A small, but growing, number of studies explore the connections between process drama pedagogy and the development of empathy. In our view, empathy involves affective and cognitive processes of the heart and the mind. In this article, we report findings from a year-long New Zealand research project with four primary school teachers who integrated…

This study aims to investigate students' awareness of the level, causes and negative effects of noise in schools through the utilization of creative drama activities. The objective of this sample application is to contribute to the development of a more tranquil and peaceful school environment. A single case study design was employed for this…

The aim of this article is to shed light on how students experience drama lessons and school performance when drama is part of the school curriculum. Within a sociocultural framework of understanding, an ethnographic study was conducted on the culture and context of drama implementation in two schools in Iceland. The students talk about drama…

Theatrical performance constitutes a complicated way for students to express and to communicate with each other, since it targets both various artistic and educational goals. Even though it constitutes a top moment of students' expression, several students do not feel comfortable when participating in such cultural activities, as performance…

This study explores the contribution of a person-centred approach as applied in the drama course of a teacher education programme to the growth of the professional ethics of a group of pre-service primary teachers. It is founded on three questions, which examine the conducive epistemological conditions of the drama course to the development of…

There is a global concern regarding boys' poor engagement in literacy activities. It is suggested that boys enjoy ways of learning that are active and have explicit goals. Readers' theater (RT) provides an active and collaborative means of practicing oral reading fluency, with a clear goal of performing for an audience at the end of training. In…

The purpose of this research is to examine the effect of drama activities on the achievements of primary school fourth grade students in Social Studies Lesson and the permanence of knowledge. For this purpose, exploratory sequential design, one of the mixed research methods, was used. The research was carried out in a primary school affiliated to…

This article describes the qualitative phase of a larger intervention study, where pupils with learning disabilities (nine dyslexic pupils) were engaged in a pedagogically blended 'Reread-Adapt and Answer-Comprehend' (RAAC) and Theatre Art activities to enhance Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTs) in reading comprehension. Data from pupils' answers…

Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of physical education (PE) class contents on 6-8 years school-age children's perceived exertion, psychological responses and cognitive functions. Materials and Methods: These dimensions were measured in 135 children (6.61 ± 0.58 years) before and after an 8-week different PE intervention…

This article explores the potential for engaging 7 and 8-year-old school pupils in performative literature interpretation through process drama. Inspired by new materialism and affect theory, we focus on how literature interpretations come into being in dramatic fiction, and on how these becoming interpretations merge with the classroom. The study…

Background: We examine effects on oral reading fluency (defined as automatic word recognition and prosody) when phrase-cued text (defined as marking the phrase boundaries in text) is layered on to readers theatre, an evidence-based instructional format that includes multiple readings over a period of about 5 days as students practice and prepare…

This paper presents the research and findings of how some Australian teachers of Drama engage with masks in the classroom. It is part of a larger research project looking at the potential impacts for masks and education in the Australian curriculum. With masks both synonymous with Drama, and multiple resources available for teachers to engage with…

In this article, we examine the fraught task of doing drama-based work on the climate crisis with youth in schools at a time of increasing climate fatalism. We focus on what a virtual, speculative fiction writing and performance workshop achieved with students in Coventry, Kaohsiung and Bogotá by inviting them to rewrite the futures of local…

Social-emotional learning (SEL) has become one of the fastest growing movements in education. However, while many teachers acknowledge the value of SEL, research shows that comparatively few educators feel prepared to incorporate it into their classrooms, and that current school culture emphasizes academics over SEL. This qualitative study…

This article responds to Olof Franck's vision of a less didactic and more creative approach to Education for Sustainable Development. We consider how a multidisciplinary applied theatre project, bringing together Earth Sciences, Ancient Rock Art, storytelling, digital technology, and drama education knowledges and techniques can foster a more…