Dance lessons

Issue 20 | Spring/Summer 2007

Report: John Watts
Photography: Paul Phillipson

Year Nine is the danger year in secondary school, with about one in four students opting to drop out -- a higher proportion than at any other time of schooling.

Education experts at Monash University are studying an unconventional method of keeping 'at risk' and disadvantaged students at school.

The power of theatre, dance and music to reach young 'at risk' students is well documented, but what has been lacking is an understanding of how to incorporate these elements in the school curriculum in order to keep young people engaged.

One of Dr Hickey-Moody's students

Education academic Dr Anna Hickey-Moody wants to change that.

Her project will determine ways in which students' cultural backgrounds reflect their choice of creative arts activities and establishing what the connections are between learning experiences in creative arts classes and other curriculum units.

The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show while national school retention rates from Years 7-12 improved slightly from 75 to 79 per cent between 1991 and 2006, many schools can still struggle to keep students interested in the traditional curriculum.

"Current research shows that Year 9 students are among the most at risk of losing interest in school," Dr Hickey-Moody said. "It is then that students' learning is inclined to plateau and, as such, it is critical that interest in school and the curriculum is fostered around this stage of educational development.

"While disengaged middle-secondary year students do not necessarily leave school straight away, this period in their educational experience is recognised as a key year of potential disengagement that can lead on to lack of interest in school."

As part of her research, Dr Hickey-Moody will work with three separate groups of young people across suburban and country Victoria.

"These three research sites present diverse social demographics and sets of social issues, which variously affect young people's engagement with educational systems, places of employment, relationships with peers and family," she said.

Some of her work is with a Sudanese community, based in the predominantly working-class Melbourne suburb of Braybrook.

"I have designed and taught weekly dance classes as part of the community education curriculum. These programs have included hiphop dance for boys, where I brought together traditional dance styles from the Sudan and popular North American hip-hop."

Her program also included a dance workshop for young women that focused on self-esteem and athleticism, combining gymnastics, lifts, traditional Egyptian dance moves and dance styles sourced from contemporary music videos.

Dr Hickey-Moody has developed similar programs at a Melbourne secondary college renowned for its role in nurturing Koori students. For the past 18 months she has conducted creative arts-based workshops at the school with targeted Year 10 dance students.

Students were involved in making visual diaries, a photography project based on dance, short films, dance choreography, and focus groups on how creativity informs students' futures.

The third research project will be conducted in a rural setting near the Gippsland campus of Monash University and will entail a dance and visual art program for young people living in Churchill, and the nearby towns of Morwell, Traralgon and Moe.

It's only early days, but Dr Hickey-Moody says the signs are encouraging.

"The creative arts programs I have designed or have been involved with are about skills building and subjective development," she said.

"Students will do dance because it allows them to work in ways they are proud of; ways they feel they often have control over.

"Facilitating learning experiences such as these not only boosts students' morale and offers them a positive learning experience, it also solidifies a positive sense of self that extends beyond formal schooling."

For further information, visit the Education faculty website.