1.1 Background of the Study
Drama is different from other genres of literature; it has unique characteristics that have come about in response to its peculiar nature. Really, it is difficult to separate drama from performance because during the stage performance of a play, drama brings life experience realistically to the audience Geoff Ryman(1999) posits that drama is the most concrete of all genres of literature. America encyclopedia (2000) stipulates that when a novel is read, one read a story as told by the novelist. The poem’s message in most cases is not direct because it is presented in a compact form or in a condensed language. The playwright does not tell the story instead you get the story as the characters interact and live out the experiences on stage. In drama, the characters or actors talk to themselves and react to issues according to the impulse of the moment;drama is therefore presented in dialogue.
Similarly, drama can also be seen as an imitation of life, drama is different from other forms of literature because of its unique characteristics. It is read, but basically, it is composed to be performed, so the ultimate aim of dramatic composition is for it to be presented on stage before an audience. This implies that it a medium of communication, and has a message to communicate to the audience. It uses actors to convey this message, which lead to the issue of mimesis or imitation,one can say that drama is mimetic which means that it imitates life one may have heard people say- that drama mirrors life. This is because it is the only branch of literature which tries’ to imitates life and presents it realistically to the students. It is this mimetic impulse of drama that makes it appeal to people.
Drama as a literary genre is realized in performance, this is why Robert (2000) once describes it as “stage art” whose characters can be human beings, spiritual beings. animals or abstract qualities. Drama is an adaptation, recreation and reflection of reality on stage. Generally, the word dramatist is used for any artist who performs.
Drama is used for plays that are acted on stage or screen,these plays are different from musical performances because they tell more stories which is acted out by actors and actresses. Soyinka (2006) asserts that these actors and actresses must be playing roles by imitating other characters it means therefore that they must assume other people’s personalities by bearing different names, ages, occupation, and nationalities etc. They must be conscious of themselves as actors or actresses by trying hard to pretend they are the characters they are representing.
Furthermore, drama can also be used to describe a dramatic composition employs language and pantomime to present a story or series of events intended to be performed especially with written composition they may not be presented on stage but this does not stop it from being drama. In a much as a play is enjoyed more than it is performed; students can still read a play and be entertained by it.
Drama can be a term for that branch of literature that covers dramatic composition, Since drama is a literary art; the basic different between drama and other forms of literature (prose and poetry) is that drama is presented in dialogue from the beginning to the end. Any information by the playwright is given in stage direction. We can have dialogue in prose and poetry but they are interjected in the course of the story. Drama occupies a unique position, it is also the most active of other genres of literature because of the immediate impact it has on the audience and students. It is used to inform, to educate, to entertain, and in some cases to mobilize the audience and students. It gives students opportunities for developing their communicative skills in authentic and dynamic situation. It induces a personal communication and as immediate experience between the actor and the audience as well as students. This makes drama a concrete art and the message is immediate and direct. It is concrete because student can see the actors performing and presenting a life- like story which affects students positively or negatively and student re-act immediately.
According to Emmy (2009) Drama has been developed and improved upon by various dramatists over the ages. It has also been influenced by the developments and changes in the world. He further posits that the unique nature of drama makes it possible to be read and performed. Unlike the prose and poetry which depend on narration, drama is presented only through dialogue. The novel is divided in chapters and the poem in parts. This is why William Shakespeare made the five- act structure the standard for his plays.
The plays can be read and enjoyed by students in the privacy of their homes, student also watch and enjoy the plays as an audience in a theatre when the plays are presented on stage. The audience gives an immediate reaction to the performance on stage, and this will also enhancing their learning ability.
Drama is temporary in nature; every performance has a definite duration (that is, it last for a certain length of time). Emmy (2009) affirms that each performance of a play is therefore a distinct work of art. Even if the actors, the composition and the decoration remain unchanged throughout the production, each performance varies in nature and quality as one may be better than other.
Drama according to Martin (2011) is the manifestation of the play instinct as in children who are playing mother and father. It can also be seen as the most elegant expression of thought nearest to the truth (reality) it is the most concrete form in which art can recreate human situation, human relationship.
In addition, Innocent (2010) cited Aristotle who defines drama as imitation of an action. He links it to the mimetic impulse in human being. Like children playing father and mother in a childhood play. This means that imitation is part of life and is crucial to an understanding dramatic activity. Human beings have the desire to imitate others, situation or events.
However, Betolt (2000) insists that drama is not just an imitation of action, but a tool for the demonstration of social conditions. It is not just an entertainment but an instrument of political and social change. From these definitions, we can conclude that drama is a way of creating or recreating a situation, an artificial impersonation or re-enactment. He further argued that an action becomes drama if it is an imitation of an earlier action real or imagined. For instance, the store of a hunter who goes to the forest kills an antelope and takes it home even if he is dancing as he goes home, is not drama. It becomes drama if the same story is re-enacted may be as part of a festival. In the later case, some people (actors and students) will represent the hunter and the antelope to the audience for entertainment or education. A young man or students who aspires to be a hunter could learn, from the presentation, how to stalk an animal or how to aim the gun or bow while being entertained. This story could be presented through mime, dance or in dialogue.
Drama is beneficially to students because it is the most concrete form of art. It is devoid of the distant intimacy of the novel, the abstract message of fine arts and the incomplete message of music. It presents a story realistically through the actors to the listening audience, drama is therefore used to entertain reform and educate people.
It is in the best position to mirror the society and to effect social reforms through students because it has a unique characteristic of presenting events in a vivid, picturesque and realistic manner. It helps to imprint social conditions realistically in the minds of the audience. The message is therefore immediate.
Drama in traditional society’s from part of the communal rites. In Africa, re-enactment of some feats like hurting, warfare and other events are usually part of bigger festivals which is presented in form of drama to entertain the audience. In Greece also, drama formed part of a bigger festival. In the medieval period, drama was used to elucidate the message of the gospel through the re-enactment of the biblical stories during mass.
Teacher can therefore introduce different methods of teaching drama that is of interest to the student and occasionally staging play lets and drama where the students are actively participating.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
There are challenges still facing teaching and learning of drama among junior secondary schools today, despite the effort of teachers and government. Some of the challenges are:Lack of qualified teachers, Poor teaching method, Preference of other subjects:- students who are shy tend to prefer other subjects in school as not to be shown on stage; poor government supports as pointed out by Adenuga (2010.)
According to Innocent (2010) teaching and learning of drama among junior secondary school should involve good and qualified teachers with right teaching method to enhance teaching and learning of drama, government support towards the Nigeria film industry as this will give adequate information on the importance of drama as asserted by Adenuga (2010).
Based on the challenges stated above, the researcher tends to investigate the factors militating against effective teaching and learning of drama among selected junior secondary school students in Chukun Local Government Area.
1.3 Research Questions
1.4 Purpose of Study
The broad purpose of the study to examine the effective teaching and learning of drama among secondary school students in Chikun Local Government Area.
The specific objectives are:
1.5 Significance of the Study
This research work aim to better the teaching and learning of drama among selected junior secondary schools in Chukun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
1.6 Scope and Delimitation of Study
This study focuses on the factors imitating against teaching and learning of drama among selected secondary schools in Chukun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
1.7 Limitation of the Study
During the actual execution of the study the researcher faced quite a number of limitations. These include the difficulty in maintaining strict control over the respondents, the difficulty in making frequent visits to schools and the short period for the study. Despite the above limitation, the researcher carefully selected her respondent without being biased.
Again, the research instruments were framed such that they yielded a positive co-efficient in their validity and reliability.
In this way, the researcher was optimistic that the results of the study would be reliable and dependable.
1.8 Operational Definition of Terms
This following are meaning of certain terms as were used in this study
Effective:producing the result that is wanted or intended.
Factors:several things that cause or influence.
Militating:preventing something, to make it difficult for something to happen.
Drama:according to oxford dictionary, is a play for the theatre.
Theatre: plays considered as entertainment.
Teaching:the work of a teacher.
Learning: the acquisition of knowledge or skills through study experience or being taught.
Junior Secondary School age bracket: 11 – 15 years