Four Literacy Practices roled into One: Drama and Early Childhood Literacies

Abstract

Drama: Undervalued and Underused The literature on process drama and its use as an effective pedagogical strategy is both extensive and convincing (see, for example, Bolton, Morgan & Saxton, Warren). However, so far, it has not convinced a majority of educators to employ drama in the primary school classroom on a regular basis. This is particularly true of early childhood classrooms, where, it can be argued, it is more appropriate than any other learning and teaching strategy. Although some states in Australia have drama as part of the mandatory curriculum for primary schools, there is evidence to show that it is not generally taught as a subject discipline or used as a learning and teaching strategy. The need for further evidence of drama's value continues to drive committed drama educators to research and explain this much under-rated subject and pedagogy. Dramas value as a learning and teaching strategy is a driving concern of this article. The article characterises drama as a 'productive pedagogy' promoting quality student learning on four essential dimensions. At a time when the spotlight is on the quality of teaching as a determining factor in many children's success in literacy and in schooling in general, the productive pedagogy framework provides critical guidance in how we might achieve excellence in teaching. In relation to specific curriculum content, the paper focuses on the use of drama in early childhood to extend students' literacy learning into four kinds of literacy practices that constitute effective literacy. The work of Luke and Freebody is used here as the basis for discussion of literacy