The research focuses on examining the use of the interpretation of works of art in pre-school education in three dimensions - the current state of the use of the interpretation of works of art, the opinions of kindergarten teachers on art, and the opportunities for kindergarten teachers to acquire knowledge about the theory and history of art in their undergraduate training or in other forms of education. The aim of the research was to determine a correlation between the aforementioned variables. 366 kindergarten teachers responded to the items of the self-constructed questionnaire. It has been proven that the current state of the use of the interpretation of works of art in pre-school education can be described as below average, the opportunities for kindergarten teachers to acquire knowledge from the theory and history of art in their pre-graduate training or in other forms of education were lower than average, and the opinions of kindergarten teachers on art can also be described as below average. There is a statistically significant positive correlation between the aforementioned dimensions of the interpretation of works of art in pre-school education. Keywords: empirical experience, kindergarten teacher, pre-school education, works of art

The research focuses on determining the opinions of kindergarten teachers on the issue of applying dramatic expression in preschool education within five dimensions - the current state of the use of dramatic art and dramatic expression through creative drama methods within preschool education, drawing ideas for working with a work of dramatic art, an assessment of the children’s interest in working with a work of dramatic art by the kindergarten teachers, the relationship of kindergarten teachers towards dramatic art, and the opportunities for kindergarten teachers to acquire knowledge of dramatic art and creative drama within their undergraduate training or other forms of education. 366 kindergarten teachers responded to the items of the self-constructed questionnaire. It has been shown that the current state of the use of dramatic art and dramatic expression through creative drama methods in preschool education can be described as slightly above average. The opportunities for kindergarten teachers to acquire knowledge of dramatic art and creative drama in their undergraduate training or other forms of education were below average. The relationship of kindergarten teachers towards dramatic art can also be described as lower than average. The research clearly confirmed that the opportunities for acquiring knowledge from dramatic art and creative drama statistically significantly positively predict the relationship of kindergarten teachers towards dramatic art. Likewise, it was confirmed that the relationship of kindergarten teachers towards dramatic art statistically significantly positively predicts the use of works of dramatic art through creative drama methods in preschool education.

Creative drama has great potential and its implementation in education from pre-school education requires research, as evidenced by the number of scientific studies that have been registered in international research databases over the last ten years. The aim of the research was to examine the use of creative drama methods within kindergartens in Slovakia from the perspective of the kindergarten teaching staff (teachers and teaching assistants). A quantitative research design was used. 407 kindergarten teaching staff responded to the items of the questionnaire of the authors' construction. From the results of the research, it is possible to state that there is an average level of knowledge of creative drama among kindergarten teaching staff (based on their self-reflection). Furthermore, based on the self-reflection of the teaching staff, it can be stated that there are below-average opportunities for their education in the area of creative drama and a below-average level of using creative drama methods in kindergartens. Nevertheless, the status of the use of creative drama methods has improved over the last 10 years. The results of the research are a stimulus for further research - analysis of the responses of the teaching staff in terms of their age and pedagogical practice in order to estimate the development of the current state of using creative drama in kindergartens. Keywords: creative drama, creative drama methods, kindergarten teacher, teaching assistant, preschool education

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In the past years, numerous efforts for reformation of the traditional education system were witnessed in connection with changes in society. The educational process needs to be organized in a way which ensures individual development of a person to a full extent of his or her capabilities in order to prepare him or her for the best possible integration into society. Pre-primary education is an important milestone in the education of children who are spontaneous in their actions and communication. This paper focuses on the use of a creative drama which uses experiential and cooperative teaching during creative activities which enhance the development of child's personality. Creative drama represents learning through experience and emphasizes the individuality of every person. Drama activities create space for gaining new experience and active participation in various creative drama situations.