Drama in Education for Sustainable Development: Preservice Preschool Teachers on Stage

Abstract

Early childhood education for sustainable development roots on environmental, socio-cultural and economic ground for encouraging lifelong learning and improving values and behaviors that support sustainable development such as use of natural resources, cultural awareness, gender equality, and democracy. Educational drama contributes to the development of skills necessary for sustainable development such as communication, cooperation and decision-making. This study has two main objectives: the former is to raise awareness and to develop these skills of pre-service teachers by organizing drama activities in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD); the later objective is to implement and to evaluate the activities based on the data collected from pre-service teachers and from one specific pre-school teacher, in whose classroom these activities were carried out. Phenomenographic approach was adapted for the current study and the data was collected through interviews, photos, and field notes. The study shows that the drama activities increase awareness and improve skills for ESD within pre-service teachers. Furthermore, opinions and experiences of the pre-service teachers and the preschool teacher state that drama has positive impact on learning of pre-school children about sustainable development.

Drama/Theatre Performance in Education through the Use of Digital Technologies for Enhancing Students’ Sustainability Awareness: A Literature Review

“…The majority of empirical studies (n = 8) created practice-led research, merely based on a case study methodological approach to produce data of qualitative nature, for example [46,47], either small-scale case studies [48] or larger-scale case studies methodologies [47]. Most of the articles developed and relied on a case study methodology, for example [4,49], and used semi-structured interviews for producing interpretative qualitative data feedback [37].…”

“…Researchers have begun to analyze students' positive attitudes towards the application of digital drama according to the current literature [46,51,52,56]. In a case study, students provide a positive indication of the digital drama in achieving many social skills, like team spirit, interpersonal communication, ability to coordinate, empathy, emotional intelligence, and conflict resolution aptitudes, elements practical at the workplace [68].…”

“…The results of this study show the importance of implementing technology tools and resources in drama education since it has gained momentum during the pandemic and the metacovid period. But sustainability awareness should be raised among teachers too, with the aim of preparing, designing, and organizing proper drama activities that will promote sustainable consciousness of students in their institutions for their future occupational lives [46]. Both drama teachers and students deal with the potential of investigating sustainable issues through creating dramatic contexts, and this perspective may activate the values necessitated for a prosperous, sustainable future.…”

Investigating Sustainable Education and Positive Psychology Interventions in Schools Towards Achievement of Sustainable Happiness and Wellbeing for 21st Century Pedagogy and Curriculum

“…As a result, we are not successfully training teachers to model and practise sustainability, despite the availability of a wealth of good sustainability education resources (34). Because environmental education is commonly viewed and taught as an academic discipline, many of our educational establishments fail to offer students with the hands-on experiences necessary to lead environmentally sustainable lifestyles (35). For both students and teachers, formal education has lost the opportunity to encourage critical thinking about happiness and sustainability (36).…”

A Systematic Review of Curriculum Sustainability at University: A Key Challenge for Improving the Professional Development of Teachers of the Future

“…On the other hand, another of the most relevant themes had to do with creating competent teachers who are capable of acting, are critical in education for sustainable development and act as role models [29,38,39]. This involves teachers with skills, values, attitudes and dispositions towards students that lead to both personal and social transformation [40,41].…”