International development partnerships are characterised by inherent power relations with community partners often seen as needing assistance in fixing their problems. In this paper, we discuss the limitations of this perspective on the example of gender equality in the Pacific. We explore applied theatre tools to work with a variety of…

Today's schools are preparing children, starting at an early age, for future educational and career opportunities that will help them succeed. With strict standards that must be met, measured in part by testing, it's not unusual for both time and funding to be shifted away from arts education to achieve this goal. While this might seem like a…

Arts-based knowledge translation (ABKT) is a process that uses diverse art genres (visual arts, performing arts, creative writing, multimedia including video and photography) to communicate research with the goal of catalysing dialogue, awareness, engagement, and advocacy to provide a foundation for social change on important societal issues. We…

Freire (2005) encourages people to take "critical ownership of the formation of ourselves" (p. 44) in order to be able to act upon the world in what he (1993) calls "praxis." This praxis consists of the development of critical consciousness leading to transformative action. Critical consciousness and praxis should be conceived…

In this paper, I use an ecologies approach to present reflections on the history of disability and deaf theatre in Australia, in light of the distinctive local policy, industry, and production frameworks that have supported or failed to support its development in particular directions. After tracing and categorising developments in the field to…

Cahnmann-Taylor draws on Boalian Theatre of the Oppressed to offer a practice for literacy teachers and coaches that can open up multiple perspectives and multiple levels of intentions and motivations for a teacher's decision making. She challenges coaches and teachers to engage in artistic examinations of multiplicity to move toward performing…

Advocacy begins with an assumption that if a number of community members are suffering, then there must be something wrong, not with the individual members, but with the community as a whole; therefore, the community must be changed to help alleviate that suffering. Advocacy creates a platform for change by allowing individuals to begin the…

Teaching artists work in a field with a long, rich history, and many roots and strands of development. One of TAJ's roles is to try to make this history more accessible and useful to working teaching artists. In this article, the author outlines the evolution of teaching artistry in the United States.

The small string of words "in place of" is problematic because if it denotes "instead of" then it is questionable whether conflicts and wars can ever be abrogated so long as there are relations of power. However, but if the string denotes a location, i.e. a war zone, then it is not inconsequential that we justify our eagerness…

Focuses on the program called "Arts Week" that demonstrates the importance of the arts in the lives of students at West Point Gray Academy in Vancouver (British Columbia). Describes Arts Week and discusses the process of creating Arts Week. States that Art Week was a success. (CMK)

Introduces the symposium that explores the 1997 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) arts assessment. Provides information on NAEP, the arts assessment, and its importance; a discussion on the results of the arts assessment; and interpretations and implications of the results. Offers suggestions for arts advocacy. (CMK)

Considers the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 1997 Arts Report Card. The NAEP assessment provides data on what eighth-graders know and can do in music, visual arts, and theater. Evaluates the assessment, discusses the results, and addresses a call for action. (CMK)

Outlines and discusses a series of activities using puppet theater to explore social community issues. Draws inspiration from the street theater of the 1960s that used puppetry and engaged the audience in lively conversations during productions. Includes instructions for building puppets and suggestions for plays and performance material. (MJP)

Reviews the worker's theater movement of the 1930s that attempted to unite actors and audience in devising solutions to societal problems. Maintains that re-enacting its dramatic forms is a thought-provoking way to introduce students to the issues of the time. Includes instructions for suggested activities. (MJP)