Dance choreography education: Socio-emotional and creative thinking skills development among primary school students in China

This study examined the perceived effectiveness of dance choreography in promoting the social skills and creative thinking of Chinese primary school children and served as the basis for an enhancement program. A quantitative descriptive-correlational research design was employed, utilizing validated survey questionnaires administered to dance teachers from selected Chinese schools. Descriptive statistics, tests of difference, and correlation analyses were used to interpret the data. The findings revealed that most respondents were young to middle-aged adults, predominantly female, bachelor's degree holders, and in the early stage of their teaching careers. Dance choreography was perceived to be highly implemented, with social and emotional growth receiving the highest ratings, while cognitive development obtained the lowest. The respondents also rated children's social skills and creative thinking as generally high. Among the social skills dimensions, cooperation ranked highest, whereas assertiveness ranked lowest. For creative thinking, imagination received the highest rating, while flexibility emerged as the area needing the greatest improvement. No significant differences were found across age, sex, and educational attainment in all dimensions, except for creativity when grouped according to years of service. Furthermore, no significant relationship was identified between most dimensions of dance choreography and the social skills of Chinese primary school children. Based on these findings, an enhancement program entitled “Creative Steps for Growth: An Enhancement Program for Cognitive Development, Creative Flexibility, and Assertiveness through Dance Choreography among Chinese School Children” was developed. The study recommends strengthening instructional strategies, institutional support, curriculum integration, guidance interventions, extracurricular dance activities, active student participation, and further research to maximize the educational benefits of dance choreography in fostering children's holistic development.