Influence of Instructional Drama on the Development of ECDE Learners in Elgeyo Marakwet County

The ways in which drama is used today may differ in a number of respects from the ways it has been used in the past. This study was designed to investigate the influence of instructional drama on the development of ECDE learners in Elgeyo Marakwet County. The study was guided by Piaget’s Cognitive development theory and utilized a crosssectional descriptive survey research design. It made use of 513 respondents comprising 334 teachers, 172 Head teachers, and 7 officials in charge of ECDE in Elgeyo Marakwet County. Data was collected through questionnaire, interview schedule and observation checklist. Quantitative data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques whereas qualitative data was presented thematically and reported verbatim. It was found that the use of instructional drama improves pupil ability to use symbols and think abstractly, improves cognitive/intellectual capabilities, improves communication skills of the pupils, improves reading skills of the pupils and improves pupils’ sense of sight, hear and touch. Drama play enable children to express and communicate their feelings and understanding in their own ways and that using instructional drama increases sensitivity involvement in sharing with other people and party by determining for himself the sort of the world he wishes to live in. The study recommends that teachers of ECDE schools to join inservice training so that they can learn about using instructional drama in ECDE and that there should be partnership between schools and teachers training colleges to fully prepare teachers adequately for use of instructional drama. It is hoped that the findings will be used by the Ministry of Education, ECDE head teachers and other educational stakeholders to enhance the use of drama as an effective method for teaching and learning process in ECDE centres in Kenya. 1.0 Background of the Study Drama is an activity where the participant portrays himself/herself in an imaginary situation providing an opportunity for the learner to listen, speak, read and write. Drama is considered to have a positive impact on participants’ communicative competence. It provides an opportunity for participants to learn the language as an enjoyable experience. According to Bergen (2009), dramatic arts education is an important means of stimulating creativity in problem solving and communication. It can challenge students' perceptions about their world and about themselves. Dramatic exploration can provide students with an outlet for emotions, thoughts, and dreams that they might not otherwise have means to express. A student can, if only for a few moments, become another person, explore a new role, try out and experiment with various personal choices and solutions to very real problems from their own life, or problems faced by characters in literature or historical figures. This can happen in a safe atmosphere, where actions and consequences can be examined, discussed, and in a very real sense experienced without the dangers and pitfalls that such experimentation would obviously lead to in the "real" world. This is perhaps the most important reason for dramatic arts in schools (Baldwin, Patrice; Fleming, Kate, 2003). O’Neil and Lambert (1982) have observed that drama can provide powerful motivation to learning and this does not occur in isolation. Learners are provided with a context that enables them to learn the concepts with ease. Drama provides an opportunity for learners to practice what they have ARTICLE INFO Received 24 April, 2019 Received in Revised Form 6 May, 2019 Accepted 8 May, 2019 Published online 9 May, 2019