Using Drawing As Intervention With Children For In-Service Preschool Teachers

Headnote

ABSTRACT

This study provides a basic overview of in-service preschool teachers using drawing as intervention with children. Art therapy is used more often for the smaller children who have more difficulty to describe their emotions and feelings in recognizing words, such as anger, resentment, and different kind of abuses. As a matter of fact, the drawing has become a preferred mode of communication for them. The final result of this study is supporting the said theory. The best predictor of behavioral intention was the in-service teachers' attitudes while enrolling in the four-month non-credit course in Art Therapy and they believed that this would facilitate their future teaching by much more understanding the children's behaviors through non-verbal communication and actions. The perceived behavioral control was also the significant predictor of actual application behaviors. This study can provide a valuable reference for those in-service teachers who presently do not have any experience with art as an intervention with children.

Keywords: Behavioral Intention, Attitude, Subjective Norms, Perceived behavioral control, In-Service Preschool Teachers, the Theory of Planned Behavior

INTRODUCTION

This study provides a basic overview to the in-service teachers of how to use children's drawings as intervention for better understanding of what problems the children are actually facing within their hidden subconscious or who are experiencing trauma or pain. Art therapy is used more often for the smaller children who have more difficulty describing their emotions and feelings in recognizing words, such as anger, resentment, and different kind of abuses. As a matter of fact, the drawing has become a preferred mode of communication for them. The theatrical application revealed in this study is related to a theory of planned behavior developed by Ajzen in 1985. The theory of planned behavior was used to predict the in-service teachers' intentions of working with children in art therapy. Three elements of the application proposed in this theory were investigated comprising the attitudes, norms, and perceived behavioral control, etc. The definition of "In-service teacher" used in this paper means the in-service preschool teachers who are considering enrolling in the four-month non-credit course in Art Therapy.

The Theory of Planned Behavior is the amendment and extension of Azjen (1985, 1991) and Fishbeins' (1980) 'The Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA)'. Other than...