Describes the use of generative curriculum in a first-grade class, whereby students pursue their own topics of interest and ways of learning as they engage in meaningful inquiry. Outlines demonstrations that teachers can use to help students develop their own topics. Areas covered include composition, visual arts, notetaking, interviews, surveys,…

Describes a project in England in which a class of 9- to 11-year olds enthusiastically and successfully explored the play "Hamlet" by writing about, discussing, performing, and visually interpreting the actual text. The teacher suggests that, with a little creativity, Shakespeare is very accessible to children. (SM)

Asserts that the quality of any musical performance is a direct result of what happens in rehearsals. Argues that the primary responsibility for planning and implementing successful rehearsal sessions falls to the conductor. Describes a six-step approach for rehearsals, which should begin at least six months prior to the performance date. (CFR)

Describes Project ARTS (Arts for Rural Teachers and Students), a 3-year community-based research and development program for students with high interest and abilities in the performing and visual arts. Focuses on the project's curriculum and assessment. Addresses the applicability of the program to other rural areas. (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)

Explores new possibilities and limits of theater education through a role-playing project. Adolescent actors participated in workshops that were meant to improve physicians' communication skills with adolescent patients. Explains that the project also aimed at improving the adolescent actors' techniques in theater. (CMK)

On 21 September 1999, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake in Taiwan destroyed more than 100,000 houses, causing 2,294 deaths and 8,737 injuries. In the aftermath of the earthquake, a great number of social workers and cultural workers were thrust into Nantou County and Taichung County of central Taiwan, the epicentre of the earthquake, to assist the…

In this article, the author describes Neighborhood Bridges, The Children's Theatre Company's (CTC) critical literacy program that gives young people from the most impoverished and troubled neighborhoods in Minneapolis the courage and power to speak their minds both orally and through the written word in such a daunting setting. The 2003-04 school…

This paper has been developed on the basis of research conducted in two projects. A special emphasis is however given to one of the projects concerning an evaluation of a drama pedagogical project. The evaluation is specifically aimed at the efficiency, intensity and depth of the educational drama input in mediating cultural messages from the…

The study on which this paper is based examined the experiences of students in order to develop a theoretical and empirically grounded account of the dynamic social forces of inclusion and exclusion experienced by youth in their unique contexts of North American urban schooling. The ethnographic scenes, organized into four "beats,"…

In contemporary drama education theory, much emphasis has been placed on the value of improvisation and role drama for contributing to the development of students. Working through role in improvisational formats has been thought to provide students with unique opportunities for understanding self and others by creating contexts that allow for…

Purpose: To provide insights into approaches for conceptualising and producing case studies that will be appropriate for inclusion in educational and training programmes. Design/methodology/approach: The efficacy of a new process adopted in case writing, through "front loading" production of the teaching note, is described. An analogy is derived…

This paper focuses on Slovenia's arts and cultural education. The Ministry of Education and Sport is responsible for laying down the aims for cultural and creative dimensions of education. Concerning the creation of the curriculum related to culture and creativity (both within education) and the arts curriculum, most curricular decisions are made…

A study examines qualitatively the extent to which college students indicate that cocurricular theater activities impact on psychodynamic development in J. Katz's five areas--separation anxiety, peer influence, adult role models, personality development, and occupational choice. Subjects, 15 male and 15 female students involved in the theater…

As part of a review of the Speech and Theatre department, William Rainey Harper College in Illinois conducted a study in spring 1995 of students who had earned at least 12 hours of credit in the program during the past 5 years. Specifically, the study sought to determine students' motivation for enrolling, their current status, and how they…