Teachers' Reconceptualization of Young Children's Identities and Abilities through Research Based Drama Professional Development.
Year: 2016

This study examines how the Early Years Educators at Play (EYEPlay) professional development (PD) program transformed preschool teachers' reconceptualization of children's learning identities and abilities. The EYEPlay PD model was a yearlong program, which integrated drama strategies into literacy practices within classroom contexts. Cultural historical activity theory and Holland's (1998) identity theory were used to understand how EYEPlay PD practices mediated teachers' conceptualization of children's learning identities and abilities. Twelve semistructured focus group interviews were conducted with 19 preschool teachers. The data were analyzed via constant comparative and interpretive methods. The study findings show that the EYEPlay PD activities mediated the teachers' reconceptualization of the children's learning identities and abilities in relation to developmental age and dis/ability status. Teachers' Reconceptualization of Young Children's Identities and Abilities Through Research Based Drama Professional Development Teachers and other educational stakeholders construction of children's identities and abilities/disabilities are constructed relationally in social contexts that privilege certain ways of being and behaving over others. This research investigates how drama enhanced practices in early childhood classrooms disrupt teachers previous conceptualization of children's learning identities and abilities by altering the traditional literacy setting to create more opportunities for participation and learning. Teachers' Deficit Constructions of Children and Students It is well documented that a number of teachers hold deficit views about culturally and linguistically diverse children and students with dis/abilities (Artiles, Kozleski, Trent, Osher, Ortiz, 2010; Marx, 2008) Deficit ideologies are narrated in larger macro systems (e.g. social and political systems) and diffuse or leak into smaller micro systems like classrooms. For instance, one of the larger deficit narratives of Latin@s is the belief that they do not value education and have inadequate linguistic resources (Franquiz, Salazar, DeNicolo, 2011; Marx, 2008) This narrative is reflected in the classroom as children being seen as lacking English proficiency, interest in learning, or educational support from their families (Cairney, 2000; McKenzie Scheurich, 2004) "Dis/ability" refers to social construction and foregrounds the social model as opposed to the medical model of "disability" 2 "Latin@" refers to people that are identified as Latina and/or Latino. Kilinc et al. Teachers' reconceptualization of children's identities 3 Deficit views are also noticeable for other groups such as children with dis/abilities, who are often perceived as incapable of being part of the learning community (Harry Klingner, 2006) Additionally, a number of teachers hold a medical model perspective, which aims to "cure" individuals by considering problems within them rather than from social contexts (Ferri, Connor, Solis, Valle, Volpitta, 2005) Therefore, children with dis/abilities are at times not included in general education classes, which use engaging curricular materials, and instead are presented with low level, inappropriate curriculum and instruction (Kluth, Biklen, English Sand, Smuker, 2007) Furthermore, a number of studies indicate that there is lack of support and resource services for culturally and linguistically diverse children (Artiles et al. 2010) This constrains their opportunities to learn, which results in higher dropout rates, low engagement, or misbehaviors (Suarez Orozco, Roos, Suarez Orozco, 2000) Sadly, some teachers hold low expectations of children, creating barriers to learning that limit the perception of children as capable learners who are able to participate in rigorous curricula (McKenzie Scheurich, 2004) Unfortunately, some children also internalize these deficit views and therefore, do not identify themselves as intelligent or as capable as their peers (Franquiz et al. 2011; McKenzie Scheurich, 2004) In this study, we propose that dramaenhanced practices in early childhood classrooms disrupt teachers previous conceptualization of children's learning identities and abilities by changing the traditional literacy setting to create more opportunities for child participation and learning. Construction of Identity Holland, Lachicotte, Skinner and Cain (1998) argue that identities are constructed two ways, culturally and socially, through participation in activities. Identities are formed through cultural narratives and practices of particular groups. For instance, Holland et al. (1998) use Skinner's (1990) description of the life of a "good woman" in Nepalese culture as being an obedient daughter in her natal home and later to be a respectful wife to her husband and inlaws, which includes dying before her husband does. It is noticeable that narrativized identities are formed within the culture and history of a society. The being a "good woman" storyline reflects that women hold less power and authority than men in the Nepalese culture. The example above led us to consider how students' identities are constructed in the classroom and how narratives of the "good student" or "lazy student" are formed. Thus, we wanted to look at how identities are dynamically formed through social interactions and in relation to individuals' power, authority, and status. On the other hand, individuals have agency to accept, negotiate, or resist their inscribed identities (Holland et al. 1998) For example, in a recent study, Hatt (2012) examined the cultural construction of smartness in kindergarten classrooms, in which children developed IJEA Vol. 17 No. 22 http:/www.ijea.org/v17n22/ 4 their identities in regard to smartness. Classroom artifacts mediated who was smart or not. For instance, students were instructed to move a car from the position of the "green light" to the "yellow light" (a sign of warning) and then to the "red light" when they perceived their behavior to be inappropriate. Children's smartness was defined as "not having to move your car" (Hatt, 2012, p. 488) by the children. Disparities were noted; low income children of color were more likely than their middle class White counterparts to move their cars to the "red light" and be perceived as not smart in the classroom context. In addition, children who identified as smart had social power in regards to being a desired friend or someone with whom others wanted to sit. This study provides an example of how children's identities are formed relationally within preconceived notions of smartness, which privileges certain behaviors and actions within classroom contexts. Also, larger power structures leak into classroom systems, such as privileging certain groups of children, specifically historically dominant cultures, and consistently positioning African American and low income children as not smart. Holland and Lave (2001) explain that when individuals are constantly being identified under certain categories, over time these categories are used to recognize individuals, which they call "thickening." For instance, when teachers interpret children's cultural, linguistic or ability differences in deficit ways (Artiles, 2003; Harry Klingner, 2006) children's identities become thickened as being incompetent. Due to power disparities among teachers and young children, children are more likely to accept and less likely to challenge their inscribed identities (Edmiston, 2007;  2006) However, drama opens up an imagined space where children are able to form new identities. As Holland et al. (1998) stated "through play, imagination becomes embodied our fancied selves become material"  Thus, through drama, teachers' deficit views of children may be disrupted which would allow students to be positioned and position themselves as capable learners. The Role of Drama in Education Creative drama, unlike theatre, is "an improvisational, non exhibitional, process centered form of drama in which participants are guided by a leader to imagine, enact and reflect on human experience" (Davis Behm, 1987, p. 262) It encourages children to form imagined worlds (Edmiston, 2003; Holland et al. 1998) where they take on the role of various characters (e.g. astronauts or animals) for different purposes, such as making sense of the world, engaging in critical discussions about equity or social justice issues (Edmiston, 2003) and solving problems (Szecsi, 2008) Within their imagined worlds, children construct imagined communities where they work with a shared objective in a collaborative manner (Edmiston, 2003) by utilizing their cultural tools or their funds of knowledge (Edmiston, 2007; Gonzales, Moll, Amanti, 2005) Kilinc et al. Teachers' reconceptualization of children's identities 5 Integrating creative drama into classroom contexts as a tool has been shown to enhance children's learning, engagement, and social skills, as well as assist them in understanding differences and diversity, promote self advocacy, increase self esteem, and explore feelings and emotions (Band, Lindsay, Neelands, Freakley, 2011; Edmiston, 2007; Szecsi, 2008; Kempe Tissot, 2012; Kim, 2009; Mages, 2008) For instance, Edmiston (2007) examined the use of drama in self contained classrooms where children with visual impairments had opportunities to meaningfully participate in literacy activities. Children acting as astronaut characters visited Mars, then wrote a letter to the President about their exploration of Mars and developed a speech to give to the public upon their return to Earth. According to Barab, Zuiker, Warren, Hickey, Ingram Goble, and Kwon (2007) situationallyembodied learning "involves more than seeing a concept or even a context of use; it involves being in the context and recognizing the value of concepts as tools useful for understanding and solving