Education in and by rhythm: Exploring holistic experiences in Dalcroze pedagogy

Holistic education seeks to engage students intellectually, physically, spiritually, and emotionally, and to build connections between the student’s inner and outer worlds. Dalcroze Eurhythmics is an approach to music education that uses movement to teach musical concepts in a socially interactive setting. Jaques-Dalcroze developed a system of rhythmic training to provide a foundation for later musical studies; his méthode also provides students with increased awareness of self and of social and spatial relationships and interactions. This dissertation investigates holistic education as it occurs in Dalcroze pedagogy. Five Dalcroze teachers and students with varying levels of experience were asked to consider and express holistic learning experiences they encountered when participating in Dalcroze classes. The data is developed and portrayed as narratives, guided by the qualitative research philosophies of Beattie, Eisner, and Clandinin and Connelly. The ensuing discussion explores emergent themes that illustrate holistic aspects of the participants’ lived experiences. Dominant themes include: community, global education, mindfulness, transformational learning, creativity, personal connections, and emotional involvement.

Department dc:contributor.department

Curriculum, Teaching and Learning

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Dutton, Sharon Elizabeth

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Miller, John P

• Dalcroze pedagogy
• eurhythmics
• holistic education
• music education
• spirituality in education

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1807/70923

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:utoronto.scholaris.ca:1807/70923