Abstract:

This research was planned to identify how teachers working in preschool education institutions use drama activities in their education programmes The population of the study was composed of teachers working in kindergartens affiliated to the Ministry of National Education in the provincial center of Ankara The sampling consisted of one hundred and thirteen teachers who participated in the study voluntarily As a measurement tool an “Assessment Scale for Teachers’ Use of Drama Activities” that was prepared by the researchers was used in the study The obtained data were coded into the SPSS program and frequency distribution tables were constructed The results of the study revealed that 69 of the preschool teachers had received drama education and 65 1 planned the drama activities themselves While planning the drama activities the teachers were mostly careful about the development characteristics of children their interests requirements and individual differences Moreover their most common objectives were to enable children to express themselves better and to improve their creativity The research also revealed that 61 1 of the preschool teachers conducted drama activities once or a few times a week; they often used clothes puppets instrumental music casettes masks banners and pictures as tools and equipment; 58 1 carried out the drama activity in the drama room; 34 1 used all the stages in drama; 23 9 included family involvement studies in drama; and they were inadequate in the techniques used in drama Key Words: Preschool education teacher drama

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