The Trouble with Neketa: Drama as a Force in Early Childhood Professional Training Programmes

Children’s Creole language or mother tongue is usually rejected in Early Childhood settings in Guyana. This practice of rejecting children’s home language breaches the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child which promotes the principle of development of and respect for the children’s language. More significantly, this practice contradicts developmentally appropriate early childhood learning experiences which dictates that children’s home language is probably the best medium for early interactions. Empirical study has attributed this problem to lack of sociolinguistic knowledge of Creole and limited pedagogical training [1]. In light of this finding, in 2010, the University of Guyana made a deliberate attempt to advance knowledge about Creole acceptance and appreciation when the first early childhood professional development training programme was introduced. This research paper examines the impact the training programme made on participants’ interaction experiences with Guyanese Creole speaking children. It highlights how participants’ knowledge of language acceptance principles influences their recognition of Creole as a legitimate way of speaking, and recommends key characteristics considered necessary for effecting changes in practice. In its analysis of this impact, the paper pays particular attention to the introduction of a dramatic play into the content and delivery of the programme. It attempts an assessment of the dramatisation as a sublime experience for the students in the University of Guyana programme, suggesting the extent to which it was able to effect change in their consciousness and their awareness of the importance of enlightened attitudes to first language recognition in their professional practice.