Dance movement therapy and student learning and well-being in special education

Abstract

Dance movement therapy (DMT) is often applied to advance the education and development of children with special needs and intellectual disabilities. However, the relationship between DMT and contemporary educational theory, particularly the recently acknowledged link between learning and wellbeing has not yet been properly explicated. This chapter addresses this issue by examining how DMT programs in special education can contribute to student wellbeing and, therefore, learning. The practice of creative educational dance, the philosophy underpinning existential phenomenology and influential ideas from education on relational learning and constructivist pedagogies are discussed with regard to..