BUILDING THE CREATIVE POTENTIALS OF THE ADOLESCENT: THE CREATIVE DRAMATISTICS APPROACH.

BUILDING THE CREATIVE POTENTIALS OF THE ADOLESCENT: THE CREATIVE DRAMATISTICS APPROACH.

ABSTRACT

The drama approach in child development offers a singular and valuable educational experience that incorporates feelings and emotions in a way that makes learning more efficient. It affords children the opportunity to learn about themselves and the wider world while shielding them from the negative outcomes that would typically occur in the scenarios they construct. The efficiency of educational theater in fostering positive relationships between kids has also been proven by research, and it has a significant positive impact on participants’ general awareness and self-confidence growth. Therefore, it may be claimed that dramatic education offers a safe manner of verifying identity and empowering children to tackle challenging social issues. This research was therefore conducted on building the creative potentials of adolescence using the creative drama approach. The population for this study consists of selected primary school children in Akwa Ibom State.  The research instrument which was used for this study is the questionnaire. The choice of this population was guided by the belief that the pupils are part of the primary targets of the selected play activities. A simple random sampling technique was used to select respondents for the study. This technique was chosen because it afforded every respondent equal opportunity of being part of the study population. The sample size for this study was 250 pupils randomly selected from the study area. However, the target was to administer 230 copies of the questionnaire but 250 copies were administered to give room for missing or botched copies.

BUILDING THE CREATIVE POTENTIALS OF THE ADOLESCENT: THE CREATIVE DRAMATICS APPROACH

 

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

  Background of the study

Children develop thinking and sensory learning through engagement with creative activities and they must be offered an opportunity to engage with their creativity in the early stages of their education (Chapman, 2008). Arnold (2011) and Bruce (2012) agree with this line of thought, implying that it is engagement with creative activities that promotes children’s developing abilities to think of new ideas, express them, identify issues and problem-solve.  Donahoe and Gaynor (2007) believe that activities that enhance creativity and imagination are what lead to children embracing divergent forms of thinking that in turn lead them to innovation through the processing of unique ideas and experiences.

In her contribution, Robinson (2001) argues that we do not grow into creativity, that it is present in early childhood and we are educated out of it. From all of these viewpoints, it is evident that engaging creativity in children is essentially an important milestone in the development of creative thinkers and innovators in adult life. Marzollo and Lloyd (2012) believe that if creativity is not engaged during the naturally creative childhood years that it is not something that can then be developed in later life. Bamford (2005) and Burke (2005) both write that the pleasure factor in creativity or children’s enjoyment of the creative experience is a key component in their learning and in the nurturing of their innate creative abilities with their desire to engage more and more with creativity and thus become more and more creative.

With our awareness of children’s natural creative ability, it then becomes crucial to engage them with creative teachers who would help them in their expression of this creativity and their social, mental, and academic development through the different domains of learning. Therefore, this study assesses the influence of teachers’ creativity in early childhood development.

The creative drama also emphasizes the physical need of a child. At the preschool level, children need activities that can strengthen their muscles. Aspects of physical development are very important in preschool because without strong physical development, children will have problems in doing activities such as holding a pencil or a brush to write and draw, involvement in sports, playing, handling musical instruments as well as handling equipment. Preschool education also provides learning opportunities to enhance motor skills and hand-eye coordination among these children. Besides that, it also element emphasize building physical self-care practices, environmental sanitation, and nutrition as well as personal safety as some situation may cause accidents and harm to the children (Darling-Churchill & Lippman, 2016). Through play, children are naturally able to use and learn to refine their gross and fine motor skills and coordination According to Heiniger “As children get older, they use their muscles in continually more complex ways, integrating large and fine muscle movements with visual perception (Gordon Biddle, Garcia-Nevarez, Roundtree Henderson, & Valero-Kerrick, 2014).

The purpose of Creative Drama, therefore, is to use the natural dramatic impulse to facilitate learning in an unlimited number of fields and areas, Children naturally act out their perceptions; try out roles, and play “pretend.” It is the primary way youngsters learn about their world. Creative Drama fosters personality growth and self-esteem. It can help children learn to work together and to think creatively. It is often a classic problem-solving exercise. It builds language and communication skills better than just about any other activity in school (often including English class). It promotes empathy by letting students step into others” shoes. It can also be used as a tool to teach any other subject if lessons are carefully designed.

The usage of creative drama can be beneficial if it is used to its maximum capacity. It’s a tool that can build a child’s social and emotional, physical, creative, and intellectual development. But having said that, children’s environment plays a big role as well in the child’s development. Without the support of teachers and families, the creative drama will not be delivered well into the children’s life (T. Bertrand, 2006)

Statement of the problem

Creative drama plays an important role in the healthy development of children of all ages. Creative drama for young children inherently offers effective means for enhancing all areas of children’s development. Interaction, cooperation, and negotiation during drama time support social and language development (Szecsi, 2012). Early childhood education is one platform where children can develop their physical, social, intellectual, emotional, and creative abilities. Through creative drama, children at this age are more receptive to exploring their ideas through colors and shapes and feed their curiosity and feelings towards arts, movement, music, and imaginative play.  When a creative drama activity is put in place, children learn to interact with their peers, discuss their imagination with one another, and express their ideas and feelings towards each other. All of this will then lead to children’s social and emotional, physical, and creative development – which is important for children to understand once they grow up and be one with the community.

Children will learn non-verbal and verbal communication through creative drama. Smilansky and Shefatya mentioned (as cited in Isenberg & Jalongo, 2017), school success largely depends on children’s ability to interact positively with their peers and adults.  With the help of creative drama activities, children can communicate better not only with their parents but to their peers. For example, when they are in a play, the need for them to discuss their ideas of a certain scenario (given) with their peers is necessary. How the scenario is going to be, the roles of each member in the group, the storyline of the play itself, and the process throughout with their teacher, are all important for language development. In her conference paper (Dahlgren, 2008), oral language is important for children in terms of information sharing, expressing feelings, and advice, persuading others, sharing ideas, remembering, and special situations. She also mentioned that it is important for children to develop their language to enrich their vocabulary in later years. Gestures, facial expressions, body contact, eye contact, personal space, and tone of voice are all examples of nonverbal communication (Biringen, 2017).

For meaning development to take place in any given society the education of the citizenry is considered to be of immense significance. This is particularly important about the youth who as usually considered the leaders of tomorrow. It is against this back of drop that this study sets out to examine the possibilities of building the creative potentials of the adolescent through the creative drama approach. This study among other considerations shall examine how and why drama is used for a child’s upbringing to determine the benefits derived from such an undertaking.

Aims and Objectives of the Study

This study aims at making clear, and vivid the virtual fact that drama is a viable medium through which the child can be conscientized and impacted with morals and values that will be of use to the child in the child’s everyday life. It will also reveal how the child can learn as well as absorb useful knowledge from their experiences in the theatre. The aim of this study will focus generally on how the child can grasp faster what he/she has been taught through conventional means.

Significance of the study

My major reason and intention for writing this project are to draw the attention of our leaders today to know the effectiveness and importance of drama and theatre activities in the lives of our young ones and their contributions to the growth and development of society.

Also to know the usefulness of theatre for young people in child’s development. Using the University Demonstration Secondary School as a case study.

I wish to inspire the use of this method and system of child development and education in other schools.

This project will go a long way to inspire the spirit of professionalism and the relationship between teachers and students in child-oriented activities. This work will contribute to the purpose of Drama and theatre practice as a tool for children’s development.

 

Finally, the findings of this study will serve as a database for future studies in the area.

Scope of the study

This study is concerned essentially with the benefit that can be derived from the practice of drama and theatre in the secondary school system.

In this regard, this research shall focus on the potency and effectiveness of using drama and theatre practice in bringing up children to be responsible members of society.

Definition of Terms

Children:
plural of a child is a human between the stages of birth and puberty otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority

Creative:
Having the power to cause to come into existence; originate, productive; constructive.

Drama:
A literary composition that tells a story, usually representing human conflict using dialog and action to be performed on the stage; a play.

BUILDING THE CREATIVE POTENTIALS OF THE ADOLESCENT: THE CREATIVE DRAMATISTICS APPROACH. GET MORE THEATRE ARTS PROJECT TOPICS AND MATERIALS

 

Sharing is caring!