Leisure expectations and actual experience in drama as an extra curricular activity in Raffles Girls' School (Secondary), Singapore

Abstract

ECA (Extra-Curricular Activities) features prominently in young people's school life as they are activities in which leisure takes place, so it is important that they have optimal experiences in the chosen activity and that their leisure needs are met. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, this research is to discover students' perception of the efficacy of drama as an ECA in meeting leisure needs expectations. It explores the opinions of those directly affected by the activity. Participants from two drama clubs within Raffles Girls' School (Secondary) filled a survey using the five-degrees of agreement Likert Scale to assess to what extent the reasons for being involved in drama were important to them and how well their leisure needs were met. Questions were based on Kelly's (1983) seven categories of leisure needs: rest and relaxation; skill development and mastery; self-expression; personal growth; excitement and contest; exercise and health; and companionship and belonging. They were also based on Csikszentmihalyi's (1975) conditions for optimal leisure experiences: the activity is challenging and requires skills; both action and awareness merges; there is concentration on the task at hand; there is a loss of self-consciousness; there are clear goals and feedback; there is a sense of control; there is a transformation of time and finally, the activity is an autotelic experience. A follow up group session was conducted to discuss the quantitative findings and for the respondents to give their opinions, explain and clarify the survey results and also for or for them to ask any questions. Results indicate a match of Kelly's observation that certain experiential satisfactions are more crucial in leisure activities in the arts, namely self-expression, skills mastery and development, personal growth, and the product. Data reveal that individual needs were weighed more important than social needs, intrinsic and unconditional satisfaction more important than extrinsic ones. Leisure needs such as the social need for companionship, belonging and identity, for physical health, for relaxation and recharging of their energies, for competition, for extrinsic rewards were not deemed very significant to them. However these needs were amply met when compared to their expectations. Despite its liberal ideals for the arts, findings also discovered that the ECA programme for drama is implemented in ways that create various constraints and barriers to the unqualified enjoyment of the arts as a leisure experience. It shows that the national ECA reward system is skewed towards extrinsic rather than intrinsic rewards, that is, a reward policy that do not suit arts-based activities. The link between intrinsic motivation and autotelic behaviour is crucial for leisure participants to enjoy more 'flow' experiences in leisure and to gain increase of knowledge, skills as well as positive behaviourial changes. This calls for a reconsideration of a more appropriate way of assessing the arts. Data also show up the limited amount of autonomy given to leisure participants within the school's programme because of the short time schedule given in preparation for competitions and festivals, which in turn, causes directors and teachers to make artistic decisions with less than usual input from participants. Implementation and delivery of the programme at activity level is as crucial as the policies made by Extra-Curricular Activities Board, Ministry of Education to nurture innovative, thinking and creative people who will ensure the cultural survival of Singapore.