A critical study on the contribution of children’s drama to childhood personality development: With reference to selected works by Somalatha Subasinghe

Abstract

Childhood is a crucial time in a person’s personality development. Childhood personality is a composite of characteristics that endure throughout a child’s mental and social development. It encompasses all of a child’s nature, attitudes, values, and behaviours. Children’s literature is a major influence on personality development during this stage, with children’s drama being one of the most influential genres. The main goal of this study is to critically examine the ways in which children’s drama can support and enhance the development of their personalities. In Sri Lanka, there are limited studies that focus on the use of literature for children’s personality development, and very little attention has been given to exploring the connection between children’s drama and personality development. Therefore, one of the main goals of this research is to close this remaining research gap. The methodology used in this qualitative investigation is interpretive. Somalatha Subasinghe’s chosen children’s drama manuscripts, "Punchi Apata Den Therei", served as the primary source of data, while books, newspapers, journals, and research articles served as secondary sources. As a result, data collection and analysis were completed. Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory states that experience and observation, in addition to rewards and penalties, have an impact on children’s personality development. Children’s theatre, being an audio-visual and live expressive medium, has the ability to nurture a child’s entire personality, whereas other types of children’s literature might only foster one or a few of those aspects. It involves both external characteristics like social, moral, and leadership qualities as well as internal characteristics like emotion, perception, and cognition. Children’s theatre is a potent art form that can be successfully employed in a child’s personality development process, according to this research.