ABSTRACT
Children’s righ
t to participate in cultural and artistic life is enshrined in policy documents yet
in practice, it is only considered when other basic rights have been fulfilled. Theatrical genres
in ECD are privileged mainly for their functional values rather than artis tic merits. Analyses
of literary genres dominate scholarly works with less regard for the dynamics of performance
which characterize indigenous theatre and children’s artistic culture. With a focus on Ugenya
Sub County, the study sought to analyze the plac e of indigenous theatre in ECD by
determining theatrical genres employed by children and caregivers, analyzing how children
and caregivers engaged with indigenous theatre genres and establishing factors that enhanced
or inhibited engagement with indigenous theatre. The study was guided by postcolonial
theory as advanced by, Bhabha (1994), Spivak (1990) and Said (1978). Postcolonial theory
facilitated the study in interrogating mainstream views on theatrical genres in ECD to
conform only to Western models an d literary aesthetics. This study is a descriptive study
anchored on an ethnographic research design to capture the lived theatrical experiences of
children and caregivers in ECD centres. The population of the study was children and
caregivers in ECD centr es and key informants from government departments. Single stage
cluster sampling was used to draw a sample of 33 out of 111 ECD centres: a sample of 30%.
All the children and caregivers in the sampled clusters were participants. 1,110 children were
engage d through participant and non participant observation and 78 caregivers were engaged
through FGD aided by audio visual recordings. Purposive sampling was used to identify 2
key informants from government departments who were engaged through in depth face to
face interviews. Content analysis was applied in analyzing the data which was processed by
generating categories, themes and patterns relevant to the research problem. From the
analyses, interpretations were made, gaps identified and conclusions drawn. The data was
mainly represented in narrative prose and visually displayed in tables. The findings of this
study revealed that theatrical genres depicted a wide range and dynamism in their
construction during performance thus deviating from mainstream ways regarding the
classification of theatrical genres. Strengths such as the capacity of indigenous theatre to act
in synergy with other interventions, adapt to contemporary ways and resilience in children’s
play culture were compromised by a combination of fa ctors such as poor implementation of
policies, the dominant Western, Christian narrative on ECD and the privileging of academic
curricular.
ODERO, L (2021). The Place Of Indigenous Theatre In Early Childhood Development In Ugenya Sub-County Of Kenya. Afribary. Retrieved from https://afribary.com/works/the-place-of-indigenous-theatre-in-early-childhood-development-in-ugenya-sub-county-of-kenya
ODERO, LILIAN "The Place Of Indigenous Theatre In Early Childhood Development In Ugenya Sub-County Of Kenya" Afribary. Afribary, 06 May. 2021, https://afribary.com/works/the-place-of-indigenous-theatre-in-early-childhood-development-in-ugenya-sub-county-of-kenya. Accessed 07 Sep. 2024.
ODERO, LILIAN . "The Place Of Indigenous Theatre In Early Childhood Development In Ugenya Sub-County Of Kenya". Afribary, Afribary, 06 May. 2021. Web. 07 Sep. 2024. < https://afribary.com/works/the-place-of-indigenous-theatre-in-early-childhood-development-in-ugenya-sub-county-of-kenya >.
ODERO, LILIAN . "The Place Of Indigenous Theatre In Early Childhood Development In Ugenya Sub-County Of Kenya" Afribary (2021). Accessed September 07, 2024. https://afribary.com/works/the-place-of-indigenous-theatre-in-early-childhood-development-in-ugenya-sub-county-of-kenya