Drama-based pedagogy for preschoolers: A narrative inquiry of Nepali educators

Abstract

Drama-based pedagogy has become a widespread approach in early childhood education worldwide. However, in the context of Nepal, drama-based pedagogy is a new concept in early childhood education, as conventional teaching is highly influential in pedagogical practices. This study explores the early-grade teachers' understanding of drama-based pedagogy, privileges, and challenges. This study subscribes to narrative inquiry as a method and social constructivism and experiential learning as theoretical referents to present the stories of two early-grade teachers of a private preschool in Lalitpur, Nepal, regarding their experience of knowing and using drama-based pedagogy in the classroom. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with the participants and analyzed using themes—drama-based pedagogy for conceptual-building, drama-based pedagogy for holistic development, and time constraints as a hindrance in drama-based pedagogy. The study argued that drama-based pedagogy supports holistic development and strong conceptual building in early graders. Thus, it enhances their cognitive, psychomotor, socioemotional, and language skills. However, this study also revealed that teachers find time constraints significantly hinder practising drama-based pedagogy. Despite the challenges, this study strongly recommends using drama-based pedagogy for meaningful engagement of early graders.

Keywords

• drama-based pedagogy
• early childhood
• roleplay
• narrative
• preschool teachers