DANCE AND THE CHILD'S COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
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Date
2015-06
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DANCE AND THE CHILD’S COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
BY
TEMITOPE ‘BUNMI ADEDOKUN-RICHARDS
SCHOOL OF VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS
KWARA STATE UNIVERSITY, MALETE, NIGERIA
E-MAIL: topedokun@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
For most children, experiencing dance usually begins during childhood. It is so because their bodies respond to stimulus especially when music is played around them. They freely express their emotions, which in turn helps develop their social skills, in addition to physical development. However, scholars are yet to give dance commensuration attention that it deserves especially in the area of early childhood education. This is because Nigerian curriculum developers are yet to comprehend the potency of dance in enhancing learning and cognitive development in children. The paper examines the importance and benefits of dance in early childhood and emphasizes the need for dance as a subject in the Nigerian school curriculum. It takes a panoramic view of the educational purpose of dance in the life of a child. Therefore, the objective of this study is to call the attention of curriculum developers to dance and affirm that dance is capable of its role in the cognitive development of the Nigerian child.
Keywords: Cognitive development, Dance, Education, Early Childhood Education, Curriculum.
Description
This article explores the potency of dance in the cognitive development of children during early childhood education. Dance in early childhood education also enhances the physical development, social development, emotional development of the child, and imaginative thinking, amongst others. The article therefore emphasises on the need for dance to be made a separate subject in the Nigerian curriculum so that more attention can be paid to the development of the child like children in developed countries. Hence, we should not deny them the opportunity to build their self-confidence and improve their problem-solving skills.