The current heightened sensitivity around history, colonisation and the aftermath of the socio-political and cultural ethos of the world can create in many people the fear of cultural appropriation and misrepresentation. This fear can affect the ability to imagine and play in certain learning settings, especially in devising performances, socially…

In this report, students were grouped into three distinct categories for analysis, based on patterns that emerged in arts participation during high school, which we named spartans, explorers, and deep divers. The patterns in arts participation represent not just the students, but also the opportunities and barriers they encountered. We found that…

This qualitative study presents an analysis of how the use of social media can provide opportunities for students to critically analyze complex texts and collaborate with peers. The students participated as active audience members at a theatrical performance of Gertrude Stein's "Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights" at a large urban…

This article examines how short-term overseas mobility (study abroad) programs in the performing arts can foster global citizenship among undergraduate university students. It assesses outcomes from two programs led by different Australian universities: the first in 2015, involving six music and drama students for three weeks; and the second in…

In this brief report, students were grouped into three distinct categories for analysis, based on patterns that emerged in arts participation during high school, which we named spartans, explorers, and deep divers. The patterns in arts participation represent not just the students, but also the opportunities and barriers they encountered. We found…

While higher education has historically been tasked with the responsibility of fostering the moral development of society's future leaders, this duty is even more challenging today, as recent studies are reporting Millennial college students have higher levels of narcissism, coupled with declining levels of empathy and creativity compared to prior…

Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed has been the basis for radical performance techniques practiced around the world. Widely a staple for theatre performance syllabi, it also has an innovative application for the social work classroom. This article designates Boal's four stages of his poetics of the oppressed and concomitant theatrical…

Medical school students are expected to learn many subjects at the same time. As a result, they often experience stress and find it difficult to cope with the curriculum. In addition, some first-year students find theory and practical classes to be monotonous. One of the difficulties faced by faculty members is, therefore, to maintain student…

This article reconsiders the association between childhood arts participation and cognitive and developmental outcomes. Using data from a large, nationally representative sample with extensive covariates, we employ propensity score weighting to adjust comparisons of children who do and do not participate in arts education (music and performing…

What happens when one controversial text meets another in performance? How do diverse audiences from rural and metropolitan areas respond to powerful yet provocative material? The Kennesaw State University Department of Theatre and Performance Studies sought to answer these questions with "Splittin' the Raft," a dramatic adaptation of…

The widespread turn towards "collaboration" in qualitative research methodologies warrants careful and continuous critique. This paper addresses the possibilities and the challenges of collaborative methodology, and in particular what happens when the line between pedagogy and methodology is blurred in classroom-based ethnographic…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of popular theatre (PT) as a pedagogical tool around which a community service learning (CSL) senior undergraduate course was oriented, specifically assessing the university student learning experience from this work relative to PT processes and CSL objectives. Design/methodology/approach:…

There is increasing concern over disengagement of teacher candidates during on-campus periods of pre-service programs due to the perceived disconnect between educational theory and practice. In response, teacher education has been called to engage candidates in praxis through authentic learning. In this paper, we bring together the fields of…

Well-designed university buildings and physical environments have a documented positive impact on student participation, engagement, and feelings of support and belonging. These factors are known to improve learning; however, it is hard to document the direct impact architecture has on student learning outcomes. Information on how specific design…

We examined subjective experiences in activities and perceptions of growth in a sample of first-year female university students (N = 196; age range = 17 to 19 years old, M = 18.48, SD = 0.53; the most common ethnic affiliations were British Isles, 51% of respondents, Canadian, 34%, French, 14%, and German, 8%). Students described 4 activities,…