Table Of ContentDOCUMENT RESUME
CS 508 621
ED 372 427
Ward, Cynthia
AUTHOR
Art in the Elementary Schools: It's More Than
TITLE
Fingerpainting.
PUB DATE
94
49p.; Research Project, University of Virginia.
NOTE
Research/Technical (143)
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Blacks; Crass Activities; Classroom Research;
DESCRIPTORS
Communication Research; *Cultural Activities;
*Elementary School Students; *Grade 1; Primary
Education; Production Techniques; Self Concept
Measures; *Self Esteem; Sex Differences; *Theater
\rts
Drama in Education
IDENTIFIERS
ABSTRACT
A study.examined the process of putting together a
class play and assessed how the performance of the play affected the
self-esteem of a first-grade class. Subje,cts, 21 students
representing diverse demographic factors, completed two self-esteem
measures (a self-evaluation instrument and an interview) before and
after the theater production. Over a 2-week period, the students cast
the parts, made the props and invitations, studied theatrical
vocabulary, memorized their lines (each student had a speaking part),
mastered the elements of theater-like expression, conducted a dress
rehearsal, and performed the play for other first-grade classes and
for parents. Results indicated that, as measured by both instruments:
(1) the self-esteem of the Afro-American students increased after the
production, but not to an extent greater than the increase in
(2) the self-esteem of female
self-esteem of the white students;
students rose more than that of the male students; and (3) the
self-esteem of the class as a whole rose. (Contains 54 references and
data.) (RS)
2 tables
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C
ra
ART IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS:
IT'S MORE THAN FINGERPAINTING
First Graders' Self-Esteem
A Study of Theater Art's Effect on
University of Virginia
Curry School of Education
Spring 1994
(Marilyn Cook, Supervisor)
by Cynthia Ward
U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Reading primers, rote drill and practice, dunce capped
students sitting in the corner...in today's society these
As schools
educational techniques are basically obsolete.
understandably make such tools and procedures a thing of the
past, they continue to search for new, innovative, effective ways
of enriching and completing the education of America's youth.
Theater art is beginning to break ground as one such tactic.
More and more, teachers are using theater in their classrooms
and, in doing so, are wearing the hats of director, producer,
The small scale on which theater art
script writer, and caster.
is really used, though, may be attributed to the teachers'
As teachers understand the
unfamiliarity with these roles.
using drama
benefits of theater art, they may become more open to
in the classroom.
Schools will only welcome theater art as an integrated part
instrument has
of the curriculum when its value as an educational
To gain validity as an educational instrument,
been ascertained.
As this paper
theater art must promote academic achievement.
achievement is
later documents, a known contributor to academic
"Young children feel smart as long as ',they
high self-esteem.
(Nicholls &
feel they are mastering tasks or making progress."
"Self-esteem might be thought of as the sine qua
Miller, 1984)
The importance of high self-
non of the healthy personality.
1.
3
esteem simply cannot be overstated," says Kohn. (1986)
The purpose of this study is to examine the process of
putting together a class play and then to assess how the
performance of the play affects the self-esteem of a first grade
The hypothesis for this study is that total immersion in
class.
theater art will raise the self-esteem of the first-graders.
The treatment involves all phases of a class play's
the casting of parts; the
production by first grade students:
making of the props and invitations; the study of theatrical
vocabulary; the memorization of lines; the mastering of elements
inflection, and
of theater like expression, volume, movement,
positioning; the dress rehearsals; and the final performance for
The measuring device used
other first grade classes and parents.
for gauging self-esteem is made up two complementary parts, as
explained in Chapter Three.
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
powerful
The body of research on this topic carries some
Self-esteem, defined by Webster's New Collegiate
implications.
self
Dictionary as "a confidence and satisfaction in oneself;
contributor to
respect," is indeed confirmed as a central
Maslow observed that
students' academic achievement.
"satisfaction of the self esteem need leads to feelings of self-
2
confidence, worth, strength, capability, and adequacy, of being
Accordingly, in an effort to
useful and necessary." (1970)
resolve theater art as a viable way of elevating self-esteem,
projects currently involving theater art in classrooms call for
evaluation.
Traditionally, theater art in public school systems from
Philadelphia to rural Alabama (Cohen, 1981), from California to
cosmopolitan New
West Virginia (Binder, 1989), from Indiana to
extremely
York (Moriarty, 1988) have been limited to either
exiled to
gifted (UMI, 1990) or, contrarily, disabled students;
either summer (Lamb, 1988) or Saturday enrichment programs
(Davidowitz, 1988); acted out either by thimble puppets and
marionettes (Adams, 1984) or advanced high school students
Typically, the programs are restricted to
(Moore, 1988).
extracirricular activities, allotted only a meager portion of
For students
students' already stretched out and divided time.
in through
with too much free time on their hands, drama steps
Council, 1989)
the door of Latchkey programs. (Los Angeles City
fire, as evaluators ask
Even these "filler" programs come under
it worth the
despairingly, "Drama for troubled young people...is
fight?" (Pearson-Davis, 1988)
of the
When theater does earn a place within the four walls
benefit, raising the
elementary school classroom, its greatest
sometimes sadly buried
self-estsem of the students involved, is
These causes are not un-
under a mass of academic causes.
secondary
admirable, but improvements in academics is actually a
3
5
repercussion of theater art, after the improvements in self
Once the child's self-concept has been formed
esteem are made.
and the confidence in his or her abilities fortified, then the
academics will readily follow. (Marsh, Byrne, & Shavelson, 1988)
academic
If theater art is expected to immediately jump-start
improvement, theater art's real power as a catalyst for a child's
self-esteem is lost.
The occasional classroom does allude to self-esteem as an
objective of theater art, but often this occurs in a context that
superfluity.
smothers its essence under a blanket of academic
Children
The National Association for the Education of Young
self-esteem as the direct
comes the closest to pinpointing
with
benefit of theater art, though still intertwining it
effective
academic baggage, by stating that drama is "a highly
physical, and
tool in the development of social, emotional,
that
cognitive abilities...the four categories of development
1988)
early childhood curriculum should address." (Brown,
theater art
Directly correlating self-esteem improvements to
Some
verifies self-esteem as a basis for theater programs.
chief outcome
educators come close to naming self-esteem as the
"nurtures and
of theater art by asserting that theater art
Without a more
develops both individual and group icills."
skills it
specific connection between tilleater art and the
what definitive
develops, though, one is still left to wondek
Self-esteem is the
factor underlies the gain in these skills.
unmentioned bridge of this gap.
4
Self-esteem is a known contributor to academic success.
A number of studies documenting its impact on
(Revicki, 1982)
"Research
students performances leave little room for doubt.
indicates that children with more stable self-concepts have a
ability and perform better
more accurate grasp of their academic
School systems continue their
academically." (Moeller, 1993)
children's self-
attempts to act on this, and "clearly, raising
(Moeller)
esteem has become a high priority item for educators."
is
Theater art's responsibility for this self-esteem
surprisingly unsubstantiated in the context of the inclusive
Looking at success stories of
elementary school classroom.
independent theater art organizations founded on attempts to
improve students' self-esteem leads one to question the
envirunment.
separation of theater art from the public school
Descriptions of these examples testify to their success.
begun in
City Hearts, a community based program in Los Angeles
children to the elderly.
January of 1985, uses theater to link
develops self-esteem,
In this setting, "involvement in the arts
reconnect the
confidence, and discipline in children and helps
Comments of participants in
elderly to society." (Mehuron, 1990)
clearly
Gateway II, a South Carolina theater arts program,
exhibit an abundance of self-esteem gleaned from the program.
You feel
They care about us.
"The artists make you feel good.
Programs such as these need not
so good." (Karges-Bone, 1990)
during off-
exist either apart from schools geographically or
They prove that theater art can build self-
hours time wise.
5
7
esteem in students and so they legitimize the installation of
theater arts programs in America's public schools.
While a fair number of schools in the United States do
to side-step
espouse minimal programs for theater art, they seem
Unfortunately, the limited
self-esteem as a primary objective.
(Hayes,
objectives of "improving verbal communication skills"
1989) and "helping kids retain story plots" (Knipping, 1993) do
Too frequently,
not address the "whole-person" of the student.
singular
schools base their entire theater art programs on such
True, "drama encourages a reflective awareness of
objectives.
language...and facilitates linguistic and cognitive process,"
but drama's capability of improving students'
(Verriour, 1986)
the
self-images and performances extends beyond the boundaries of
Lacking the all-encompassing practicality
language arts program.
that a marks a self-esteem oriented program, these programs
thereof)
essentially miss the boat in their application (or lack
Rather than jumping immediately from drama to
of theater art.
self-
chosen content area, a theater art program built namely on
to achieve in
esteem development can in turn empower its students
any discipline.
intelligences
Schools which have used Gardner's (1983) seven
succeeded in
have found that many more of their students have
(Ellison, 1992;
curriculum modeled around these ways of knowing.
These intelligences are:
Hoerr, 1992,
(self-confidence)
- Intra-interpersonal
(relationships)
- Inter-personal
6
8
writing, speaking)
- Linguistic (reading,
visual, problem solving)
- Logical-mathematical (math,
geometry)
- Spatial (visual arts,
coordination)
- Body-kinesthetic (dance,
instrumental)
- Musical (vocal,
Logical-
Whereas most schools emphasize only the Linguistic and
mathematical areas typically stressed by standardized tests
(Hoerr), schools that incorporate theater art can treat all seven
of the intelligences through the production of a play.
The format of a theater art curriculum concurs with the
who
research of Aronson, Blaney, Stephan, Sikes and Snapp
discovered that self-esteem was affected in a positive manner
learning.
when children engaged in group rather than individual
Their studies found that children with low self-esteem
(1978)
gained the most by learning in collaboration with others.
addressing the
Gardner (1983) gives another good reason for
the racial
interpersonal intelligences of very young children:
in such a
prejudice and intolerance that influence our society
Currently,
destructive way commands the attention of educators.
multicultural education which theater
some schools incorporate
self-esteem of minority
art can magnify and which can enhance the
children. (Eisner, 1993)
in its
Thus, as a theater arts program builds self-esteem
build academic
students, it becomes a foundation upon which to
their students'
Some schools do directly approach
conquests.
7
lack of self-esteem by supplying a theater art program to
Sadly, though, they restrict
specifically target this need.
their efforts to the physically handicapped (Crain, 1989),
mentally disabled (Miller, Rynders, & Schleien, 1993), or
These
severely emotionally disturbed sthdents. (Malmgren, 1985)
after years and years of
are usually older students, spot-lighted
"burdensome" attendance in their districts. (Postman, 1990)
Middle or high school students selected for their already
full-blown identity crises are common recipients of such
Theater art is then a post-
programs' energies. (Harland, 1990)
Such is also the
intervention, rather than a proactive method.
intended to remedy
case in schools boasting theater art programs
(Mooneyhan,
the language barriers of ESL (Saldana, 1992) and deaf
As restricted as these theater art programs may
1992) students.
in one
be, they help mainstream elementary school students
they are windows through which educators can
important way:
children's self-
witness the positive impact of theater art on
esteem.
battles and
Theater arts programs face non-stop funding
Enduring such a barrage of
incessant doubting of their worth.
direct
persecution leaves theater art proponents craving a more
An investigation of
verification of its value. (Goldberg, 1982)
which
active theater arts programs reveals that the schools
required to project a
experience success with their programs are
For example, members of
constant rationalization of their merit.
of America, continually
CTAA, or Children's Theatre Association
8
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