GREEK PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS ABOUT USING DRAMA-BASED ACTIVITIES IN THE CONTEXT OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

This paper aims at presenting a part of the results of a questionnaire-based study conducted in 2016-2017 with the participation of 330 Greek primary school teachers who had developed Environmental Education Programs in their schools in Athens and its suburbs in Greece. One of the specific aims of the questionnaire was to explore teachers' perceptions about the use of drama-based activities as a means of enhancing, supporting and developing Environmental Education’s multilayered objectives, expected students’ cognitive, kinetic, aesthetic, and socio-affective skills, and potential learning and behavioral outcomes. The participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire comprising 49 close-ended questions. Eleven of these questions specifically examined teachers’ perceptions about the benefits of drama-based activities and their contribution to students’ personality development as regards sensitivity, determination, commitment and knowledge on environmental issues.

The conclusions of the survey show that the frequency and the effectiveness of the use of drama-based activities in the context of implementation of environmental education programs in the classroom is related to teachers’ training or lack of training regarding Environmental Education, the opportunities provided by the official Curricula for collaborative work with other teachers on issues related to global, national or local environmental problems, as well as the alternativeness and ingenuity of instructional methods teachers usually implement to help students develop sensitivity, alertness and awareness on environmental issues.