Drama lessons in the Maltese public primary schools

Abstract

Before drama lessons were added to the curriculum, the only experience students had with drama in schools was either when they were preparing for the Nativity play or Prize day. The aim behind this dissertation is to investigate the drama teacher's experience of the drama lesson in Maltese public primary schools in order to deepen my knowledge of the structure of the drama lesson, consider the different teaching techniques and see how these are applied. I also want to examine the perceived benefits of having drama lessons in primary school. In the course of my research I also conducted semi-structured interviews with five Maltese drama teachers in primary schools, in order to understand better the way they experience the drama lesson. For the purpose of this dissertation I will be focusing only on the drama lesson that is held in public schools and thus no reference will be made to private schools, which also have their own drama lessons and which in certain cases are more integrated within the school curriculum. In the first chapter I discuss the definition of the term 'drama' in order to contextualize it in my research. I will also be discussing the Pioneers of Drama Pedagogy in order to set out the theories of this area of study. Finally I will lay out these theories against Drama Pedagogy in Malta. The second chapter gives a description of a drama lesson and analyses it in practical terms such as the appropriate space to conduct the lesson, planning a drama lesson and the suggested techniques to be used. The place and status of the drama lesson in the Maltese curriculum will also be analysed. During the interviews I questioned drama teachers about the drama lesson that takes place in state schools and their own perception of the drama curriculum. I will be underpinning the interviews with the theory developed in the first two chapters, in order to analyse the pedagogical process that are applied. My objective is to deepen the understanding of the way drama lessons are currently being held in public primary schools. The status of drama in the Maltese curriculum is not clear, because the subject itself has a very wide scope. I shall examine the ways the subject has been developed through the curriculum and teachers' practice Drama can be a beneficial subject to the curriculum and to children's education. However it can only be so if it is built with the right aims and objectives, with a curriculum that will aid these aims and objectives to be attained.