EXPLORING ATTITUDE OF PUPILS AND TEACHERS TOWARDS THE USE OF DRAMA ACTIVITIES IN TEACHING OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AT ELEMENTARY LEVEL

A Social Science class can be transformed into an exciting experience, through the inclusion of dramatic activities for all age groups and all levels of schooling. These activities provide a learning environment, where the students can feel safe inside, release emotions with control, develop decision making and develop problem solving abilities. The present study was conducted to explore the Attitude of Pupils and Teachers towards the use of Drama Activities in teaching of Social Sciences at elementary level. A total of 80 students of class VIIITH and 20 teachers from 2 public schools of Delhi wherein drama as pedagogy was being employed in teaching learning of social science were chosen as a sample. The data was collected by administering a five point attitude scale and structured interviews for both students and teachers. The data was analyzed using the Descriptive Data Analysis Techniques. In both the tools (Attitude Scale and Structured Interview), the frequency of responses for each item was calculated and then it was subjected to percentage analysis. The findings revealed a favorable attitude of both students and teachers for using Drama activities in social science classroom, but the sad ground reality was that not much drama activities were being organized by teachers in the classroom due to a burden of time constraint of completing syllabus on time as these activities according to them are time consuming