Movement and Emotions in Higher Education

This study presents a mixed measurement study that assesses and identifies the contribution of movement activities to the development of Emotional Intelligence amongst students. A semester course, grounded in the SDM (‘Sherborne Developmental Movement’) theory, was integrated in the curriculum of the Education Department at the Tel Hai Academic College in Northern Israel. It focuses on students’ awareness of the significance of movement in education, and aims to provide a basic framework for developing theoretical concepts in teaching movement in early childhood education. The main teaching methods are experiential, based on theory review and research, as well as practical experiencing in movement with young children. Participants are first and second year B.A. students in the Education Department. Based on previous studies (Tilstone, 1998, Weis & Arnesen, 2007), we assumed that experiencing SDM will contribute to the modification of emotional intelligence amongst participants, consequently contributing to student learning and teaching processes. Research findings indicated that SDM activities contributed to the development of emotional intelligence competencies. Qualitative results suggest that the experience of movement contributed to students` perception and expression of self-emotional states, self-emotional integration and facilitation, emotional understanding and reasoning, and self-emotional management. Quantitative data indicated a change in the correlations from pre- to post-program between the emotional Intelligence scales, highlighting the significant correlations between Regulation and Management of emotions in post-phase. Finally, a parallel process was identified between SDM stages and emotional intelligence competencies.