Dunn, J., & Stinson, M. (2012). Learning through emotion: moving the affective in from the margins. International Journal of Early Childhood, 44, 203-218.

Dr Bradley's buzz:

This article looks at a drama programme introduced to children between the ages 6.5-7.6 in a small Australian school. It takes a case study approach gathering data from observations, child made artefacts and researcher reflections.

The authors highlight an increasing focus on testing that is leading to the further disappearance of emotional competence in the early years. The strong link between emotional engagement and brain development (particularly memory) is identified, and the idea of process drama as a means of developing emotional inteligence is put forward.

Process drama involves children and teachers pretending together in teacher led pretexts (such as a particular story or set of events). Children draw on their own lived experience to empathise with the situations that characters find themselves in (e.g., Goldilocks doing something she shouldn't and being caught). Through process drama children are able to engage their imagination to construct emotional empathy with others, as well as work through their own emotions and model different forms of expression. According to the authors, emotions allow children to explore the space between fiction and reality. Process drama offers a way for children to do so in a safe and supported manner.

The authors argue that when children begin to identify with characters they are developing the ability to identify with others and how they are feeling - this in turn is a powerful tool for the development of social competence. The article goes on to report on a particular event where children act out parts in a researcher constructed story. Much of the data in the article is derived from researcher reflections but there were also some good ideas about linking domains such as art, literacy, and technology to the dramatic experience. This reminded me a little of a project approach.

Children's interactions in the story, their engagement with themes and their developing empathy with the characters were well reported. I thought that the article looked a little like an entry in a reflective journal, but it provided a good articulation of the impact of emotional state on subsequent thinking, speaking and writing/drawing. I would have liked to see a gender break down as the project and its framing on relationship, verbal articulation and empathy may have engaged girls more than boys. It may not have, but it would have been nice to know.