Transforming struggling reform implementers into effectual reform agents: Hong Kong preschool teachers’ voices on process drama

ABSTRACT

Hong Kong preschool teachers have long been portrayed as ineffective reform implementers entrenched in the Confucian educational practices. This study, conducted in an award-winning drama partnership, solicits nineteen teachers’ voices on their first-hand experiences in using process drama for curriculum and pedagogical innovation. Based on Bakhtin’s voice theory and thematic analysis, the study identifies various kinds of teacher-reported benefits of this western educational borrowing, ranging from teaching capacity building, perceptual changes concerning childhood and teachers’ role, to personal wellbeing enhancement. Unlike previous studies, these findings represent teachers as effective implementers of process drama and active agents of education reform.

Acknowledgments

Heartfelt thanks and appreciations to all the teachers who participated in DPP and this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

¹ Key interview questions:

What are your basic views of using process drama in your daily teaching? How would you describe your everyday teaching practices?

What are your basic beliefs of quality teaching in early childhood education?

How is process drama applied in your school-based curriculum and daily teaching practices?

What are the benefits of using process drama to your teaching, children and school curriculum?

Are there any changes in your teaching and school-curriculum after introducing process drama?

What are the difficulties in using or integrating process drama into your school-based curriculum and everyday teaching?