Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemSurvivors : a theatre in education project(University of Melbourne, 1991)The function of this kit is to accompany the performance of the play "Survivors" with follow up material for classroom use. It is designed for senior secondary students, between the ages of fifteen and eighteen years. The purpose of this material is : 1) To provide historical information about the Holocaust which will give the students a factual context with which to consider the events of the play. 2) To provide exploratory dramatic experiences which will enhance their understanding of the issues raised in the play. The specific aim of the kit is to extend the experience of the play "Survivors" so that the students have the opportunity to consider the content of the play in more depth. The material and dramatic experiences included in the kit aim 1) to build empathy and identification by working from the students own feelings. 2) to encourage further research and documentation in the area of Holocaust studies. 3) to encourage the examination of prejudice in contemporary society in the context of the play. 4) to further develop the students understanding of dramatic process.
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ItemThe school production : a study in four parts( 1991)An academic introduction to relevant material and an overview of the major philosophical themes and debates in Drama in Education over the past fifty years. This also provides important background information to the rest of the study, placing the school production, Drama, the teachers and the curriculum development work in a broader context.
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ItemA Screenage aesthetic in drama( 2002)This reflective practitioner study was designed to investigate the ways in which screenage culture impacted on the development of students' artistic meaning making in drama. As a teacher researcher I focused on a five week play-building unit that was undertaken by a Year 9 and a Year 10 drama class. The unit allowed the students to introduce elements of screenage culture into their work. The students discussed the development of their plays and these discussions were recorded and analysed. Themes emerged from the initial period of data collection that led me to question the levels of engagement of the planned activity and to consider the quality of aesthetic awareness among the students. In order to provide multiple perspectives, and support the classroom observation data, interviews were conducted with six students and three drama teaching colleagues. The data analysis highlighted the impact of the context on the quality of classroom drama and the importance of encouraging diverse perspectives during classroom discussions in order to develop aesthetic awareness. This study emphasises the need for the teacher to make connections between the teacher's world and the students' world in order to develop aesthetic awareness in the drama classroom.
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ItemGhost stories : an ethnographic journey( 1998)This is an ethnographic study of a school theatre project, 'Ghost Stories'. The study explores what the role and nature of extra curricular theatre is in an independent boys' school. The concept of 'school theatre' is defined as an aesthetically rich, extra curricular event. The study argues that a teacher of 'school theatre' creates learning experiences for students that empower and challenge the politically or economically sanctioned educational culture. The value of school theatre, the role of the teacher, the development of students' artistic and personal skills and the relationship between school theatre and the dramatic heritage is investigated. The study argues that a believable, trustworthy account of the school theatre event needs to incorporate the variety of participant voices. The report is written in the form of a narrative and is told by the drama teacher responsible for the performance project, a male and female student, a teacher assisting in the performance project and a senior member of the administration. The narrative traces the participants' motives in becoming involved in the 'Ghost Stories' performance project, the various perceptions of the value of student devised performance texts, the conflicts within this educational context, culminating in the final night's presentation ceremony. The 'Ghost Stories' performance event challenges the conduct of teaching and learning in this educational context. The study contends that a teacher of 'school theatre is engaged in 'critical pedagogy'.
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ItemHide and seek: examining the relationship between student understanding and the drama devising process through the development of three senior secondary ensemble performances in drama( 2007)This thesis examines how a student's understanding of their world can be informed through the development of an ensemble performance in drama. It is a qualitative study that presents the findings of three groups in three comparative case studies in a single site. The teacher-researcher observed a year eleven drama class preparing a group performance task at the end of Unit Two Drama in the Victorian Certificate of Education. The research explored the development of student understanding through the ensemble performance by addressing connections with personal understanding, expression through drama understanding, the refining of understanding through the drama process and interaction with other group members and the teacher's contribution. It also uncovers the tension for the teacher in evaluating student outcomes in terms of VCE criteria at the expense of learning gained through process. This study suggests that student understanding can be expanded through making personal connections to stories from everyday life, opinions and beliefs and influences from the student world. The research explains that the group can build on these personal understandings using different interactive methods and formulates a 'toolkit' to assist the individual to participate effectively in the cultural context of the drama ensemble. Developing understanding through drama-making is described in terms of the movement between play, the common aesthetic and art; and through the benefits of expressing ideas in practice and embodied understanding. The final performance product is shown to contribute to the development of student understanding in two ways: through student considerations of the audience in their performance-making; and through the ways in which performance elements were employed by the students for expression and communication. The final performance was a culmination of the knowledge and skills that each individual had offered and the decisions of the group as it expressed a group understanding through dramatic form.
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ItemAn aesthetic framework for drama education( 1995)This study examines how the aesthetic is central to a conceptual framework in drama education. The main features of the framework are investigated and referred to as the Aesthetic Framework (AF). To accompany this framework the study proposes the development of an aesthetic consciousness for teachers working on the new Queensland Drama syllabus (BOSSSS, 1993). The focus of the study is on how the Aesthetic Framework (AF) manifests itself in classroom practice and how teachers and students describe their experiences of it. Central to the Aesthetic Framework is the development of a philosophical stance embracing artistic, educational, cultural and critical theories. Through the writings of Szatkowski, O'Neill Abbs, Willis, Giroux, Foucault, Eco, Lyotard, the study argues for different epistemologies to be explored within the drama curriculum to allow students to undergo other aesthetic experiences. The findings offer teachers a discussion about the success and failures of the strategies developed to implement the Framework in the classroom.
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ItemUsing drama to teach English speaking skills in early childhood education in Korea( 2004)This study was especially designed for Korean young learners as a trial of a teaching approach using drama to teach English speaking skills. It aimed to discover whether this approach improved learners' speaking skills, their interest in and positive attitudes towards learning English. 12 Korean pre-school learners, aged from four-and-a-half to five participated in this pilot project. This pilot programme was held in a Child Care Centre in Seoul, South Korea. The researcher chose a well-known story familiar to Korean young learners, 'The Three Little Pigs'. The researcher remade the story and storybook to be suitable for the Korean context and the purpose of the lesson plans, and analysed the story to select topics. On the basis of this analysis, the project firstly presented the drama techniques, which were required to produce the story, from lesson 1 to 8, and then made a creative story using these drama techniques and the children's imaginations, in lessons 9 and 10. The drama performance was prepared to see how the young learners would apply their learnt English competency through drama techniques, not for the purpose of performing "Theatre". The lessons lasted for 30 minutes per session for three or four days a week (total 10 times over three weeks). The findings indicate that the trial approach of 'using drama to teach English speaking skills to Korean pre-school learners' was a very effective and enjoyable teaching method for young learners; not only did the children learn English with lots of fun but also they participated in the English class by "learning and doing". The main benefit of this study was that the learner's English competency in terms of speaking skills meaningfully improved using a "chunk" style of speaking skills in appropriate situations through drama sessions. However, the short period of this study showed some continuing difficulties in pronunciation and accent. It is recommended that further study be undertaken in this area, but over a longer period of time.
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ItemCountry Access: a contemporary history: the investigation of an arts education programme at the Victorian Arts Centre( 1994)This study offers a history of the Victorian Arts Centre Country Access programme. The study explores the relationship that exists between education and the performing arts, as experienced by participants in the Victorian Arts Centre Country Access programme: teachers, students and artists. Data related to the programme have been collected over a twelve year period from 1982 to 1994. To describe and analyse the programme within its broadest contexts, the study first considers historical and other contextual data (the "grand tour") before specifically focussing on particular aspects of the programme (the "mini tours"). The study identifies and explores factors such as the role of teachers, artists, workshops, performances and community involvement in the development of learning and appreciation in an art education programme. It explores the relationships that exist between "creation", "appreciation" and "re-creation"; with particular emphasis on a consideration of the contributions, roles and perspectives of teachers and artists. The study attempts to identify and consider the relationships that exist between factors which contribute to long-term learning and appreciation in the performing arts i.e. to consider the relationship that exists between education and the performing arts.
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ItemDrama for empowerment: using drama to enhance resilience in young people( 2001)This is a study of the use of drama to enhance the resilience of young people. A reflective practitioner methodology was used to conduct a study with a Year 11 drama class. Dramatic framing and distancing devices were employed to explore with students the social and cultural myths influencing choices and behaviour. Work with the class culminated in performance, incorporating student-devised texts and forum theatre processes that addressed the theme Coping with Change and Challenge. The study examines the role of the teacher in the design and management of a drama process with transformational goals. Student interviews identify the value of the experience as perceived by the participants and illustrate the critical role membership of a supportive group plays in young people's capacity to participate in collaborative tasks involving self-expression and exploration of sensitive issues. A review of the drama literature within the resilience paradigm identifies a number of implications relevant to the drama educator. These include the importance of maintaining a healthy group dynamic and the need to be aware of the capacity of the medium to exacerbate rather than to deconstruct stereotypes, and to normalise or glamorise extreme or unhealthy behaviours. Informed by the resilience literature, the reflection on practice and the students' perspective on learning through drama, a collection of frameworks were developed as a guide to drama praxis for the purposes of empowerment and health promotion. The study suggests that selection of appropriate drama conventions and manipulation of the dramatic form can provide both protection and challenge for young people.
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ItemDrama in education: words into action( 1989)The senior years of education in Victorian schools will undergo significant changes as a result of the introduction of the new Victorian Certificate of Education in 1991. This study examines the ways in which the Victorian Certificate of Education will influence: the perceived purpose of schooling at this level, the method of developing curriculum, and the discipline of drama. The Study Design Drama is explored, in a hypothetical situation, in order to assess the efficacy of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Board's Study Structure Approach to curriculum construction. Focus is placed upon the question: Is it possible for the teacher to maintain ownership of the curriculum under the Victorian Certificate of Education?