This study of an interdisciplinary learning community at Holyoke Community College, which combined adolescent psychology and theater, attempts to show that "embodied learning" is not only a valid means of knowledge production and integrative learning but can also function as a gateway to deeper integration of course material. The authors…

The application of drama strategies which focus more on meaning than on form can provide an impetus for ESL learners to be more confident about speaking, thereby increasing the quantity of their spoken English. This paper discusses existing research and the author's own experiences in an attempt to highlight the positive effects of improvisations,…

Engaging and exciting students about the environment remains a challenge in contemporary society, even while objective measures show the rapid state of the world's environment declining. To illuminate the integration of drama and environmental education as a means of engaging students in environmental issues, the work of performance companies…

In this article, we discuss the work undertaken in the first phase of a participatory theatre project which took place on a council housing estate in the Midlands of England, in which residents were invited to share their memories for a production which would present the history of the estate. This community is often characterised as deficient,…

In the past few years, people have come to realize that family and child well-being are public health issues. Helping families and children be happy, healthy and resilient helps the larger community. This report will discuss various aspects of family life including the systems that exist to support them, ways families can have more positive…

This article presents an interview with Mimi Brodsky Chenfeld, a longtime early childhood teacher, author, teacher educator, and advocate for integrating the arts with every aspect of the curriculum. In this interview, Chenfeld shares her thoughts about the performing arts: music, dance, and theater. She explains why it is important for young…

The combination of theater and community-based service-learning can be a powerful tool to allow university students to meet their educational goals while connecting them with the world. The performance of children's theater in elementary schools with English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs, for example, has important pedagogical…

Despite the proliferation of educational interventions and attitude change strategies, the prevalence of homophobia and widespread discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people on college campuses persists. This study investigates the impact of theatre on changes in college students' attitudes. Using a pre- and…

This paper presents an analysis of how guided engagement with the arts can provide leadership lessons for school leaders and administrators. The study was conducted as part of two projects funded by the School Leadership Program (SLP) grants from the U.S. Department of Education. The principal interns and practicing school leaders participated in…

"The Student Actor Prepares" is a practical, interactive approach to a student actor's journey. Each chapter includes acting principles, their importance to the process, and workbook entries for emotional work, script analysis, and applications to the study of theater. Topics cover a brief history of the art of acting and how the study…

This report describes the implementation of arts-based instruction during in-school and out-of-school times. Specifically, it summarizes the results of four components of the inventory: (a) sequential fine arts instruction during school, (b) community arts experiences during school, (c) out-of-school time arts opportunities on campus, and (d)…

In the first conceptual overview of current practices and debates in theatre education, Helen Nicholson explores the contribution that professional theatre practitioners make to the education of young people. She maps the environments in which theatre and learning meet, and looks at how the educational concerns and artistic inventiveness of people…

While people might not be familiar with the term "voluntary arts", they are probably either involved with some voluntary arts activity themselves or they know someone who is. They use "voluntary arts" to mean any situation in which someone is voluntarily participating in an art form for pleasure, social reasons, skills…

Research-based community theater can address important life issues in a safe and entertaining environment. This study investigated using a theater performance about widowhood as a medium for facilitating older people's engagement with key life events and countering negative stereotypes. Quantitative questions incorporating semistructured…

Drama/theater education lives in the tension of being a discipline rooted in the fine arts and humanities that has been transplanted into the social science of education. This paper suggests that a more aesthetic and philosophical reflection on what drama/theater does and can do in educational settings frees us from the scientized and instrumental…