The Pedagogic and Instructive Use of Art in Primary School: The Case of Shadow Puppet Theatre

The present study focuses on the pedagogic and instructive use of art and more specifically of the Shadow Puppet Theatre in Primary School. Initially, we briefly present the objectives of education – those who concern the popular tradition, the art and the promotion of culture as these are formulated in Act 1566 of 1985. Furthermore, we discuss modern methods of teaching that are included in various institutional texts, which concern the above school level, such as the Cross Thematic Curriculum Framework (D.E.P.P.S.) and the “Analytic Curricoulae” (A.P.S.). Several approaches are also presented regarding the particularities of this form of drama and the advantages and disadvantages in regard to its introduction in the educational process. Then, the possibility of integration of Shadow Puppet Theatre in the teaching of various instructive subjects of Primary School is discussed, while presenting evidence for its presence in the textbooks which are taught today in Primary Education. Finally, instructive proposals are presented on the use of this form of drama - in the frame of Cross Thematic Approach of Education - for almost all subjects taught in Primary School. In conclusion, the study of all the above mentioned elements leads to the ascertainment that the Shadow Puppet Theatre can be instrumental in the enrichment and modernisation of teaching and general educational process at school.