While Lise Hovik, whom we discussed yesterday, looked outside of developmental psychology for her conceptual framework, Adrienne Kapstein and Thalia Goldstein solidly based their methodology on bringing both theatre studies and developmental psychology together.  Kapstein, a theatre professor, and Goldstein, a developmental psychology professor, created an interdisciplinary university course called Developing Wonder: Psychology, Theatre, and Children for theatre students at Pace University in New York. They designed this course to both look at TEY/TVY through a developmental lens, and look at developmental psychological research through a theatrical lens (Kapstein & Goldstein, 2019). They examined the various elements present in TEY/TVY productions and paired them with relevant psychology topics. Here are a few examples:

  • Use of multi-sensory elements in storytelling and design – Basic developmental processes in perception, including the structure of habituation and dishabituation to perceptual elements. (Kapstein & Goldstein, 2019, p. 59)
  • Performance experiences that invite engagement and social interaction in multiple directions – Basic development of social interaction and social communication, joint attention. Theories and types of parenting. (Kapstein & Goldstein, 2019, p. 59)

“Most typically developing children do not need to be taught to pay attention to social cues or to turn their heads and move towards things they are interested in. While TVY might capitalize on the ways in which children pay attention to new  stimuli, it is not necessarily teaching children to pay attention to new stimuli, nor should that be a goal of the work” – Kapstein & Goldstein, 2019, p. 56

I think this is relevant because ECEs are more likely to have a background in child development than they are in performing arts. While the aim of early childhood education is not necessarily to teach infants and make them develop  (they’ll do that on their own, thank-you very much), the role of early childhood educators is to provide a nurturing environment and stimulating experiences tailored so that each infant has the opportunity to develop at their own pace. Having a list of elements of TEY/TVY paired with developmental concepts would be a great addition to an ECEs toolbox so that s/he can utilize some of the components in designing environments and programming relevant to each specific group of children.

 

Reference

Kapstein, A., & Goldstein, T. R. (2019). Developing wonder: Teaching theatre for the very young through collaboration with developmental psychology. Youth Theatre Journal, 33(1), 52–69. https://doi.org/10.1080/08929092.2019.1580648