"Introduction: Institutionalized children are at risk in terms of their integration into society, as the lack of educational and financial resources hinders the development of their cognitive and non-cognitive skills. Sports activities contribute to the development of interests and influence the general education of the children, which can be stimulated through music and dance - the most representative artistic field that allows the psychomotor development of children. Objective: The aim of this study is to ascertain the differences between the institutionalized children and the dancers who come from families in terms of their interests and values. Materials and Methods: Fifty-five children aged 11-12 participated in the study, including 30 children in foster care who do not participate in organized extracurricular physical activities and 25 performance dancers who come from organized families. Results: The interest in the various activities in which children are asked to participate is more obvious in dancers, particularly from an artistic and social point of view, and children in foster care are preoccupied with free time and social relations, with authority being the least valued. Conclusions: The influence of dance on children’s development can be noticed in the results of the psychological tests assessing their interests and values, which suggest that dancers are more interested in extracurricular activities compared to children in foster care centers and they are more concerned about their future employment situation. Keywords. dance, interests, values, institutionalized children "

The paper aims to make a systematic analysis of the literature that addresses the relationship between dance and multiple intelligences in order to identify the main theoretical aspects that underpin the design and implementation of educational interventions for institutionalised children to learn dance. This category of children is a permanent concern for specialists in the field of education sciences who are interested in finding the most effective methods and means of training that can support the educational and institutional efforts for the social integration of these children. Following the review of the literature provided by the main databases, a correspondence was made between the types of intelligence described by Gardner (1983) and the effects of dance on these intelligence modalities. The bibliographic analysis had as organisational criteria: multiple intelligences, dance, children at risk and the effects of dance on their growth and development. The correlative analysis has revealed a number of dance characteristics susceptible to have a positive influence on different types of intelligence and can serve as benchmarks in the interdisciplinary design of dance activities in general and dancesport in particular. As a result, the theoretical model presented in this paper represents a methodological benchmark for the implementation of enhanced programmes for the personal development of institutionalised children and the creation of additional conditions for their school and social integration.

Introduction: Specialized studies mention that extracurricular activities (including dance) contribute to the stimulation of multiple intelligences, on whose development the educational process and academic success depend. The aims of the study were to investigate the benefits of dancesport for the development of institutionalized children’s learning strategies, and to examine gender-dependent differences in learning strategies, as well as to formulate possible recommendations regarding the practice of dance at the age of preadolescence, from the perspective of school success vectors. Methods: Through the School Motivation and Learning Strategies Inventory (SMALSI), we could observe the changes produced in children from the initial phase to the final assessment at the end of a dancesport program. The intervention took place over a period of six months with a frequency of two lessons per week, with each lesson lasting 60 min, and aimed to increase school motivation and performance, considering the learning strategies used by institutionalized children. Thirty institutionalized children, aged 11–12 years old, participated in the research, during which they did not engage in other extracurricular physical activities. The preadolescents were assessed using the School Motivation and Learning Strategies Inventory (SMALSI). This self-report rating scale measures nine areas associated with learning strategies, six of which focus on student strengths (study strategies, note-taking/listening skills, reading/comprehension strategies, writing/research skills, test-taking strategies, and time management/organization techniques), and three are aimed at student liabilities (low academic motivation, test anxiety, and concentration/attention difficulties). Results: The results show that the biggest improvements in the case of institutionalized children were recorded for study strategies, effectiveness of test-taking strategies, and concentration difficulties. Girls registered significantly better results than boys only in the case of study strategies and for writing/research skills (Mann–Whitney test was used). Discussion: The study demonstrates the benefits of dancesport practice for the development of institutionalized children’s learning strategies, creating a foundation for the improvement of their academic performance and school integration. Conclusions: At the end of the dance program, significant improvements in academic interest were observed due to the testing strategies used. Better results were also obtained for the scales of anxiety and difficulty concentrating during tests, where average scores decreased significantly.

Leisure motor activities are not a constant in the educational program of institutionalized children. In the context of several specialized studies suggesting that those who are raised in foster care have a slower or poorer physical development compared to those who grow up with their family, we have conducted a comparative study between a group of institutionalized children and a group of dancers, through which the level of motor development of the two categories could be established objectively. Given that dancesport is not yet used as a means of development and social integration for the children in orphanages, the purpose of this subject is to highlight the contribution of dancing to the psychomotor development of preadolescents. The results of the initial testing with the Optojump device indicate the effectiveness of dancesport in children from families. Thus, an intervention model was developed based on contents of dancesport, in order to stimulate the motor skills of institutionalized children. At the end of the research, significant differences were identified between the initial phase results and the final testing results.