The life of a traditional aged college student is filled with many fast-moving decisions and new life experiences. When conflict arises in a student's life, it can upend a student's progression if they are not properly trained to deal with conflict. Current conflict management teaching curricula being given to students are insufficient due to…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the relationship between social skills and dramatic arts. In an effort to explore and eventually eradicate the negative problems plaguing today's generation, this study sought to question youth who may have grappled with social and communicative problems during their matriculation in…

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns were phenomena experienced by the majority of the modern world, but not everyone experienced it in the same way. Each person brings their own past, their own interests, and their own needs to the lived experience. Pre-pandemic research on art therapy suggests that creative expression could be helpful…

Environmental education in historically White schools of education has typically emphasized science, outdoor, or STEM education rather than environmental racism, environmental (in)justice, or the environmental justice movement. This focus often deemphasizes the role of structural injustice and state-sanctioned violence in environmental issues as…

As virtual platforms for secondary education have grown, the performing arts have faced various difficulties in moving to these platforms effectively. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the experiences of five secondary theatre educators transitioning to virtual teaching. This exploration included theatre educators'…

The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive study is to explore how teachers describe the process of creating lesson plans that use drama-based instruction (DBI) in the classroom to engage students as well as how they describe their experience using DBI in the classroom to engage students. Fourteen teachers located in the state of Florida…

Secondary ELA teachers use a variety of methods to engage, motivate, and teach their students literacy. Some methods include an emphasis on arts integration. One method of arts integration that has not been studied often in high school is the use of drama-based pedagogies (DBP). DBP are an innovative avenue to improving meaning-making and other…

The purpose of this project dissertation was to research, create and assess a hypothetical two-year musical theatre/music theater (MT) curriculum to serve as a model for future implementation at community colleges. As one of the fastest growing and most prolific forms of popular entertainment today, the 21st Century musical is uniquely poised to…

The past few years have proven a need in higher education for tools that help educators and students maintain a flexible and highly adaptive approach to their coursework. Research into applied improvisation has shown that the improvisational mindset is beneficial to educational settings in this way, in part because of the way it encourages…

The story of a mass shooting occurring on the place of school seems to be a common one in contemporary American cultural narrative. One of the more controversial solutions offered within this narrative is allowing citizens to protect themselves through the practice of conceal and carry. The practice of legally allowing individuals to conceal and…

The sweeping changes brought forth by the pandemic led me to reshape my dissertation in order to develop non-academic skills that will allow me to better meet the shifting challenges of our times. Mine is a non-traditional project focused on the application of technologies and the cognitive theory of multimedia learning (the process by which…

The foundation of this research addresses the lack of college readiness by first-time college freshmen to adequately matriculate in college, which results in them failing classes and eventually dropping out of higher education. To remedy the problem, the purpose of the study will explore the use of dramatics to improve/strengthen the Social,…

This mixed methods study aims to investigate the effect of readers theater, a drama-based activity whether it could help enhance preservice English teachers' English pronunciation as well as reduce their anxiety when pronouncing English. The participants (N = 49) were sophomores majoring in the English of Education program, who enrolled in a…

Although systemic racism has always been a persistent problem in university theater training (Community of BIPOC Theatremakers, 2020a), heightened calls for action began in the late spring and early summer of 2020. In July 2020, some 300 BIPOC theater-makers drafted and signed an open letter to the theater industry at large (Community of BIPOC…

Purpose: The purpose of this transcendental, phenomenological study was to explore how involvement in theatre arts programs helps to improve social functioning skills (SFS) in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder, from a drama teacher's perspective, in middle schools in the central coast region of California. Methodology: A qualitative…