ALLOW ME TO DANCE, DOES MY AGE OR GENDER COUNT?”: A STUDY OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN IN THE EFUTU MUNICIPALITY OF GHANA.

Undeniably, it is widespread in Ghanaian communities to see children dancing freely at any given opportunity. However, less scholarly attention has been given to the phenomenon of the dance movements of children in Ghanaian preschools. The purpose of the study was to investigate and report the extent to which age and gender affect the dance movements of preschool children in the Effutu Municipality of the Central Region of Ghana. The study employed the quantitative method approach and had a sample size of 120 children between the ages of four and five years from six preschools. Data was collected and analyzed using content analysis and observation. Results indicated that although dancing among children was common at community gatherings, dancing in schools was not a common phenomenon. The results also indicated that although there was no statistically significant difference between the dance movements of boys and girls, there was a statistically significant difference between the dance movements of children aged four and five years. The study concludes that the method of allowing children to engage in self-initiated activities through playing and creative movement allows for a lot of freshness, and tolerance, all preliminary conditions for successful education.