Wellbeing education (WE) is increasingly offered among secondary schools internationally to promote the physical, social, emotional and mental health of young people. Current and emerging evidence proposes that scope exists for the enhancement of universal WE, and that arts-based approaches have significant potential for school programmes in…

Teaching artists typically work as solo agents, without the comradery of a like-minded community. After a year of focus groups, teaching observations, and conversations with school and arts administrators, we identified a need for experienced teaching artists to have a chance to reflect upon, renew, and reconsider their teaching practices with…

Schools, community organizations, and major cultural entities can address educational inequities by engaging parents and children in arts processes, projects, and performances. Three cases featuring work in the arts show promise in contributing to the positive academic and social development of learners across the socio-economic spectrum. Learning…

Collaborating with "Project: Humanity," an acclaimed socially engaged theatre company, we mobilized, over 16 weeks, an applied theatre methodology of drama workshops and traditional qualitative research methods to explore issues of spatialized inequality and localized poverty with a youth shelter community in Toronto, Canada.…

This article addresses the performance of labour in participatory arts projects and considers the implications of such activity on perceptions of the unemployed in the UK. Utilising a combination of biopolitical and necropolitical understandings of governance and drawing on two examples of theatre practice, Tangled Feet's "One Million"…

Between 2005 and 2017 yielded fertile ground for research studies and articles about transformative learning and the arts within the field of adult education. The main questions this article seeks to answer are: What art forms are being used for transformative learning, how are they being used, and with what effect? The article begins by…

The following article tells the story of how a qualitative research methods PhD course and the creation of a researcher portfolio helped to answer the sometimes elusive question of, "Who am I as a researcher?" and ultimately led to a rediscovery of voice. This story describes how using various modes of inquiry set the groundwork for my…

Although prevalently focused on research-based outcomes (i.e. better understanding of a particular phenomenon, process or experience), arts-based researchers have widely emphasised the transformational potentialities of arts for individuals. In particular, the arts create space for thinking differently and provide opportunities to explore…

Research suggests that incorporating diverse active learning approaches, including creative and entertaining activities, into a class helps sustain students' attention and improve their ability to engage with the complex problems of the modern world. This study investigates how two different artistic classroom activities, one based in performing…

Students learn about science in a range of life contexts. Unfortunately, science classrooms are often disconnected from the ways of knowing about science that are embedded in, and embodied by, the life experiences of students. Drama has been identified as a potential means by which deeper understandings of the nature of science can be derived and…

"Dragons at the Snack Table" explores Magic Realism in relation to lived Applied Theatre spaces.

This article examines a 10-year long series of annual short-term interventions with young people living in Dharavi (India) that has led to a number of public theatre events. The partnership offers a unique training experience to students from the UK in theatre facilitation, and a regular opportunity to participate in theatre for young people in…

Ekphrasis celebrates and cultivates the relationship between artwork and poetry, particularly encouraging the use of written and verbal descriptive works to enhance the art education experience for students. This article discusses various ways ekphrasis could be incorporated in the art classroom. Ekphrasis highlights the strong connection between…

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 article presents a critical and comparative look at how two theatre programs help young people develop an artistic voice and sense of self as an artist. Each program begins with art. Individuals explore basic tenets of dramatic expression through foundational activities. As they play and experiment, the individuals discover their capacity for…