Further investigations

From feeling inspired and intrigued by the concept of Emotional Intelligence (EI), and from the responses, so far, to my 'testing-the-water' questionnaire, I am still feeling very positive about trying to base my inquiry on whether there is any correlation between dance education and developing EI skills.
However, one of my main concerns has been 'does personality have a lot to do with Emotional Intelligence?'. For example, if I rate highly on areas such as openness and extraversion, and low on neuroticism - dimensions of the Big Five personality traits - am I already more Emotionally Intelligent as an individual than somebody with different personality traits, with or without the dance training?

Reading around the subject a little further I came across the following statement,

"Your personality is a result of your preferences, such as your inclination to introversion or extroversion. However, like IQ, personality can't be used to predict emotional intelligence... People often assume that certain traits (for example, extroversion) are associated with a higher EQ, but those who prefer to be with other people are no more emotionally intelligent than people who prefer to be alone. You can use your personality to assist in developing your EQ, but the latter isn't dependent on the former."
                                                                (Bradberry and Greaves, 2009, p.18)
 

If this is the case, which I hope further reading will help confirm or negate, then I feel that any inquiry I might undertake is more likely to stand alone in its validity as researching EI development in dance, rather than being muddied by the possible influence of personality.


References

Bradberry, T., & Greaves, J. (2009). Emotional Intelligence 2.0. TalentSmart.

Case study 1 - ethics

Reader 5 contains information around the topic of professional ethics and includes case studies from real-life and fictional situations. Already I have found that it raises some interesting and thought-provoking points about the nature of ethics and the level of responsibility that must be take to ensure that no harm is caused to anyone in the course of professional practice. Something that will be vital when pursuing my inquiry topic later on...

The diagram on page 4 of the Reader (see below) shows 'the ripple of effects from the personal right through both professional and organisational towards the society at large.' (Reader 5, p3)

                                                     Adapted from Reader 5 Professional Ethics
 
This diagram suggests that even the smallest of personal or professional ethical decisions can have a knock-on effect for the society at large and that professional and organisational codes of conduct or ethical practices can effect the individual practitioner as well as the wider world.
In the Reader it asks where the limits of responsibility lie, and from reading further and reflecting on what I've read I can begin to see that there are overlaps, with each context having the ability to affect others both in positive and negative ways.

In the first case study about the inquiry into standards of care at Stafford Hospital, this ripple effect is clearly seen working in two directions - both outwards (from personal to organisational) and inwards (from organisation to the individual) to create a dire set of consequences for patients at the hospital.

My immediate thoughts and notes, on reading the excerpt on page 5 (from The Guardian newspaper, 8th November 2010), were as follows:

1. Failings were seen at every level of ethical principles. From the individual practitioners through the hospital managers to the authorities and agencies in charge of monitoring.
2. Too many people 'in charge' with no-one actually keeping a strict eye on what was actually going on.
3. No-one wanting to accept responsibility for events for fear of losing jobs, not achieving targets, losing funding, etc.
4. Those who did raise concerns were ignored or made to feel like troublemakers.
5. Those at grass roots level stuck in a position of hopelessness due to insufficient support and staffing.
6. Hospitals now run as businesses not to provide a service, and the shift from people to figures has lead to less importance being placed on health care and instead being all about balancing budgets.

It could be said that the doctors and nurses should have raised their concerns more loudly and found ways to gain attention about what was going on. This could have lead to hospital managers being forced to take stronger measures to reduce such instances of neglect and mortality, which in turn would have alerted the relevant authorities to the possible need for greater support at local level and an awareness that these practices could be going on elsewhere.
This upward spiral of events does seem somewhat idealistic though...
How much influence can staff at grass roots level have on influencing the decisions of upper management? How can hospital management provide funding for better services when they have already been asked to make more cuts by their governing bodies?

I then went on to read some of the findings of the inquiry undertaken by Robert Francis QC, http://www.midstaffsinquiry.com/pressrelease.html, which confirmed some of my initial thoughts and opened up some new areas of thinking. However, what I found most shocking was my lack of surprise at what I was reading. Not that I didn't find it appalling or upsetting but that I was certainly not surprised at the things that had happened. Did anyone else feel like that?
With this in mind, my final thought for this blog is in the form of a question,

    Has the ripple effect lead to the creation of this lack of societal outrage at what
    goes on in some professions/ institutions? If so, isn't this perhaps the biggest ethical
    failing of all?

I think this module is going to be very, very interesting and challenging...

Task 4d

Having started thinking about my possible area of inquiry, and from looking at my previous reflections, my past experience and my future hopes, I have proposed the following award title:

BA Honours in Professional Practice (Dance Education)

I have written the rationale for this on my google drive ,which can be accessed via the following link - Proposal of award title

I'd really appreciate feedback from you, particularly as to whether you feel this title has taken into account my previous knowledge and learning and whether it is open enough to lead me to further development and career opportunities.

Thanks :)

Drawing parallels

Another google alert popped up in my inbox today and the lead article took me to a company called sixseconds. On their website they talk about the Six Seconds EQ Model, in which they have taken EQ theory (Goleman and others) and turned it into 'practice for your personal and professional life'  (http://www.6seconds.org/2010/01/27/the-six-seconds-eq-model/).

Watching the video clip and reading through the article I found myself drawing parallels between the sixseconds model and what goes on in the dance studio. Let me explain!

                                     Picture taken from www.sixseconds.org

The picture above gives the sixseconds three step cycle of developing Emotional Intelligence. The first stage is 'know yourself' and in the film clip Joshua Freeman talks about this stage as 'becoming self aware and noticing what is happening in you' (0.51). This immediately got me thinking about how, as dance students, there is a continuous process of learning to understand your own body - from the first days of being able to co-ordinate skips and point toes to the more complex physical and artistic development of the student dancer.
The second part of the cycle is 'choose yourself' and this he equates to 'being more intentional' and 'managing yourself' (0.57), which seems to me to be exactly what develops in a dancer as they continue through their training - knowing their bodies allows them to perform in a way that they intend to, to achieve whatever shape they desire their body to create or whatever emotion they are trying to express by having control over it all.
The last part of the cycle is 'give yourself', which involves 'vision and values' and 'empathy and connecting with others' (1.07). Isn't the ultimate goal of a dancer how to connect with their audience and how they make that audience feel - from the first smile of a Primary exam candidate to the professional dancer performing on stage/ television/ film?

So, by drawing these parallels I really feel that there could be something worth looking into regarding how dance education can develop EI skills. However, I've not found my way in as to how I might go about this as a topic for inquiry yet...any thoughts?

Task 4b

I've had the chance to read a lot of blogs since I've been back and have been really impressed by the brilliant ideas/ topics that people have been suggesting for their research.
I had been feeling much like the new girl at school, as everyone seems to have created really strong bonds whilst I was away, but it's been great to be able to join the Facebook page set up by Bobby Pingram as this has brought a lot of people with similar interests and ideas together and I hope now to be more involved in the discussions and idea-swapping.

Looking at the Reader it gives Task 4b as setting up your own SIG group, which I am happy to do but I feel that it might be setting one up that is similar to something that already exists.

Emily Hunt is interested in the psychological side of a dancer's mind, and both Bobby and Clare Orlandi are interested in topics such as self-esteem and student/ teacher relationships. I think that my area of interest also lies within the mental processes that can be encouraged and developed through dance so I hope there will be lots of opportunity for disscussion here.

I spent yesterday reading more articles/ papers on Emotional Intelligence but this time with its relation to dance education. The following article in particular inspired frantic journal scribbling:
http://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/f/S_Stinson_Reflections_1992.pdf

My rationale behind looking into Emotional Intelligence in dance comes from wanting to promote the benefits of dance as not just physical and musical development but also that it can encourage the development of self-esteem, self-awareness and awareness of others. However I am not sure exactly how my research in this area could be appproached so would welcome any thoughts and the opportunity to enter into further discussion. As Bobby said in her latest blog

It's funny but I've really found that hearing my own ideas spoken in other people's words has made me able to access that bit of clarity that seems to constantly be on the tip of my Tongue!!! (Pingram, B 2013)

Today I am going to start asking other education professionals (non-dance), that I have access to in my network, as to their thoughts on whether dance training has any benefit outside of the dance studio, with particular emphasis on the skills mentioned above. I hope it will be interesting to see how the wider educational field views dance and hope that whether I get positive or negative reactions it will give me a real relevance to any research that I might want to do.

Task 4a

In the Reader for this module it gives guidance about choosing a topic that 'extends and clarifies your professional knowledge' (Developing Lines of Professional Inquiry, p.3) and that the ultimate goal should be to 'explore a topic that will benefit your work and the work of colleagues and fellow professionals' (Developing Lines of Professional Inquiry, p.3). I've been thinking about this a lot whilst considering possible areas of inquiry.

Looking back over my journal entries for the last few weeks, as well as reviewing Module One blogs and topics, I have seen that most of my issues/ concerns/ questions revolve around the more emotional side of dance teaching. Examples include questions about developing motivation, self-confidence, self-expression, etc., or concerns over how there is often less importance attached to dance classes than other forms of education.
With this in mind I started to look for articles and existing research within these topic  areas and started on a journey that went from just seeing what was out there to becoming really involved in discovering more.

Where I am now leads me to the following thoughts:

1. How can dance teachers aid self-discovery and self-motivation in their students?
2. Does dance education develop skills that can aid school-based learning (and beyond)?
3. Does dance matter?
4. Is dance training just about the physical?
5. Is the dance studio a good representation of the real world?

My initial reaction to this is that they are all pretty much the same question but from differing perspectives...

I clearly feel strongly that dance is equally important to other forms of education and that, in fact, there may be skills that can be developed in dance that are neglected in the current education system. For this reason, I am drawn to my second point about dance being able to enhance learning in schools...
There seem to be many opinions today about how students leave school/ higher education without the skills to use their knowledge in real-life situations, and that they lack the abilities necessary to be successful in the work-place (interviews, dealing with others, motivation,etc.). If it can be suggested that dance develops these self-motivational and -awareness skills (amongst others) then it places a greater significance on the role of dance education in creating successful, motivated and (for want of a better phrase) well-balanced individuals who are more prepared for the real world.

I'd love to hear any thoughts you have as to whether there is something here that you think is worthwhile, or of interest...

S


References

(2013),"Emotional intelligence "wow" factor: Benefits of taking feelings into account", Development and Learning in Organizations, Vol. 27 Iss: 1 pp. 25 - 27. Available from:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14777281311291268 Accessed on 28th January 2013
Goleman, D (2000) "An EI-based theory of performance". In D. Goleman, & C. Cherniss (eds.), The Emotionally Intelligent Workplace: How to Select for, Measure, and Improve Emotional Intelligence in Individuals, Groups, and Organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Available from:
http://www.eiconsortium.org/reprints/ei_theory_performance.html
Accessed 4th February 2013.

Tarr, L (2005) "Student Success: Motivation in Middle School Students through Personal Development". Available from:
http://www.studentmindset.com/Article-Motivating-Middle-School-Students.pdf  Accessed 31st January 2013

Back in the harness...

It's been a long time since I posted but I haven't been hiding, just on a special trip with my father to celebrate his 70th birthday.

We got back yesterday from our cruise to Norway, and I'm excited to be back blogging again as I've been doing a lot of reading whilst away, of suggested texts and from articles and papers I have found whilst searching around the internet, and there is so much I want to share, discuss and get your opinions on!

I've taken about a million photos too, and will post some up on my flickr account over the weekend in case anyone is interested in seeing where I've been and what I've been doing...

Back real soon

S