ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of music drama activity on young children’s playfulness and pro-social behavior. The subjects were four and five-year-old 76 children, attending to two childcare canters in Seoul. The experimental group consisting of 37 young children engaged in developmentally appropriate music drama activity using world traditional songs for 16 week period. The control group consisting of 39 young children participated in regular music programs according of Nu-ri curriculum. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS, t-test and ANCOVA.(Analysis of Covariance) The findings of the study were as follows. First, the experimental group demonstrated significant differences between the pretest and the posttest outcomes on subcategories of playfulness (leading participation, cognitive flexibility, expression of joy, voluntary full immersion). This result revealed a positive effect of music drama activity using world traditional on young children’s playfulness. Secondly, young children in the experimental group have shown improved pro-social behaviors (emotion-regulation, abilities to from relationships with others, ability to adapt in kindergarten) compare to those in the control group. The study result presented that young children’s pro-social behaviors have been influenced by music drama activity using world traditional songs. The findings of this study confirmed that music drama activity using world traditional songs had positive influences on young children’s playfulness and pro-social behavior. The music drama activity using world traditional songs could be further developed and applied for the kindergarten classrooms in order to promote playfulness, pro-social behaviors of young children as well as to support fostering holistic development.

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