The purpose of this qualitative research case study was to investigate leadership and funding decisions that determine key factors responsible for sustaining arts programs in public schools. While the educational climate, financial constraints, and standardized testing continue to impact arts programs in public education, Eastland High School, the…

This arts-based, qualitative teacher-researcher study considers how a group of mostly white high school students worked with their white facilitators to consider whiteness using Youth Participatory Action Research in conjunction with playbuilding and drama pedagogy. First, the author locates his reflexive stance. Then, relying on critical race…

In a high-school reading class, the author used Reader's Theater as an instructional and motivational strategy for underachieving students. This action research focused on the extent to which implementing Reader's Theater motivated students to read and improve their reading skills. Consistent increases in scores for all students occurred over the…

With the economic collapse of 2008, there has been a dramatic increase in government emphasis on the value of science and technology-based study in the nation's high schools as a means for the United States to remain competitive in the world economic market. Financial, political and societal support for the hard sciences, coupled with…

This article explores collective identity as a useful theoretical framework for understanding social and developmental processes that occur in youth programs. Through narrative analysis of past participant interviews (n = 21) from an after-school theater program, known as "The SOURCE", it was found that participants very clearly describe…

Over the years that I have taken secondary school students to the theatre, the the digital revolution has moved through schools, classrooms, and even theatres, calling into question my goal of contributing positively to students' identity formation through exposure to live plays. Responding to calls to examine the ways in which young people's…

What are possible overlaps between arts practice and school pedagogy? How is teacher subjectivity and pedagogy affected when teachers engage with arts practice, in particular, theatre practices? We draw on research conducted into the Learning Performance Network (LPN), a project that involved school teachers working with the Royal Shakespeare…

In this article, a teaching strategy which not only blends yesterday and today in a meaningful way but also powerfully integrates literacy and history will be examined. Firstly Readers' Theatre as a technique will be introduced. Secondly, the usage guidelines of Readers' Theatre will be presented. Finally the opinions of secondary school students…

In 1999, a mandatory and interdisciplinary art course, Cultural and Artistic Education (Culturele en Kunstzinnige Vorming, or CKV), was introduced in the Dutch secondary school system. The course focuses on receptive, rather than active, art education. Cultural activities, such as visiting an art exhibition or a theatre performance, form the core…

This mixed methods counterbalanced study compared the gain score means of two different approaches to vocabulary acquisition--Vocabulary Theater (VT) and Teacher Directed Instruction (TDI) for 8th grade students from three schools in New York. The purpose of the study was to explore the effects of a peer teaching approach on students' vocabulary…

The purpose of this action research study was to examine Reader's Theater as an instructional and motivational strategy for underachieving students (N = 24) in a ninth- and tenth- grade Literacy for Life classroom. The Literacy for Life course was designed to assist high school students reading below an eighth-grade level. The research took place…

Forum Theatre (FT), a participatory improvised theatre form, raises consciousness, enables debate and critical reflection, and encourages a democratic form of knowledge production that engages the audience in their own learning and unlearning. I used FT as a platform to understand how 15- to 18-year-old learners, in a co-educational school in the…

Theatre-based interventions have been used in health promotion with young people to address HIV and sexual health. In this study, we explored the experience of undergraduate student performers participating in a theatre-based HIV prevention and sexual health education intervention for high school students in the USA. Undergraduate students…

Most research suggests professional development improves teachers' knowledge and pedagogy and enhances teachers' confidence to facilitate a positive attitude about student learning. This study attempted to investigate the connection between teacher professional development program and students' Learning. This study took Readers' Theater Teaching…

Though there have been quite a number of research studies focusing on how Singaporean families promote literacy and instill values of academic excellence inside the home, little has been written about how families nurture the gifts of teenagers talented in the arts in the Singaporean context. This article highlights how the family influences the…