Positioning Children in the Mélange of Theatrical Practices in Early Childhood Development in Kenya

Abstract

The Early Childhood Development (ECD) landscape in Kenya is endowed with theatre from multiple heritages. Yet, indigenous theatre remains relatively underrepresented in research, policy and practice in favour of dominant Euro-American discourses. Despite belonging to a cultural space, children may not practice theatre in exactly the same way as it is established in their cultures. Therefore, this paper considers children's artistic culture as a unique form within their specific cultural realities. The situation is exacerbated by the tendency to perceive theatrical activities in ECD using adult lenses with less regard for children's ways of knowing. The main objective of this paper is to explore children's theatrical culture as a significant legacy that deserves investigative inquiry rather than neglect and exclusion within their cultural heritages by analyzing theatrical practices at the disposal of children and caregivers from a sampled repertoire of ECD centresin Kenya. By engaging the critical lenses of postcolonial theory, the study interrogates the underrepresentation of children's artistic culture and the globalization of knowledge to conform to a single storyline yet children come from multiple heritages and contexts which deserve a share in global discourses. The findings reveal that children's theatre is a rich cultural aesthetic unique to children's ways of knowing and doing within their cultural realities which also warrant recognition in research, policy and practice. The findings also position children as creative and performing artists with the capacity to engage in age appropriate theatrical activities in their own right as children.