Dramatic Play as a Promotor of a Well-being for Primary School Pupils

Since the beginning of the last century, the interest of pedagogical research on childhood play has been growing consistently. The contribution of active pedagogy, from the Agazzi sisters to Montessori, to more recent authors, has initiated and enhanced the educational potential of play. Indeed, play represents a privileged resource for learning and relationships. Through different play experiences, the child opens himself to meeting others, explores the environment, comes into contact with objects, expresses himself and tells stories. Furthermore, he becomes aware of his own body and personality, experiments well-being and pleasure (Patruno, 2014). At the same time, the child acts out the first conflicts and discovers different perspectives and points of view. The present work aims to investigate the current role of play in primary school, as an opportunity for the child's personal and overall development (Berger 1989; Farnè 2021). More specifically, we intend to consider dramatic play as an experiential mode able to activate all child’s sensory channels. Dramatization involves body and emotions. It promotes expressive skills and helps build relationships with others, impacting positively on the child's overall well- being, reinforcing autonomy and self- regulation. Dramatic play proves to be an effective educational strategy in these Liquid Modernity (Bauman, 2007; 2012; 2023), where the child also experiences forms of individualism, states of loneliness and isolation. The experience of dramatization can help the child in the process of achieving his or her own well-being.