Abstract:

Social and emotional competencies have been identified as the main competencies to be addressed in school-age children (OECD, 2009; UNESCO, 2015). Many education professionals understand the need for social and emotional education of children (Elias, Zins, Weissberg, Frey, Greenberg, Haynes, Kessler, Schwab-Stone, & Shriver, 1997). These competencies contribute fundamentally not only to academic success, but also to other skills and abilities that promote a successful learning experience (Qualter, Davis, Keefer, Parker, Saklofske, Wigelsworth, Simmons & Stough, 2017). The European Parliament, in 2006, stressed that one of the key competences of education is the creative expression of ideas, experiences and emotions, indicating that this expression can take place through the performing arts, such as theatre. Drama Pedagogy Training (DPT) is a drama-based pedagogy that focuses on the development of creative and socio-emotional learning (SEL), rather than on the development of academic or artistic outcomes (Celume, Besançon, & Zenasni, 2019). The present study, available from august in Europe's Journal of Psychology, sought to see if DPT could help promote cognitive empathy and collaborative behaviour in 126 French children aged 9-10 years. The children were randomly assigned to an experimental group (DPT), a control group, and participated in the workshops for 6 weeks. In order to measure the impact of the DPT on the variables, the children were assessed using a mixed approach to collect quantitative and qualitative data. Post-test results showed significant differences on the higher variables in the group engaged in DPT. Analyses of the interviews showed that children liked the DPT most because it was linked to play and group activities, stating that their main learning was related to understanding emotions and communicating with others. Other effects of the type of school and the children's grade level will also be examined.

Keywords:

Socio-emotional competencies, creativity, children, drama, theatre, school.