Environmental-Themed Creative Dance Creation in Elementary Teacher Education: Qualitative Case Study

Abstract

This study aims to explore the creation of environmental-themed creative dance in an elementary teacher education course. The study responds to the need for dance learning that moves beyond technical performance and provides pre-service elementary teachers with concrete experience in transforming environmental issues into artistic expression. Descriptive scoring was used to support a qualitative case-study design. Twenty-nine undergraduate students who were enrolled in a dance education course were split up into five groups. Process observation, creative process notes, product assessment rubrics, interviews, student reflections, and documentation of rehearsals and mini-performance events were all used to gather data over the course of seven meetings. The findings show that all groups created simple dances based on themes such as plastic waste, recycling, pollution, cleanliness, and environmental damage. Three groups achieved the very good category and two groups achieved the good category. The strongest aspects were theme relevance, message clarity, duration, and choreographic structure, while movement creativity, aesthetic refinement, and floor-pattern development required further improvement. The study concludes that environmental-themed creative dance can serve as an experiential pedagogical strategy for connecting environmental awareness, collaboration, and basic choreography skills in elementary teacher education.