The overview of kindergarten teachers’ professional development in drama education in China

ABSTRACT

Drama education was introduced to Chinese Early Childhood Education in the period between 2000 and 2010. Especially, in the past few years, it has grown enormously and attracted the Chinese Ministry of Education and scholars’ interests. However, previous studies have mostly focused on the use of drama education and the current situation but rarely looked into the professional development of kindergarten teachers in this new pedagogy. So, this research concentrates on presenting the current situation and challenges of Chinese kindergarten teachers’ professional development in drama education. Some suggestions are also provided for future attempts.

KEYWORDS:

• Drama education
• kindergarten teachers
• professional development
• China

In the 1980s, drama education which is a pedagogy originating from western countries was introduced to China. However, drama education did not receive much attention in the following years. Until the beginning of the twentieth century, when a platform was gradually built to encourage the development of drama education, with the Chinese Ministry of Education announcing a series of art policies. In October 2020, the Chinese government announced that ‘at the stage of Early Childhood Education, kindergarten should gradually promote drama and other art courses’ (Chinese Ministry of Education, 2020). This policy plays a key role in promoting drama education development in mainland China and a growing number of Chinese kindergarten teachers pay attention to applying western drama education theories to their practice.

In addition to the promotion of policies, Chinese scholars’ interest in drama education is another motivation to promote its development. After 2000, an increasing number of scholars translated English texts and published articles to introduce western theories and the use of the practice of drama education. For example, Professor Zhang Jin-Mei’s Ph.D. dissertation, ‘A Study of Drama-based Comprehensive Education in Kindergarten’, is a milestone and the first academic research of early childhood drama education in mainland China. She did action research with kindergarten teachers and introduced the idea that drama-based comprehensive education involves four procedures: choosing the themes, combining them with life experience and organising the drama activities and performances (Zhang 2003). In addition, in recent years, some Chinese scholars also published English articles on international platforms to show the development of drama education in mainland China. Chenchen Zeng’s research and Zhang Xiajing’s research were published on the RiDE in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Their articles illustrated the overview of the current development of drama education in China from government policies, private organisations of drama education, teachers’ practices and academic publications (Zeng 2019).

However, previous studies have mostly focused on the practice, challenge and history of drama education in China, but have rarely looked into the teachers’ professional qualities and development in the field of drama education. As an academic who specialises in drama education in Early Childhood Education and works at the university, I believe that teachers’ professional development in drama education plays a key role in the practice. On the one hand, I would like to illustrate the current situation of teachers’ professional training and describe the challenges in professional development depending on the field survey in the last year. On the other hand, I explore the reasons for these challenges and provide some suggestions for the future in my paper.

From September 2021 to September 2022, I chose three kindergartens that regarded drama education as characteristic of the curriculum for over five years as research settings. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and nonparticipant observation. First, I explored the means of professional development in drama education by interviewing all of the kindergarten teachers and observing their professional training in drama education in the kindergarten. Then, I asked kindergarten teachers what challenges they faced in training and what their needs for professional development in the future. I interviewed 88 kindergarten teachers and observed all the professional training about drama education in each kindergarten. The interview outline is as follows:

• When did you receive professional training in drama education?

• How should improvements be made to professional development in drama education?

• What are the challenges in professional development in drama education?

• What are your long-cherished wishes for professional development in drama education?

The outcomes show that 100 per cent of participants did not attend any drama educational courses or professional training before entering the workplace. All of the participants received professional training in this field post-initial teacher training. 95 per cent of participants did not hear about drama education before entering their recent workplaces. Drama education was a new pedagogy to them before they entered the workplace.

For example, Teacher 11 said: I have not heard of drama education before entering this kindergarten. I do not know what is drama education(T11-202204021).

Similarly, Teacher 20 who is a new teacher in this kindergarten said: I do not know what is drama education. I thought that I should teach children to act in a play (T56-20220604).

Just a few kindergarten teachers said they had an understanding of drama education before entering this workplace, such as Teacher 28 who said: The first time I came into contact with drama education was in my last workplace, but I did not have access to drama education in the university (T60-20220428).

Teachers in these kindergartens had access to professional development through vocational training in three ways. First, the kindergarten had a short-term partnership with private companies of drama education such as KIDS Drama (website here would be useful) in Shenzhen and Drama Rainbow in Beijing (website here would be useful). The kindergarten hired trainers from these private organisations to introduce theories about western drama education, conduct drama educational workshops and organise demonstration drama lessons for all teachers in the kindergarten. Second, the principles of kindergartens or senior kindergarten teachers participated in drama educational training or international conferences as representatives. After training and academic exchanges, they showed presentations or organised drama education training to introduce their thoughts to their colleagues. Third, some kindergartens invited scholars from universities to perform the presentation and provide directions about drama education for teachers. In one of the kindergartens, they invited a professor specialising in drama education in Early Childhood Education in Taiwan to develop a series of drama educational activities.

However, also many challenges were confronting drama education in teachers’ professional development. When I interviewed all the kindergarten teachers, I asked them what were their feelings about previous training in drama education. Firstly, more than 60% reflected that they were confused about theories of drama education. They said they did not have a great grasp of the history and theoretical basis of drama education in western countries. Many teachers said that they cannot distinguish the differences and similarities between various modes of drama education, such as ‘drama in education’, ‘development drama education’ and ‘creative drama’.

Teacher 45 said: I have not received a long systematic training about drama education in the university. Though I participated in the workshop about drama education many times, most of the workshops focus on practical teaching activities, and rarely introduce the theoretical part of drama education (T45-20220531).

Teacher 30 said: The main way of getting theoretical knowledge of drama education is by reading books or literature, but the knowledge is not systematic. So many times, I was very confused (T30-20211206).

Secondly, in many cases, these kindergarten teachers chose to copy trainers’ or scholars’ demonstration activities and designs of drama courses. Many teachers without drama backgrounds met some problems in designing drama education activities depending on the official guidance for children aged three to six years old though they have received short-term training in drama education. Finally, they also encountered some problems when they used various drama conventions flexibility. ‘teacher in role’ and ‘story circle’ were the most popular conventions. But, apart from these drama conventions, many kindergarten teachers did not have a deep understanding of other drama conventions. It is difficult for teachers to choose or even create drama conventions flexibly according to specific situations.

Teacher 71 said in the interview: Though I have attended some short-term training about drama education, I think it is difficult for me to design drama courses by myself, and I do not know how to use various conditions in my courses (T71-20220430).

Teacher 80 said: I just can’t cope with scholars’ demonstration designs of drama education, because I do not know how to design drama activities after attending short-term training (T80-20220521).

There are three reasons for these challenges in the kindergarten teachers’ professional development in drama education. One reason is that all kindergarten teachers have not attended systematic pre-service training. At present, drama education is not included in the Training Program of Early Childhood Education Majors at most Chinese normal universities, such as Northeast Normal University, East China Normal University and Nanjing Normal University. Recently, few Early Childhood Education researchers in universities majored in drama education, except Jin-Mei Zhang from Beijing Normal University (Zhuhai). In this way, most Chinese normal universities have not conducted drama education as a professional course in the faculty of Early Childhood Education, because it is difficult for them to invite experts. In addition, although an increasing number of private companies pay attention to drama education training for kindergarten teachers, most of them are money-oriented institutions. They focus on how to make much more money in a short time and fewer private companies can provide kindergarten long-term training with educational theory (Zhang 2021). In this way, it may be difficult for kindergarten teachers to improve their practice and skills through post-training (Chi, Belliveau, and Dong 2021). The third reason is because of COVID-19, the policies are strict in China to prevent the epidemic. The kindergarten is a gathering place, and the young children have weaker immune systems and so have little immunity. The local department of education prevented outsiders from entering kindergartens in the last three years. So it is difficult for kindergartens to keep stable and continuous cooperation with experts from universities. Take one of three kindergartens as an example, the professor majored in drama education from Taiwan cannot come to China and enter kindergarten to provide teachers with on-going professional support since 2020.

In conclusion, from the means and challenges of the professional development of drama education in Chinese kindergartens, we can see that most development models were short-term training programmes or international conferences. Chinese kindergarten teachers did not have opportunities to receive systematic long-term training to have a great grasp of knowledge in drama education and use drama education confidently in their classrooms.

So, in the future, it seems imperative for Chinese kindergarten teachers to have opportunities and access to systematic training to improve their professional qualities in drama education. First, from the perspective of pre-service preparation, we need to promote Early Childhood Education majors in Chinese normal universities to set up drama education courses for students. Higher education can provide these students who will be kindergarten teachers after graduating with systematic and comprehensive knowledge and strategies about western drama education. This may be rather helpful for them to apply drama strategies and conventions in their workplaces.

For example, Teacher 12 said: We really hope that we can receive long-term courses about drama education at the university because these courses are not only systematic and professional. In this way, we may have a higher theoretical foundation and practical abilities (T21-20210722).

Most private organisations of drama education focus on profit, but they may also play a key role in improving Chinese kindergarten teachers’ professional qualities in drama education. Some private organisations such as Dramababy in Beijing (website would be useful) invited foreign retired experts and trainers who had a diploma qualification in drama education. In this way, we encourage organisations to cooperate with universities. Private organisations provide practical experts, and universities support the theoretical foundation in drama education in the meantime. In this way, universities and colleges not only can make up for the shortage of experts but also drama training in private organisations may become more systematic and professional based on pursuing profits than before. So, theory and practice are combined and the professional development of drama education in Early Childhood Education becomes systematic.

In addition, for some in-service kindergarten teachers, ‘long-term’ after-school workshops may positively affect ‘non-drama’ teachers because the aim of after-school workshops is to equip the teachers with basic knowledge of drama education (Neelands and Goode 2000), including conventions and strategies of management to improve their professional development. With the gradual opening of the epidemic prevention policy in December 2022, cooperation between experts and kindergartens can be conducted continually. An increasing number of experts majoring in drama education should be invited to conduct stable long-term workshops for kindergarten teachers. But teachers’ volunteerism deserves special attention, so the pressure of job training cannot reduce their motivation. After kindergarten teachers with belief and sufficient knowledge of drama conventions, use drama independently with their regular activities for children. The top-down approach of professional development and telling kindergarten teachers what to do without engaging them in active learning is less likely to make sustainable changes in instruction. So, experts should provide kindergarten teachers with more places to experience what happens in a collaborative, dialogic professional development environment (Dawsona, Cawthonband, and Baker 2011). According to Madonna Stinson’s research experience in 2009, choosing co-planning or co-teaching as development models can let kindergarten teachers feel comfortable and confident to use drama strategies in their classrooms (Stinson 2009). In the co-planning development model, kindergarten teachers work with experts as co-planners. Experts discuss designs of drama education with kindergarten teachers and observe each other’s drama activities, to provide kindergarten teachers with more spaces and opportunities. So kindergarten teachers’ professional development in drama education may be improved in more flexible situations gradually, which helps them to use drama conventions in their classrooms comfortably, confidently and independently.

Disclosure statement

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