Educational Research AY2016/2017

This paper argues that Drama in Education (D.I.E) is a valuable pedagogy, specifically in the teaching of moral education. Research has shown the usefulness of drama to enhance learning but a paucity in local research called for this study. A qualitative study involved two teachers from a primary school located in the East region of Singapore, who used drama pedagogy in their Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) classrooms. Analysis of lesson observations and transcripts of teacher and student interviews with the researcher demonstrated the effectiveness of using drama pedagogy. It is found that students developed greater engagement (affective) and participation (cognitive) with the use of drama. Although it is noticed that language proficiency is pivotal in drama pedagogy as students need communicative skills to express themselves, students’ recorded responses indicated that values were nevertheless acquired when they encounter drama experience. In order to realise the potential of drama pedagogy, teachers called for training as an enhancement to their professional development. This study encourages further exploration of drama pedagogy and consider possible implications of its implementation in the school curricula.