control). Children with intellectual and/or physical disabilities and the premature ones were excluded from the analysis. The two groups had their motor development evaluated in three moments: before the intervention, after the intervention and six to eight months after the end of the intervention. The intervention group participated in an educational dance class program for seven months. Control and intervention groups were compared by chi-square and t-test. Results: Children who participated in the educational dance program, compared to children who did not, achieved significant gains in their general motor development and on the following bases: balance, fine motor and overall praxis. Conclusions: Educational dance helped the children’s motor development, and the results were partially maintained months after the end of the intervention.

摘要
研究目的：本研究旨在对比参与教育舞蹈（educational dance）的儿童与未参与者的运动发育（motor development）水平，并验证干预结束后6至8个月的随访结果。
研究方法：本研究纳入巴西圣保罗市南部两所小学的85名一年级在校儿童。采用抽签法将受试者随机分为干预组与对照组。排除存在智力或肢体残疾的早产儿及儿童，不纳入本次分析。分别于干预前、干预后以及干预结束后6至8个月三个时间点对两组儿童的运动发育水平进行评估。干预组需参与为期7个月的教育舞蹈课程项目。采用卡方检验（chi-square test）与t检验（t-test）对两组数据进行对比分析。
研究结果：与未参与教育舞蹈项目的儿童相比，参与项目的儿童在整体运动发育及以下维度均取得显著提升：平衡（balance）能力、精细运动（fine motor）能力与整体动作运用（praxis）能力。
研究结论：教育舞蹈可有效促进儿童的运动发育，且该干预效果在干预结束数月后仍得到部分维持。