Social Psychology of Education (2006) 9:43–65 © Springer 2006

DOI: 10.1007/s11218-005-4791-y

Drama education and development of self: Myth

or reality?

PETER R. WRIGHT∗
School of Education, Murdoch University, Perth, WA 6150, Australia

(Received 15 November 2004; Accepted in final form 4 November 2005)

Abstract. This study is an investigation into personal development and drama education
where the constructs of self-concept, self-discrepancy and role-taking ability were consid-
ered in the light of an in-school role play-based drama program. The 123 subjects from 5
different classes drawn from provincial city and rural village schools with a mean age of
11.5 years were the participants in this investigation. The subjects were pre-tested using
the Chandler Story Task on role-taking ability; the Self-Discrepancy Questionnaire for
self-discrepancy; the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (Revised) for vocabulary, and the
Piers-Harris Children’s Self-Concept Scales for self-concept. The subjects were then tested
following the completion of a 10-week drama program. Results indicated a significant
growth in role-taking ability, vocabulary and an improvement in self-concept. Further
analysis revealed significant correlations between self-discrepancy, self-concept and vocab-
ulary. Role-taking did not appear to be correlated with self-concept, self-discrepancy and
vocabulary. Attention is drawn to the rural-provincial city differences with an “enriched”
environment being suggested as an important determinant. The study supports the use of
drama in schools as a means of personal and social development.
Key words: drama education, role play, role-taking, self-discrepancy, self-concept.

1. Introduction
Many teachers believe that participation in Drama In Education (DIE),
where students are encouraged to take on roles of others, facilitates the
development of their students socially, emotionally and intellectually. What
is often assumed, but has been harder to substantiate, is that drama has
a unique role to play in this development. Questions remain, however, as
to what the nature of this contribution is, and to what degree. Evidence
that would substantiate these claims would strengthen the arguments that
drama be included as part of a core curriculum.
Drama has at its essence a person taking on a role and interacting with
others as if the person was someone else. This ability, broadly humanistic
in nature, includes constructs such as role-taking ability, empathy and self-
concept, hence is social and emotional in nature. However, these notions

∗
e-mail: p.wright@murdoch.edu.au
44 PETER R. WRIGHT

also fit into a broader contemporary understanding of cognitive growth

and development (Bong & Skaalvik, 2003). Furthermore, the ability to play
a wide variety of roles also has health and well-being implications (Doyle,
1998). While many of these constructs have been investigated in depth over
a substantial period of time, the link with a role-play based program that
could be run by teachers, as part of their curriculum has not been substan-
tiated.
There is, however, strong evidence that many of these constructs are
related. A large body of empirical literature links self-concept with aca-
demic achievement (Aronson, 2002; Hamacheck, 1995; Hay, Ashman, &
Van Kraayenoord, 1998; Schicke & Fagan, 1994; Trusty, Peck, & Mathews,
1994; Valentine, 2002; Zanobini & Usai, 2002), and social functioning
(Cohen, Gotleib, Kersher, & Wehrspann, 1985; Demaray & Malecki, 2002;
Hay et al., 1998; Strauss, Forehand, Frame, & Smith, 1984; Zsolnai, 2002).
Also of interest is the link between social skills and academic achieve-
ment (Bursuck, 1989; DiPerna, Volpe, & Elliott, 2002; Malecki & Elliott,
2002; Welsh, Parke, Widman, & O’Neil, 2001). If these links are substanti-
ated then it is not hard to see the potential for role-taking, a key element
of social competence and enhanced through role play (Roberts & Strayer,
1996), as having the potential to influence the development of students in
schools. The present study investigates this possibility. This paper examines
each construct in turn, describes the process of the inquiry and the results,
and finally provides a discussion of the implications raised.

1.1. ROLE PLAY

Role play has received substantial attention in the literature over the last
few decades. A literature search revealed 2030 articles appearing between
1978 and January 2003 that have role play as a descriptor. Where these
studies have looked at role play and aspects of personal development they
have primarily considered role play as a specific behavioural intervention.
This intervention has often been aimed at such areas as reducing aggres-
sive behaviour of disruptive 3rd grade children (Bleck & Bleck, 1982) and
increasing the social skills of shy, isolated adolescents (Jupp & Griffiths,
1990). What has not yet been considered in detail is the use of role play
in the context of a DIE program that could be run in a classroom, by
the classroom teacher, as an aid to the development of students in general,
not simply those who appear disruptive or isolated. The present study is
directed at assessing the effects of a role play based program in three broad
areas of student’s personal development: role-taking ability, self-concept,
and self-discrepancy.
Debate exists within the literature regarding the use of role play to
enhance self-concept. A study by Roark and Stanford (1975) indicated that
DRAMA AND DEVELOPMENT OF SELF: MYTH OR REALITY? 45

when people are required to act “as if” they hold a certain belief, their
attitudes are likely to change in the direction of that belief. This, Higgins
(1987) suggested, may reduce the discomfort felt by children holding con-
flicting or incompatible beliefs, and hence enhance self-concept.
An early study by Pines (1969), reported an observation that middle
class children engage in role playing activity up to five times as often as
working class disadvantaged children. Pines hypothesised that this higher
incidence of role-play reflected an enriched environment that contributed
to an increased self-awareness. This increased self-awareness, Pines argued,
was operationalised as a more differentiated self-concept when compared
to working class children from severely deprived urban environments. This
notion has also been supported by Doyle, Ceschin, Tessier and Doehring
(1991), who in an investigation of social pretend play of young children
noted that middle class children played more frequently, and for longer
duration, and demonstrated greater use of conservation and verbal symbol
substitution. However, social class factors were not found to be correlated
with the cognitive skills of social pretend play. This seems to suggest a
training or practice effect and builds on evidence reported by Rubin (1973),
where factor analysis identified experience, chronological age and mental
age as facilitating decentration.

1.2. ROLE-TAKING

Role-taking has been described as a social-cognitive task based on the

imitation of powerful role models (Landy, 1993). Role-taking, a precursor
to role play (Feshbach, 1978), is seen as the core of DIE and has been
described as “stepping into another person’s shoes” (NSW, 2000, p. 14).
Some theorists see the ability to do this as being intimately involved in the
construct of self-concept (Higgins, 1981; Katz, Zigler, & Zalk, 1975), and
hence, has the potential to impact significantly on its development. More
recently, Bengtsson and Johnson (1992) have presented evidence that role-
taking, empathy and pro-social behaviour are strongly related.
The evidence, however, concerning the efficacy of drama education pro-
grams on role-taking, is not consistent. A study by Murphy and Wells
(1978) did not provide any evidence supporting the proposition that role-
playing can influence the social perspective taking levels of elementary
school pupils. In a carefully controlled study in 65 classrooms Leyser (1979)
also examined the effectiveness of role-playing as a method of improving
peer relationships within the “normal” classroom. The observed diminution
in “rejection” scores and increase in “acceptance” scores of the experimen-
tal group were not statistically significant. Reflecting on the results, Leyser
suggested that as a child begins to understand how their feelings shape
their behaviour, they develop an appreciation of the relationships between
and among the motives and actions of others.
46 PETER R. WRIGHT

A controversy exists about the age at which children are able to take
on various roles (Borke, 1971; Chandler, 1973). More recent evidence
from Wilkinson and Rike (1993) suggests that dramatic play could begin
as early as three years and sociodramatic play from five years. Urberg
and Docherty (1976), proposed a hierarchy that they claim reflects the
multi-dimensional nature of role-taking, where a fundamental structural
difference between sequential versus simultaneous decentring was identi-
fied. Smilansky (1968) and Smilansky and Shefatya (1990) suggest that chil-
dren do not automatically learn how to role play, and that this ability can
be taught. In a study with disadvantaged pre-schoolers, systematic train-
ing in role play was used to increase creativity, heighten concentration,
develop more abstract thought expressed in language, improve flexibility
and empathy towards others, improve imitation of models, and enhance
self awareness and self control. These claims have been conceptualised as
“improved attitudes towards the possible” (Biddle, 1979, p. 9). Biddle sup-
ported Smilansky’s notion, claiming that roles must be taught, and through
teaching these roles the possible can become the actual.

1.3. SELF-CONCEPT

Self-concept and self-esteem have attracted considerable interest among

researchers, teachers and administrators due to the demonstrated links betw-
een poor self-concept and low academic/social achievement. Coopersmith
(1967), for example, has provided substantial evidence that children with a
more positive self-concept are less anxious, better adjusted, more popular,
more effective, more honest and less defensive than children with a lower
self-concept. These findings, not surprisingly, have led to the proposition
that a higher self-concept promotes greater school and social adjustment,
and that a low self-concept in students is an area of concern.
O’Toole (1994) has suggested that personal development through drama
is most likely to be achieved in the area of notions of self. This is sup-
ported by a study of college students role-playing within a drama frame-
work that resulted in an increase in their self-confidence (Huntsmen, 1982).
The evidence to support these links has been far from conclusive, how-
ever, with Kardash and Wright (1987) reporting only two studies with
sufficient data to calculate effect sizes in a meta-analysis covering 20 years
of drama education research. A subsequent meta-analysis by Conrad and
Asher (2000, p. 83) failed to find any “effect [of creative drama] on the
self-concept of elementary students”.
An alternative perspective in the literature also suggests that self-concept
becomes more negative, or possibly more realistic or accurate, as the indi-
vidual matures (Ellerman, 1980; Krantz, Friedberg, & Andrews, 1985).
This parallels self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987). Ellerman (1980)
and Radecki (1980) have each suggested that role conflict and ambiguity
DRAMA AND DEVELOPMENT OF SELF: MYTH OR REALITY? 47

regarding role expectations are linked to anxiety and tension, and Hattie
(1992) argued that discrepancies between facets of self-concept might facil-
itate self-reflection and lead to consequent changes in self-concept. Hence,
the impact of a drama intervention on self-discrepancy, a construct devel-
oped by Higgins, Klein and Strauman (1986), is also relevant to this study.

1.4. SELF-DISCREPANCY

Self-discrepancy is conceptualised as an aspect of self-concept, and has

been described as the difference between the following: how I actually see
myself now, how I would ideally like to be, and how I think I should
or ought to be (Higgins, 1987). These facets of self, Higgins postulated,
may not always be congruous and the greater the dissonance between indi-
viduals’ perceptions of their possible selves, the more discomfort they are
likely to experience (Higgins, 1987; Higgins et al., 1986). This discomfort
has also been suggested to manifest itself in anxiety and paranoid symp-
toms (Higgins et al., 1986), and social anxiety (Higgins, 1987). This may
be a manifestation of what Radecki (1980) described as ‘role stress’, which
relates to the degree to which role behaviour deviates from role expecta-
tions, the degree to which role expectations are ambiguous, and to con-
flicting role expectations. Conversely, congruent possible selves have been
linked with successful academic performance (Leondari, Syngollitou, &
Kiosseoglou, 1998).
Self-discrepancy theory also postulates that two cognitive dimensions
underlie the various aspects of self: domains of the self (actual, ideal and
ought self) and standpoints, or self-state representations of the self (own
and other). The actual self is defined as the representation of the attri-
butes that a person believes she/he actually has, and has been described by
Higgins (1987) as notionally equivalent to the self-concept. The ideal self
is the representation of the attributes someone (self or significant other)
would like to possess in ideal circumstances, and the ought self is the rep-
resentation of those attributes that someone (self or significant other) feels
she/he should or ought to possess. The ought domain is characterised by
a sense of moral responsibility and obligation, whereas the ideal domain
involves a sense of achievement to which the person might aspire (Higgins,
1987; Higgins et al., 1986; Strauman, Vookles, Berenstein, & Chaiken,
1991). It is these last two that Higgins (1987) referred to as “self-guides”.
Higgins further suggested that people use these self-guides to regulate their
behaviour.
Consequently, the self-discrepancy construct was perceived to be one
that has particular utility in investigating the effects of a role-play based
program. As such a program is primarily concerned with taking on the role
of another, it is argued that exposure to dramatic intervention could have a
significant impact on an individual’s self-discrepancy, that is the difference
48 PETER R. WRIGHT

between the actual-, ideal- and ought-to-be selves standpoints, through a

growing awareness of different possible selves.
Finally, it was seen as important for the present study to consider the
role of language, place of residence and gender.

1.5. LANGUAGE

Language, previously not systematically considered in the context of such

an investigation, is seen to be a crucial component of the process of role-
taking as most conceptions of role are mediated through language. The
question of whether those students who have access to an elaborated lin-
guistic code are more able to benefit from a role-play based intervention,
was considered worthy of investigation.
In an early study, Shaftel and Shaftel (1967) considered the use of a
verbal, symbolic model in proceeding through problem definition, delinea-
tion of alternatives, and decision-making when discussing the theory and
methodology of role-playing. This builds on Furth’s (1966) earlier conten-
tion that intelligence works through the symbolic medium, and that lan-
guage, as a symbolic medium, is related to social perception and social
understanding. A subsequent study by Leichtman (1979) investigated 4th
graders’ ability to shift perspective. He suggested that vocabulary was a
predictor on four role-taking ability tasks. In an extension to this study,
Leichtman (1980) added intelligence measures to the experimental design,
and suggested that intellectual ability underlies this ability to shift pers-
pective.
Weisel and Hagit (1992) more recently suggested that language is crucial
in the understanding of another person during social encounters. Weisel’s
investigation with 68 deaf students provided some evidence that language
plays a major role in social adjustment, and that role-taking ability is asso-
ciated with that adjustment. Further analysis, however, did not reveal that
role-taking ability made a unique contribution to the explanation of social
adjustment. This would appear to be in contrast to Cates and Shontz’s
(1990) findings where no evidence was found to suggest that role-taking
ability was correlated with verbal ability, and supported Eckman’s (1982)
earlier assertion that role-taking ability is independent of general cognitive
ability.
There is much contradictory evidence presented in the literature on this
issue. For example, Snyder-Greco (1983) initiated a drama program with
primary school age language disordered children, emphasising spontaneous
improvisation as a way to increase language function. Language function,
as defined by Tough (1977), was taken to mean a system of meanings
in functional contexts. Snyder-Greco went on to report that the drama
program increased the subjects’ projective functional language; that is,
those strategies that include the use of empathy and imagination. Further,
DRAMA AND DEVELOPMENT OF SELF: MYTH OR REALITY? 49

the amount of language produced was also significantly increased for the
drama intervention with some children doubling or tripling their scores.

1.6. PLACE OF RESIDENCE

Of particular relevance to the present investigation was a study completed

by Hollos and Cowan (1973) who found that urban children had the high-
est level of verbal competence followed by rural and rural-isolated chil-
dren respectively. The rural-isolated group also had the lowest scores on
role-taking ability while there were no apparent differences between the
other two groups. This suggests that a relationship may exist between these
factors, but the exact nature of that relationship is not clear. Wilkinson and
Rike (1993 p. 203) have made a similar assertion claiming that “dramatic
play, a three dimensional metaphor for life that unites the inner and outer
worlds of the child, links movement, speech and creative thinking, to make
meaning”.

1.7. GENDER

Eisenberg, Shell, Pasternack and Lennon (1987), in a seven year longitu-

dinal study of pro-social development in middle childhood, reported an
increase in role-taking with age for girls but not for boys. This differen-
tiation has been noted from as early as five years (Ittyerah & Mahindra,
1990; Sanders & Harper, 1976). There is also related evidence of gender
differentiation in the case of self-discrepancy, with Brown and Kafer (1994)
reporting more self-discrepancies, of a larger magnitude, for six-year-old
boys than for girls. This study is the only one of three recently published
that considered gender and self-discrepancy in middle childhood; the other
two studies investigated populations of undergraduate university students
(Gardner & Tockerman, 1993; Strauman et al., 1991). As there is a paucity
of research dealing with gender in the specific area of the study, gender was
investigated in relation to each of the dependent variables.

1.8. AIMS

The aim of the present study was to address the following questions:
(i) Will the implementation of a role play based drama program have
an effect on children’s role-taking ability, self-concept, self-discrepancy and
vocabulary? (ii) Will the effects be differentiated by gender? (iii) Will the
effects be different for children attending schools in a provincial city com-
pared with those in rural village schools?
With these aims in mind the following four hypotheses were formu-
lated: participants in a role-play based intervention program will show an
50 PETER R. WRIGHT

improvement in role-taking ability (Hypothesis 1), in self-concept (Hypoth-

esis 2), in self-discrepancy (Hypothesis 3) and in vocabulary (Hypothesis 4).

2. Method
2.1. SUBJECTS

One hundred and forty children, 72 boys and 68 girls, ranging in age from
121 to 156 months with an average age of 138 months, participated in the
study. These subjects were from five different Year Five and Year Six clas-
ses, two from provincial city (urban) schools and three from rural vil-
lage (rural) schools. These schools were all located within the North West
Region of New South Wales, Australia. It was assumed that each sub-
group sample was representative of their respective population sub-group.

2.2. PROCEDURE

The study was conducted in three phases: pre-testing; a role-play based inter-
vention and post-testing. In the first phase, administration of the instru-
ments was done over four separate sittings. The Piers-Harris Children’s
Self-Concept Scales (1984); (P-H) and the Self-Discrepancy Questionnaire
(Brown & Kafer, 1994); (SDQ) were administered to each class. The Chandler
Story Task (1973); (CST) and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised
(Dunn & Dunn, 1981); (PPVT-R) were administered to each student individ-
ually in an interview room away from the classroom. All participants com-
pleted the assessment tasks in the same order.
In the second phase, the five classes were exposed to varying degrees of
the intervention: Class 1 received no exposure to the intervention; Class 2
received 10 exposures; Classes 3 and 4 received 12 exposures; and Class 5
received 15 exposures.
Each intervention session followed a similar format consisting of a
“warm up”, the body of the lesson and a “cool down”, and each reflected
three essential dramatic elements: improvisation, enactment and reflection.
The warm ups consisted of drama games and exercises which focused on
skill development in drama and the facilitation of group work. The body
of the session consisted of whole group improvisation with the “teacher-
in-role” (O’Neill, 1995), that is, the teacher as well as the students adopted
roles inside the drama. These improvisations were developed from student-
initiated ideas. Finally, the cool down consisted of reflection-on-action that
ranged from teacher led discussion, to varying forms of writing or drawing.
Phase three consisted of the post-intervention administration of the
SDQ, PPVT-R, PH and the CST following the same administrative proce-
dures as for the pre-test phase.
DRAMA AND DEVELOPMENT OF SELF: MYTH OR REALITY? 51

2.3. INSTRUMENTS

The Self-Discrepancy Questionnaire (SDQ) is a 20-item Likert-type scale

designed to measure differences in an individual’s perceptions of him or
herself from differing perspectives. The SDQ is a modification by Brown
and Kafer (1994) of a questionnaire designed by Higgins et al. (1986). The
items on the SDQ are statements descriptive of self, each rated from 1
(strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree). There are six different perspec-
tives on self. For example for the item, “I think I am a forgetful person”,
participants are asked to rate themselves in terms of these perspectives,
(a) how they actually are (actual/own), (b) how they ideally would like to
be (ideal/own) and (c) how they should or ought to be (ought/own).
The respondent then rates the item again from each of the three per-
spectives, but taking the standpoint of a significant other, specifically a best
friend. These ratings are taken to represent what a respondent believes the
best friend would perceive he or she actually is (actual/other), should ide-
ally be (ideal/other), and should or ought to be (ought/other).
From these six scores five self-discrepancy scores are derived by sub-
tracting from the actual/own score, each of the other perspective scores.
For example, the first discrepancy score represents the distance between the
way a person perceives themselves and the way they would like to be. Thus,
for each discrepancy score a high value represents a large discrepancy.
This scoring algorithm will be referred to as the Higgins’ algorithm and
is represented algebraically as follows:
|AO − IO| + |AO − OO| + |AO − AB| + |AO − IB| + |AO − OB| ,
where AO is actual/own, AB is actual/best friend, IO is ideal/own, IB is
ideal/best, OO is ought/own and OB is ought/best standpoints, respectively.
Consistent with Higgins (1986), the direction of the discrepancy in the
present study was disregarded. Thus, the focus was on the size of the dis-
crepancy rather than its direction.
Given that the present study was concerned with the efficacy of an inter-
vention program directed at improving the subjects’ capacity to perceive
social ‘objects’ from a variety of perspectives as an indicator of devel-
opmental maturity, it was thought that an algorithm designed specifically
to measure that capacity in terms of self-discrepancy might be more use-
ful than the Higgins’ algorithm. Consequently the following algorithm was
derived which is referred to as the Drama algorithm. This algorithm is rep-
resented algebraically as follows:
|AO − AB| + |IO − IB| + |OO − OB| .
This algorithm represents the difference between how a respondent
views him/her self and how his/her best friend, as the significant other,
views him/her in each of the three conceptualisations of possible selves,
52 PETER R. WRIGHT

that is “actual”, “ideal” and “ought” self (Brown & Kafer, 1994). As such,
it should represent the notion of different possible selves.
There is a potential difficulty with the way in which the SDQ raw
data are scored that is independent of the algorithm used to compute
self-discrepancy. It will be remembered that respondents’ answers to each
of the 20 questions are in terms of a five point Likert scale. The authors
of the SDQ recommend that these responses be summed to form an aggre-
gate for each of the six subscales. This recommendation ignores the essen-
tially ordinal nature of Likert scale data (Kerlinger, 1986). Because the
self-discrepancy scores were to be used in association with other depen-
dent variable measurements in MANOVA procedures, it was necessary to
devise a method of transforming the self-discrepancy raw data into inter-
val level scores. The approach taken was to aggregate the number of dis-
agreements with each of the three contrasts: (i) AO–AB; (ii) IO–IB; and
(iii) OO–OB. For this purpose a disagreement was operationally defined as
occurring when a subject responded not in the same or adjacent response
category on the same question for each of the perceptual sets in a contrast.
For example, if subject (i) responded to question (m) on AO in response
category (n) and to question (m) on AB in response category (n) or (n + 1)
or (n − 1) that would be agreement; any other response to question (m) on
AB would be a disagreement. Thus, in the DRAMA algorithm, the num-
ber of disagreements in the (AO–AB) contrast were aggregated, as were
those in (IO–IB) contrast, and in the (OO–OB) contrast, and those aggre-
gates were summed to give a grand total for each subject. Notice that this
method does not discriminate between, or apply different weights to, vary-
ing levels of disagreement. Nevertheless, it does provide a true interval level
of measurement of the number of disagreements and, hence, an estimate of
the subject’s self-discrepancy.

3. Results
The data were analysed using the doubly multivariate form of analysis
of variance. The between-subject variables were CLASS and GENDER,
and the within subject variable was TIME, with two levels, pre- and
post-test. In this form of MANOVA the main effects are CLASS, GEN-
DER and TIME. The CLASS effect measured the differences between clas-
ses irrespective of gender, aggregated over pre- and post-test, for the com-
posite variable representing role-taking, self-discrepancy, vocabulary and
self-concept. The GENDER main effect measured the differences between
males and females, irrespective of class, aggregated over pre- and post-test,
for the composite variable. The TIME main effect measured the differences
in the composite variable between pre- and post-testing for data aggregated
over class and gender. The main effect of CLASS was significant according
to the Pillais (F (16, 452) = 2.638, p < 0.001), criterion. The main effect of
DRAMA AND DEVELOPMENT OF SELF: MYTH OR REALITY? 53

GENDER was also significant (F (4, 110) = 5.386, p < 0.001), and thirdly,
the main effect of TIME was significant (F (4, 110) = 7.169, p < 0.0009).
Bearing in mind that hypotheses one to four are concerned with the
efficacy of the intervention in respect of the dependent variables, the only
main effect of interest is that of TIME. However, this effect, as mentioned
earlier, measured changes in the composite variable for all participants in
terms of their pre- and post-test scores. This effect, then, did not reveal the
efficacy of the intervention in terms of specific dependent variables for partic-
ular classes, or for males and females separately. The effects that are of inter-
est, therefore, are the interactions between the between- and within-subject
factors, specifically, the CLASS by TIME, GENDER by TIME, and CLASS
by GENDER by TIME effects. These effects are summarised in Table I.
Table I shows that only the CLASS by TIME effect was significant
(F (16, 452) = 2.520, p < 0.001) for the composite variable. The associated
univariate results for the CLASS by TIME effect for each dependent vari-
able are summarised in Table II.

3.1. UNIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE

Table II shows that significant CLASS by TIME effects were confined

to role-taking (F (4, 113) = 4.114, p < 0.0038) and vocabulary (F (4, 113) =
2.588, p < 0.0406) although it should be noted that the CLASS by TIME
effect for self-concept approached significance (F (4, 113) = 2.777, p < 0.0653).
The nature of these effects is described below. The interdependencies

Table I. Multivariate results for CLASS × TIME, GENDER × TIME, CLASS × GEN-
DER × TIME

Effect Pillais Trace Hotelling Trace Wilks Lamda

CLASS by TIME 0.328 0.387 0.700

F = 2.520 F = 2.627 F = 2.597
df = 16, 452 df = 16, 434 df = 16, 336.69
p = 0.001∗∗ p = 0.001∗∗ p = 0.001∗∗
GENDER by TIME 0.021 0.021 0.980
F = 0.572 F = 0.572 F = 0.572
df = 4, 110 df = 4, 110 df = 4, 110
p = 0.684 p = 0.684 p = 0.684
CLASS by GENDER 0.124 0.132 0.880
by TIME F = 0.900 F = 0.893 F = 0.897
df = 16, 452 df = 16, 434 df = 16, 336.69
p = 0.569 p = 0.578 p = 0.573
∗∗
p < 0.01.
54 PETER R. WRIGHT

Table II. Univariate results for the CLASS × TIME effect for Role-taking, Self-discrep-
ancy, Vocabulary and Self-concept

Dependent variable F value DF p Value Eta squared

∗∗
Role-taking 4.114 4 0.0038 0.12711
Self-discrepancy 0.274 4 0.895 0.04960
Vocabulary 2.580 4 0.0406∗ 0.08393
Self-concept 2.277 4 0.0653 0.07458
∗ ∗∗
p < 0.05, p < 0.01.

between these effects for role-taking, self-concept and vocabulary were not
further investigated within the MANOVA procedure by using step-down
tests because such tests depend heavily upon the order of entry of depen-
dent variables into the model (Hair, Anderson, Tatham, & Black, 1995)
and, in this instance, that order cannot be determined by appeal to estab-
lished theory or extensive empirical literature.

3.2. COMPARISON OF MEANS

It will be recalled that Class 1 received no interventions and that each of

the other classes received varying levels of intervention (that is exposure to
the drama program). With this in mind a set of planned, one degree of
freedom contrasts was undertaken to identify the location of the significant
differences between pre- and post-testing in the mean levels of role-taking
and vocabulary. It should be remarked that Classes 1 and 3 were located
in a middle class, provincial city, whilst Classes 2, 4 and 5 were located
in a rural village. Consequently it was possible to make comparisons of an
urban-rural kind for each dependent variable by aggregating pre-test scores.

3.3. ROLE-TAKING

The cellwise comparisons of mean difference scores for role-taking reveal

that all four possible comparisons with Class 5 means yield scores substan-
tially greater than zero. No difference between classes in efficacy of inter-
vention would be indicated by a score of zero. The comparison between
Class 1, no interventions, and Class 5 in particular was statistically sig-
nificant (p < 0.0001). However, the comparisons between the other groups
(Classes 2, 3 and 4) and Class 1 were not statistically significant.
A comparison of the means indicates that there were provincial city
(urban)-rural and gender differences between groups on pre-test for role-
taking.1 It is clear that on pre-test the subjects in urban schools displayed
higher levels of role-taking ability than did those in rural schools, and that
DRAMA AND DEVELOPMENT OF SELF: MYTH OR REALITY? 55

females outperformed males. It is not appropriate to draw between-group

comparisons using post-test data because to do so requires aggregation of
raw scores over groups and, hence, a confounding of variables.

3.4. SELF-CONCEPT

Turning now to the effect of the program on self-concept, although there

was evidence of improvement in some classes over the course of the pro-
gram the univariate results for the class by time effect on self-concept was
not significant (p < 0.065). However, there were differences between clas-
ses with respect to self-concept on pre-test with Class 12 (no interventions)
indicating a higher mean self-concept than Classes 2, 4 and 5. This initial
elevation of self-concept levels for the no-intervention group (Class 1) and
of one of the intervention groups (Class 3) limited the potential for the
program to demonstrate improvement of the groups when compared with
the no-intervention group.
A comparison of means shows an interesting urban-rural comparison for
self-concept on pre-test, however, male and female pre-test scores do not
reveal gender differences. It is also evident that, as with role-taking, subjects
in urban schools showed higher levels of self-concept than did those in rural
schools but unlike the findings for role-taking, there were no statistically sig-
nificant differences between males and females on self-concept.

3.5. SELF-DISCREPANCY

It will be remembered that the univariate ANOVA results given in Table II

indicated that there was no tendency for mean self-discrepancy scores to
improve as a consequence of intervention. Nevertheless the mean pre- and
post-test self-discrepancy scores show differences between classes that are
elaborated in the discussion.
It should be noted that the results described previously are based on
self-discrepancy data derived from application of the Drama algorithm
described in the Methods section, and that a high self-discrepancy score
indicates greater discrepancy between perceived states. An inspection of the
mean scores for self-discrepancy shows that Classes 1 and 3 exhibited lower
levels of self-discrepancy than did Classes 2, 4 and 5 on both pre- and
post-test. There are similarities between this pattern and that of the vocab-
ulary results noted later, and these similarities will be explored further in
the discussion.

3.6. VOCABULARY

An inspection of the mean class scores on pre-test for vocabulary suggests

that there were substantial differences between classes before intervention.
56 PETER R. WRIGHT

In particular, Classes 1 and 3 had higher mean pre-test scores than

Classes 2, 4 and 5. Similarly, Classes 1 and 3 again had higher mean post-
test scores than Classes 2, 4 and 5. Because the efficacy of an intervention
program can be constrained by “floor” and “ceiling” effects where there is
evidence of such a pattern of means, which was not the case for role-taking
but is the case for vocabulary, it is necessary to evaluate pre- and post-test
comparisons before examining mean post- minus pre-test scores.
It was evident that on the pre-test Class 1 had a higher vocabulary level
than Classes 2, 4, and 5. Also, on pre-test Class 3 had a higher vocabulary
level than Classes 2, 4 and 5. On post-test, Class 1 had a higher vocabu-
lary level than Classes 2, 3, 4 and 5, but Class 3’s vocabulary level was not
markedly higher than those of Classes 2, 4 and 5. Given that Class 1 was
the no intervention group, and Class 3 an intervention group, and that these
groups exhibited ceiling effects, this pattern of results limits the potential
for the intervention program to be successful where efficacy is measured by
differences in post- and pre-test scores. An examination of the cellwise com-
parisons of mean difference class scores indicates that, relative to Class 1,
Classes 2, 4 and 5 each exhibited greater improvement than did Class 3. It
should be remarked that comparisons involving the no intervention group,
Class 1, were not significant at the 0.005 level (note that a reduced alpha
level has been used to protect against an escalating type 1 error rate).
An examination of the by class mean differences reveals urban-rural
differences,3 with further examination of the mean scores for vocabulary by
gender reveals differences on pre-test vocabulary scores.4
These results show that on pre-test subjects in urban schools had higher
scores on vocabulary than did those in rural schools, which parallels the
finding for role-taking. However, male subjects outperformed females on
vocabulary, which is the opposite of the finding for role-taking. There are
similarities between this pattern and that of the self-concept results noted
earlier and these similarities will be explored further in the discussion.
In summary, the study provided evidence that the intervention program
was effective with respect to role-taking; there was a near significant effect
on self-concept; there was a significant vocabulary change and it had no
influence on self-discrepancy.

4. Discussion
The present study gave support to the notion of children being able to
improve their role-taking ability when involved in a role-play program. It
is pertinent to recall that the five classes were exposed to varying degrees
of the intervention, with Class 1 receiving no exposure and Class 5 receiv-
ing the largest number of interventions. Thus, it might have been expected
that Class 5 would have shown the largest improvement in role-taking
and self-concept, and the largest reduction in self-discrepancy. The analysis
DRAMA AND DEVELOPMENT OF SELF: MYTH OR REALITY? 57

reported earlier revealed a highly significant difference (p < 0.0001) between

Class 5 and Class 1, that is, most interventions versus no interventions.
There were also differences between Class 5 and the other three classes but
they were not significant (< 0.005). This would tend to suggest that the effi-
cacy of the program, with respect to role-taking, is at least in part a func-
tion of the number of exposures to the intervention. This suggests there
may need to be a minimum number of exposures to such programs before
there is a meaningful impact.
Since there is evidence that there is a developmental dimension to
role-taking (Flavell, 1963; Landy, 1993; Selman & Byrne, 1974), subsequent
studies should employ a mixed, cross-sectional and longitudinal approach
so as to detect any interaction between developmental processes and class-
room-based drama programs. This may then support Grusec and Lytton’s
(1988) assertion that a developmental perspective reflects a growing cogni-
tive capacity that facilitates better communication and allows for a greater
complexity of social interactions. This has been observed as early as first
grade with Doyle (1992) reporting an increase of social pretend play as a
precursor to more complex social interaction. Lapsley and Quintana (1989)
also indicated that mental capacity is an important predictor of social
role-taking development, and that role-taking is a foundation or prerequi-
site for acquisition in other social-cognitive developmental domains. Grusec
and Lytton (1988) also went on to suggest that it is through involving oth-
ers and seeing things from another’s perspective that social competence is
developed. This notion also receives partial support from this study.
The finding of an urban-rural difference on pre-test for role-taking
should be commented upon. Hollos and Cowan (1973) suggested that chil-
dren from urban backgrounds have generally enriched environments while
children from rural backgrounds do not have the same opportunity for
social interaction. It would seem that in addition to the number of inter-
ventions there are social factors that need to be taken into account in
examining the development of role-taking skills in middle childhood. This
would be consistent with Bengtsson and Johnson (1992) assertion that
role-taking and pro-social behaviour are related.
The gender difference in favour of females with respect to role-taking
might simply indicate that girls of middle primary school age tend to be
more advanced in their social development than boys and, hence, are more
ready to participate in role-taking activities. This argument could be investi-
gated using a mixed, cross-sectional and longitudinal approach of the kind
advocated above in connection with the urban-rural effect.
The present study did not reveal significant effects for self-concept as
a consequence of involvement in a role-play program. Further inspec-
tion of the pre- and post-test means indicated that the most substantial
improvements, as measured by difference scores – that is, post-test minus
pre-test scores – were located in Classes 2, 4 and 5.
58 PETER R. WRIGHT

It is pertinent to recall that Class 5 received the most interventions and

inspection of Table II reveals that mean improvement for Class 5 was the
highest (= 6.62). The mean level of improvement for Classes 2 and 4 was
= 5.23 and 5.48, respectively. This would suggest that there is an improve-
ment in self-concept scores that correlates with increasing number of expo-
sures to the training program. It would then seem reasonable to speculate
that a level of significance might have been achieved if the program had
continued for a longer period of time.
Substantial improvement in self-concept between pre- and post-testing
was confined to those classes with the lower pre-test scores on self-concept,
notably Classes 2, 4 and 5. This led to a suggestion that the interven-
tion would be potentially efficacious only for groups with similarly low
initial self-concept scores. However, generalising beyond the scope of the
present study is difficult because there have been no large scale studies
of self-concept using the Piers-Harris instrument with Australian school
children that could be used to locate the children in the present study
on a normative scale. A study by Collins, Kafer and Sheha (1985) does
provide some guidance though in this matter. Collins et al. (1985) tested
800 children aged 8–15 years using the Piers-Harris instrument and sug-
gested that, across the age group, a score of 52.48 ± 12.43 could be used
as an Australian standard score. Using this advice normative comparisons
were made for all classes in the present study using 52.48 as the population
standard deviation. On this basis the following Z scores were calculated:
Class 1, Z = +2.16, p < 0.05; class 2, Z = −0.42, p > 0.05; class 3,
Z = +2.40, p < 0.01; class 4, Z = −2.01, p < 0.05; class 5, Z = −1.07,
p > 0.05. It would seem, therefore, that the mean, pre-test self-concept score
for Class 1 was significantly greater than the norm, as was that of Class 3.
Not surprisingly, Class 1 did not show a significant improvement in self-
concept between pre- and post-test. On the other hand, the other three
classes had pre-test self-concept scores below the population mean and
they all showed marked levels of improvement. In interpreting this finding
it should be remembered that the average age of the subjects in the pres-
ent study was 11.5 years whilst the Collins et al. (1985) normative data were
derived from a population of 8–15 year olds. Nevertheless, this is indicative,
if not definitive, evidence that the intervention is most beneficial for those
children possessing self-concept scores at, or below, the normative mean.
In this connection it would seem that, having regard to the importance of
self-concept to adaptive social functioning, there is a need for a large-scale
study to be undertaken to devise age-specific norms that can be used for
comparative purposes in sample selection and for testing purposes in sub-
sequent empirical work.
Examination of the pre- and post-test means indicates that while there
was a lower level of improvement for Classes 1 and 3 than for Classes 2,
4 and 5, Classes 1 and 3 started with higher pre-test self-concept scores.
DRAMA AND DEVELOPMENT OF SELF: MYTH OR REALITY? 59

This may suggest that there is a level of self-concept above which training
programs have limited impact and below which significant gains can be
made. It is interesting to note that the mean pre-test self-concept scores
for Classes 2, 4 and 5 are below the “Australian” mean score of 52.48 as
reported by Collins et al. (1985). This Australian mean score may be help-
ful when designing intervention programs designed to increase self-concept
in the future where this “ceiling” effect may need to be taken into account.
There were no discernible differences between males and females on
self-concept, but there were noticeable differences between urban and rural
classes on pre-test. Urban children had substantially higher self-concept
mean scores than did those attending rural schools. This finding replicates
the results reported by Agrawal (1983), Reck (1980) and Meredith, Abbott
and Ming (1992).

4.1. THIRD HYPOTHESIS – SELF-DISCREPANCY

The present study did not support the third hypothesis in that there were
no significant class by time effects for self-discrepancy. It will be remem-
bered that there is some controversy as to whether a high self-discrepancy
is seen as a sign of maturity, or as an indicator of social anxiety, or as
a precursor to deviant behaviour. Higgins (1987) argued that a low self-
discrepancy is a sign of a more integrated personality. The present study
revealed a significant, negative correlation between self-discrepancy and
self-concept (pre-test computed r = −0.364, post-test computed r = −0.301,
critical r = 0.178, df = 121, = 0.05, 2 tailed test) that supports Higgins’ view.
Hence, in the following discussion, which focuses on explicating urban-
rural differences that emerged during the study, a low self-discrepancy will
be regarded positively.
It will be remembered that urban subjects had lower self-discrepancy
scores than did rural subjects. This pattern was also evident with respect
to self-concept and for vocabulary.
Although there was not a substantial difference between males and
females on pre-test self-discrepancy scores, there was a marked gender
difference for Class 2 subjects (for Class 2 subjects the mean score for
males was 33.5, and for females 15.28).
This particular class was characterised by a male teacher who encour-
aged the boys in his class to be “macho”, and rewarded the females for
playing traditional “girl” roles. It may be postulated that these two tradi-
tional sex-role groups provide the individuals within them with the ingre-
dients for self-identification. This could be seen to exacerbate the gender
differences reported on in the literature by Hattie and McInman (1991)
who postulated that males prefer to seek self-enhancement and female’s
self-verification. This process of self-verification would seem to be most
evident in the notion of self-discrepancy where females look more to
60 PETER R. WRIGHT

their “best friend” for feedback and validation whereas males, in contrast,
look towards other role models. Grusec and Lytton (1988) also previously
reported that girls tend to pair whereas boys tend to group. This could
be seen to impact significantly on females at this developmental stage if,
as Grusec and Lytton (1988) suggested, they are potentially more open to
influence through James’ (1890) notion of the looking glass self.

4.2. FOURTH HYPOTHESIS – VOCABULARY

The present study did support the fourth hypothesis in that there was
a significant increase in mean vocabulary score over time. It is also
interesting to note that the urban-rural pattern exhibited in self-concept
and self-discrepancy was also evident in vocabulary. Further examination
showed that Class 1 and Class 3 (urban schools) exhibited higher pre-test
mean scores than Classes 2, 4 and 5 (rural schools).
As the rural-village versus provincial-city comparison contributed to the
effects in the present study, this also needs to be considered in explaining
the findings. In a study conducted by Orsini (1981) on 1113 children from
rural and urban backgrounds, evidence was found that indicated that
the urban group performed significantly better than the rural group on
both spatial span and verbal span. A later extension of this study by
McIntire and Coladarci (1988) suggested that while there are apprecia-
ble differences in academic ability between rural versus urban students,
when socio-economic status is controlled for, place of residence accounts
for very little or no difference in students’ deficits on measures of vocabu-
lary, reading comprehension and mathematics skills. A study by Edelstein,
Keller and Wahlen (1984) specifically considered role-taking ability and
also reported significant differences on role-taking tasks, with urban chil-
dren performing better than children from rural areas. The present study
provides further evidence in favour of Edelstein’s hypothesis that chil-
dren from rural backgrounds have diminished opportunities for social
interaction and hence less opportunity to develop these pro-social skills.
The study has provided evidence that a DIE intervention program can
lead to improvements in children’s role-taking and vocabulary, and that, if
the intervention is of significant duration, children’s self-concept can also
be enhanced. In contrast, the study did not reveal any reduction in chil-
dren’s self-discrepancy following the intervention. Additionally, the study
indicated that the ‘urban’ children benefited from the intervention to a
greater extent than did those attending rural schools. However, this effect
may be due to the influence of socio-economic factors.
The findings of the study raise basic questions concerning the relation-
ships between role-taking, vocabulary, self-concept and self-discrepancy. In
particular, the lack of an effect of the intervention on self-discrepancy is
difficult to explain, given the assumed relationship between self-discrepancy
DRAMA AND DEVELOPMENT OF SELF: MYTH OR REALITY? 61

and self-concept, the dependency of the self-discrepancy instrument on the

children’s language ability, and the perspective shifts inherent in role-taking
and in the measurement of self-discrepancy. These issues are currently
being explored by the author using path analysis procedures because they
pose important theoretical questions, the resolution of which should have
practical implications for professionals working with children in a wide
variety of settings.5

Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank the schools of the North-Western region
of NSW, and the NSW Department of School Education.

Notes
1
Rural (Classes 2, 4 and 5) n = 70, x̄ = 8.814, sd = 3.099; urban (Classes 1 and 3) n = 53,
x̄ = 9.094, sd = 2.93. T test comparison of rural versus urban, t (121) = 0.508, p = 0.6124.
Male n = 65, x̄ = 8.738, sd = 3.299; female n = 58, x̄ = 9.155, sd = 2.681. T test comparison
of male versus female, t (121) = −0.763, p = 0.4469.
2
Class 1 n = 26, x̄ = 57.577, sd = 12.906; Class 2 n = 21, x̄ = 51.333, sd = 12.495; Class 4
n = 25, x̄ = 47.480, sd = 8.206; Class 5 n = 24, x̄ = 49.750, sd = 12.647.
3
Rural n = 70, x̄ = 93.957, sd = 12.507; Urban n = 53, x̄ = 106.736, sd = 16.891 respectively)
with a T test comparison of rural versus urban (t (121) = 4.822, p < 0.0001).
4
Male n = 65, x̄ = 103.369, sd = 16.634; Female n = 58, x̄ = 95.086, sd = 13.728. T test com-
parison of male versus female, t (121) = 2.991, p = 0.0034.
5
NB. A fuller version of this paper including figures and tables are available upon request
from the author.

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Biographical note
Peter Wright is a Senior Lecturer-Arts Education, in the School of Edu-
cation at Murdoch University, Perth. Western Australia. He holds the
following qualifications: PhD, MPsyc(Ed), MEd(Stud), BA, DipTch and
DipSocSc. His research interests include: teaching, learning and healing in,
through, and with the Arts; Applied Theatre, and transformational learn-
ing. His recent publications include: “‘The Braided Rope’: Theatre and
Young people -Theatre, Education or in Between?”; “Playing ‘betwixt’ and
‘between’ learning and healing. Playback Theatre for a troubled world”;
and (with Rasmussen, B) “Children and drama: Knowing differently”, in
Children’s Ways of Knowing: Learning Through Experience.