Abstract
Spencer (2003, p. 3) warns us that, “imagination shrivels and shrinks if it is not nourished by the negotiations that occur between different dimensions of reality” and while drama educators have been keen advocates for, and facilitators of, the type of adult-structured drama experiences that offer children opportunities to explore these spaces, far less attention has been paid to the development of children’s imaginations, creativity and dramatic skills via child-structured dramatic play. This is especially the case for children in formal primary school settings, with Hadley (2002, p. 11) suggesting that play has become “ghettoised” within kindergarten and entry classrooms, out of the reach of older children for whom it is positioned as the binary opposite of work. This situation exists in spite of current efforts aimed at building a “creative class” (Florida, 2002, 2005), for play has become marginalized in these discussions, replaced by discourses focused on the development of creative products that can readily be assessed and shared.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Creaser, B. (1989). An examination of the four-year-old master dramatist. International Journal of Early Childhood Education, 21, 55–68.
Dunn, J. (2003). Enhancing dramatic activities in the early childhood years. In S. Wright (Ed.), The arts, young children and learning (pp. 211–229). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Dunn, J. (2008). Play, drama and literacy in the early years. In J. Marsh & E. Hallet (Eds.), Desirable literacies: Approaches to language and literacy in the early years (pp. 162–182). London: Paul Chapman.
Dunn, J., & Stinson, M. (2002). The dream-maker. Brisbane: Queensland Studies Authority.
Fein, G. (1987). Pretend play in childhood: An integrative view. Child Development, 52, 1095–1118.
Florida, R. (2002). The rise of the creative class. Christchurch, New Zealand: Hazard Press.
Florida, R. (2005). Cities and the creative class. New York: Routledge.
Goffman, E. (1974). Frame analysis: An essay on the organization of experience. New York: Harper and Row Publishers.
Guss, F. (2005a). Reconceptualizing play: Aesthetic self-definitions. Early Childhood, 6(3), 233–243.
Guss, F. (2005b). Dramatic playing beyond the theory of multiple intelligences. Research in Drama Education, 10(1), 43–54.
Hadley, E. (2002). Playful disruptions. Early Years, 22(1), 9–17.
Lobman, C. (2003). What should we create today? Improvisational teaching in play-based classrooms. Early Years, 23(2), 132–142.
Lofdahl, A. (2005). ‘The funeral’: A study of children’s shared meaning-making and its developmental significance. Early Years, 25(1), 5–16.
O’Neill, C. (1995). Drama worlds: A framework for process drama. Portsmouth, England: Heinemann.
O’Toole, J. (1992). The process of drama: Negotiating art and meaning. London: Routledge.
O’Toole, J., & Dunn, J. (2002). Pretending to learn: Helping children learn through drama. Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Education.
Rogers, S., & Evans, J. (2007). Rethinking role play in the reception class. Educational Research, 49(2), 153–167.
Sawyer, R. K. (2006). Explaining creativity: The science of human innovation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sobel, D. (1993). Children’s special places. Arizona, AZ: Zephyr Press.
Spencer, M. (2003). What more needs saying about imagination? Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 47(1), 106–113.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Sense Publishers
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Dunn, J. (2011). Child-Structured Socio-Dramatic Play and the Drama Educator. In: Schonmann, S. (eds) Key Concepts in Theatre/Drama Education. SensePublishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091-332-7_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091-332-7_5
Publisher Name: SensePublishers
Online ISBN: 978-94-6091-332-7
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)