Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Award Date

1969

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department / School

Physical Education

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to establish the scientific authenticity of the Dvorak evaluation test of fundamental locomotor movement for beginners in modern dance. Since Dvorak accepted content validity, reliability and objectivity of the evaluation device were investigated and norms developed. The following procedures were employed. In addition to reviewing the literature, the investigator wrote to 22 college and university instructors to obtain information as to the availability of locomotor skills tests for modern dance. From the 12 responses received, no valid test was found. Seventeen colleges and universities were contacted asking for their participation in the study. From three institutions, 153 modern dance beginners participated in the study. The scores for the modern dance beginners were obtained as they performed the six-item locomotor skill test devised by Dvorak. The subjects were tested in groups of two while being subjectively evaluated by judges using a five-point rating scale. A total of 19 judges rated the 153 subjects. The same test was administered to each group twice, with a two-day interval between the test-retest periods. The data were subjected to analysis of variance and analyzed in the following three groups: experienced judges, additional judges, and a combination of the two. The correlation coefficient was computed for day-to-day variation of scores for each test item and individual test item means were calculated. All data were processed through an electronic computer. The findings of this study indicated that the Dvorak subjective evaluation of fundamental locomotor movement discriminated significantly (P < .01) between students. All test items were fairly reliable for group use ranging from .68 to .77. Norms were established for each item. The test could not be scored objectively by the judges used in this study. Generalizations made by the writer, concerning the Dvorak evaluation, include the following: (1) It appears that the test devised for use at South Dakota State University by Dvorak could be used by other college and university instructors for modern dance. (2) It would appear that the test is economical to administer and practical for use in modern dance classes as an aid in evaluating the skills of beginning modern dance students, as 25 students can be tested in a fifty-minute class period. (3) It would appear that if a teacher of modern dance did not wish to use the entire test, items could be selected from the test, since a norm and. a reliability coefficient are available, for each item. (4) It appears that further research is needed in the scoring of the Dvorak test.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Modern Dance -- Study and teaching

Format

application/pdf

Number of Pages

67

Publisher

South Dakota State University

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