drama - a tese original

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION..4

The aims of the study

1.1 Problem analysis

1.2 Fundamental theories and authors

1.3 A note on Methods

CHAPTER I .11

A Brief historical overview

2.2 Key Stage One education during the Dictatorship period

2.3 Drama in Key Stage One Schools

CHAPTER II..25

Making a case for Drama as a Complementary Form of Pedagogy in elementary

schools, key stage one

3.1 Analysis of different learning methods, defending meaningful experiences

3.2 Aims of Drama in Key Stage One Schools

3.3The nature of Drama in education

CHAPTER III 41

Drama as a Complementary Form of Pedagogy

4.1 Terminology of Drama in education

4.2 Structuring Drama - a model for any age group

CONCLUSION..78

BIBLIOGRAPHY81

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DRAMA USED AS A COMPLEMENTARY FORM OF PEDAGOGY IN

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS - KEY STAGE ONE. MAKING A CASE FOR

DRAMA IN PORTUGUESE CLASSROOMS

Abstract:

Teachers in elementary schools, Key Stage One, are often faced with classes of

students from very different backgrounds, from many cultures and with varied

learning abilities. As such, the learning environment is both very rich and

remarkably diverse. Therefore, a primary concern must surely be to apply a form of

pedagogy that respects not only the various cultures encountered, but also the way we

start to get to know the world.

We all bring to schools different perspectives, behaviours, and cultures, and we are

all, to a greater or lesser extent, bound by constraints imposed by different people. It

Is thus imperative, that teachers have the capacity to recognise that not all students

have the same motivation to learn, or learn in the same way, and that they can

understand what they learn rather then memorize concepts.

The aim of this study is to make a case for the application of drama in key stage one

classrooms, as a complementary form of work within other areas of the curriculum.

The theories put forward are rooted in and based on education and drama with the

aim of proposing a pedagogical method, which allows teachers to work through

drama in any age group. As such, this study will not present a fixed set of instructions

for how to use drama for particular age groups - rather it aims to suggest a model of

principles intended to give elementary school teachers a set of tools for using drama

as a significant method of helping children both to learn and to understand what they

learn.

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Objectives include: Argue for the importance of drama during our lifetime, analyse

why it should be preserved in key stage one, and present a model of how to use drama

as a pedagogical method.

As we grow and progressively understand the world, we all tend to make use of

symbols and roles to give and receive meaning, in a particular context. Therefore, in

key stage one, the use of drama should facilitate learning and understanding, which

preserves and respects that particular world.

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INTRODUCTION

The aim of the study

This is a study of the nature of drama teaching and learning within elementary schools -

key stage one, i.e. 6-10-year-olds - in a Portuguese context.

The primary focus of the study is to give to teachers a complementary form of pedagogy

to work within other areas of the curriculum.

Secondarily, it aims to devise a method for teachers to use in their classrooms, a method

applicable to any area of the curriculum.

Not long after I joined the Faculty of Education in Faro, I began to develop an interest

in this particular approach. The difficulties encountered by the student teachers I was

teaching seemed to indicate that it would perhaps be possible and indeed beneficial, to

change preconceived notions about the use of drama in the classroom.

The intention of the following approach is to help teachers understand the process of

drama, and to appreciate the fact that the product is much more than the creation of

plays for exhibition on a festive occasion - an attitude which is often prevalent in some

classrooms. Or, as Cecily O'Neill states in Drama Worlds, an activity that can be

seen as a mere rehearsal device, a display of skills without context or brief

entertainment.(O'Neill 1995, p. 15.).

Underlying this idea is the notion that drama is commonly reserved exclusively for

entertainment, because it is considered to be difficult to use as a learning medium. For

example, many of my students have stated that they are afraid to lose control of the

class. It is only possible to accept this statement if they consider the use of drama in a

classroom as a brief entertainment, and if we realise that the reason why children often

get out of control is because they are not used to working in drama in a constructed

way on a daily basis.

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This study intends to promote a particular form of pedagogy in the context of a very

rich learning environment, and to highlight its importance as clearly as possible for

teachers.

The tasks children carry out still seem to place stress on thinking as private

individuals - silent a lot of time - and responding to the stimulus provided by the

teacher.

(Bond, Heathcote, 1989, p. 23)

This study aims to demonstrate the validity of this statement, firstly through a brief

overview of Portuguese education, during the dictatorship, secondly from my

observations of the system currently in place in schools and thirdly from theories about

learning methods which indicates that learning is mostly dependent on information

provided by the teacher.

In addition, the study proposes that, through drama, children have the chance to develop

and to experiment creatively and imaginatively within their daily routine:

When I entered the educational system, I brought curiosity and imagination and

creativity with me. Thanks to the system, I have left all these behind.

(Lipman, Sharp, Oscanyan, 1980, p. 5)

The teacher in this quotation expresses his/her disappointment about a suffocating class

environment, which gives no room for creativity and imagination. Therefore the need

for a changing environment neatly defines the premise of this study concerning the

importance of drama in key stage one. Child play is the very foundation of the way we

start to learn about the world:

Children learn through play; it helps them to make sense of their experiences.

Drama, at its simplest, is structured play. As we get older we tend to forget how to

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play. We pay others to do it for us. For some of us being a shepherd or (if we are

really lucky) the Virgin Mary is just about the only memory we have of dramatic

playing. If that is the case, we've missed out a lot.

(Ball, Airs, 1995, p.1).

Throughout this study, the concepts of imagination, creativity, questioning,

communication and group work are repeatedly referred to, in support of what drama has

to offer in a classroom. The reason for this is that they make up what is generally

considered to be the nature of drama in Key Stage One. In fact, these are the very

concepts that assist teachers in engaging children in their learning without treating them

as actors.

Drama in education need not and in most cases, does not, have performance as a

goal although performance may result from drama work it would be quite

misleading to suggest or imply that it was its goal. Nevertheless drama does have a

sense of destination but that destination is not in the first place a performance and it is

often not a performance at all.

(In Schools Council Drama Teaching Project, 1977, p. 19)

The complementary form of pedagogy proposed in this study is drawn from a variety of

sources. Firstly, it is based on my experience as a drama teacher with students on a Key

Stage One Teacher Training Course. Secondly, it is drawn from analysis of several

practitioners in the field of Drama in Education. Thirdly, it contains perspectives put

forward by leading experts from the field of education.

The theories analysed in this study are drawn from English and American authors, for

the simple reason that Portuguese equivalents are yet hard to find.

Problem Analysis

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Questions raised by this study stem from my work as a drama teacher in key stage one

teaching practice at the Faculty of Education in Faro, Portugal. This consisted of two

semesters of subject-based drama: four hours per week in the first semester, second

year, and one hour per week in the second semester, third year.

The fundamental questions throughout the study are:

Why is it important to argue for the importance of drama during our lifetime?

Why it should be preserved in Key Stage One?

What is the nature of drama as a pedagogical method?

To begin to tackle the questions listed above, it is necessary to discuss learning and

understanding in education, and to define why it is considered important to relate those

concepts to drama, and place them in the context of Key Stage One. In addition, it is

necessary to know the terminology connected to drama while using it, to understand

concepts such as process and product, and form and content.

The study is divided in three chapters:

Chapter One presents a brief historical overview.

This chapter outlines the influence of the period of dictatorship on education in

elementary schools, and briefly presents the changes subsequent to the revolution with

regard to curriculum, school population, methods of education, and drama in education.

The research method applied in this chapter is firstly documental and primarily targeted

at describing the existing situation. Its purpose is to describe events and concepts; this

description follows a chronological order. The aim is to give an historical insight. Along

with this factual description of a particular situation and arguments about the evolution

of drama in key stage one, according to Berg, L. Bruce( 1989), a semistructured

interview was conducted, with supervisors of the practical teaching course at the Faculty

of Education, in Faro. The purpose of this interview was to allow the respondents to

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express their opinions and experiences about changes in teaching practices, classrooms,

school population, and methods of education, with regard to the application of drama to

other areas of the curriculum. The interviews were also designed to allow the

respondents to express their views on the changes that have taken place in the

Portuguese education system during two very different periods of history. Even with

special topics, in the semistructured interview, the intention is to provide the

respondents with the opportunity to express their points of view about this specific area

without any prior categorisation:

These questions are typically asked of each interviewee in a systematic and consistent

order, but the interviewers are permitted (in fact expected) to probe far beyond the

answers to their prepared and standardized questions.

( Berg, L. Bruc, 1989,p61)

The wording of the interview follows Bruce suggestion that the questions must use

familiar words to the interviewee and the appropriate professional language was used

based on the fact that both interviewer and interviewee are professional teachers. The

study group seemed appropriate, as it comprised former elementary school teachers, key

stage one, who had graduated and were actively teaching during the dictatorship. As

such, these teachers, who are now supervisors in the Faculty of Education, are well

qualified to compare the previous situation in schools with current conditions. In

addition, they are familiar with most of the schools in the Algarve region, and they

regularly act as non-participating observers examining the competencies and behaviour

of the students.

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The data of the interviews is analysed according to particular categories to intersperse

different views and similar views, relevant to support the documental description and to

support the arguments of this study.

In this chapter, a questionnaire was handed to seven teachers in key stage one in the

Algarve region, to characterize how teachers teach, through drama, other areas of the

curriculum.It will also be presented as a table, and the analysis of the content is both

quantitative and qualitative. The sample of this questionnaire was a Purposive

Sampling, the sample was considered representative of a particular group, and it served

the purpose of this study.

Chapter Two reviews the theories about learning methods - regarding changes in

education - that are supported by theories concerning the use of drama. The content

analysis in this chapter is firstly inductive for it identifies the, dimensions or themes

that seem meaningful to the producers of each message. ( Bergen, L. .Bruce, 1989, p

230). The paragraphs are drawn from learning methods, arts philosophy, philosophy and

drama in education, form the content unit in this chapter. The analysis provides insight

into what the application of drama has to offer education at that specific stage, also

stresses the difference between learning, and learning and understanding, to propose the

use of drama as a complementary pedagogical method in key stage one environments.

Chapter Three is devoted to the presentation of a method formed from what has been

learnt so far, as regards the specific language of drama. It should be stressed that the

purpose here is not to provide set recipes and procedures, but rather to define a

method for drama that can be applied to any content and age group. The method is

presented in sections designed to provide a thorough explanation of the aims and

learning opportunities inherent in each concept, as well as highlighting the importance

of structuring drama work over a specific period. The intention is to convey the idea that

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drama, as a complementary form of pedagogy can be a very useful tool for both teacher

and children, to teach and learn the contents of the curriculum in key stage one. An

important time for development and acquisition of knowledge, which provides children,

with tools to be prepared for the uncertainties of the future that await them in the

context of society:

The `self-dramatisation' of children is really the process by which they're inducted

into society; drama becomes their medium of knowledge and of self.

(Bond, Heathcote, 1989, p. 21)

CHAPTER I

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A Brief historical overview

This chapter intends to present an overview of elementary school teaching within the

New State (1926 - 1974), to analyse the future consequences of that teaching specially

concerning working through drama and highlighting the distinctive features of the

evolution that has been taking place in Portugal since the revolution

In this chapter, the criteria of selection for the documental analysis is the relevant

facts about the characteristics of elementary school teaching, during the dictatorship

regime.

The categories that emerge in the course of developing these criteria should reflect

relevant aspects of the messages and retain, as much as possible, the exact wording

used in the statements

( Berg, L. Bruce,1989,p224)

The distinguishing features of elementary school teaching under the New State are

examined in detail by Filomena Monica in her Education and Society in the Portugal

of Salazar (Elementary Schools under Salazar, 1926-1939). However, in the context of

this study, this documental analysis will only focus on teachers' pedagogical approach,

the behaviour of students with regard to the learning process, and the distinctive aspects

of the classrooms and curriculum.

One of the aspects that are covered in this chapter is how drama and almost any artistic

expression are treated in our education. Pursuant to the Portuguese Educational System

Act 310/83, 1 July (1983), artistic expression has been integrated into schools at Key

Stage Two and high school level all over the country, primarily in the form of music

and dance. The XIII Portuguese government tabled a motion to open up an area of

knowledge in artistic expression in high schools, but it was only in 2002 , that a bill was

passed for the reorganisation of artistic expression, in key stages two and three. This

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reorganisation was to take place in phases: 2002/03 for 11-12-year-olds; 2003/04, for

12-13-year-olds; and 2004/05 for 13-14-year-olds. However, the document from the

Educational System states that schools must take into account both human resources and

facilities, when dealing with the matter of artistic education.

According to the Reorganisation of the Artistic Education prepared by the Department

of Education, only three intermediate schools teach Theatre, and only two higher

education institutions offer the subject. This means that it is still not possible to take a

graduate course in Drama in Education, which differs greatly from Theatre courses

per se, primarily as regards terminology, pedagogy and practical application in schools.

This brief introduction to the drama courses on offer within various teaching degrees

suggests that Portugal still fails to recognise the fact that drama differs greatly from

theatre, and that drama teachers are teachers who specialise in theatre or in other

subjects and therefore have great difficulty in finding reliable sources of drama theories

and practice. Therefore elementary school teachers will find the same difficulty added

to the fact that they are not subject based teachers, who will of course rely more on

other areas with many sources of research, leaving behind artistic expression.

It is essential that non- Portuguese readers give due weight to the fact that the

asymmetries mentioned here will surely have a significant effect on educational.

Faro is the regional capital of the Sotavento area. In the region, there are many areas

that are still very poor - especially those closest to the border with Spain. The

population of this area is also diminishing, largely on account of people being drawn

towards the coast. For a long time, the County of Faro was the only region in the

Algarve where levels of secondary and higher education were in line with the national

average, as this was the only county in the area with an institute of secondary education.

The people of the Algarve, who completed courses of higher education naturally

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belonged to the social elite, as higher education was only available outside the

surrounding areas and only the upper classes could afford the related costs. In the

Algarve, as in other areas of Portugal, great differences exist between coastal regions

and those further inland. These differences pertain to job availability, academic and

professional qualifications, industrial modernisation, living conditions and well-being.

In all these fields, the coastal regions fared better, while the inland regions were

distinguished by an ageing population, low levels of educations and low income, on

account of the diminishing importance of the primary sector and the general

desertification of the interior. In fact, in 1991 the interior area of the Algarve still had a

level of illiteracy comparable to that of the 1960s, (Mendona, 2001). Because of this

geographical, demographic and economic asymmetries prevalent in Portugal today,

there is an urgent need for a thorough restructuring and qualification of primary

education, key stage one. In 2003, the XIV government has launched PER.EB1

(Special Programme for the Reorganisation of the Network of Elementary Schools, Key

Stage One), a programme intended to improve teaching conditions in the interior

regions of the country, close down schools with fewer than 11 students and integrate

them into other, better equipped schools - and even to build brand new schools for that

purpose.

The distinguishing features of interior of the country - north and south - are very similar

in relation to social, economic and demographic profiles. These are regions heavily

affected by desertification, with ageing population and great poverty, and these factors

result in low levels of both literacy and cultural development. In these regions, a great

exodus has taken place, with whole populations moving to the cities and abandoning

whole villages.

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Portugal has undergone a period of major changes at all levels since 1974, changes that

have come to accentuate the regional differences, which increasingly differentiate the

country.

Even today, these changes continue to highlight the asymmetries that exist in Portugal -

a country that remains remarkably centralised and marked by areas of minor

significance. This profile is very similar to that which existed in the time of Salazar. The

changes that have taken place have emphasised the divide, not on account of non-

development, but rather due to the structural differences that development inevitably

creates.

Before characterising the dictatorship regime, it is useful to say that, elementary

education in Portugal is only Key Stage One, 6 10 years old, so that will be the

expression used through out this study.

From the military coup that brought Salazar to power until the revolution of 1974, all

regions of Portugal were clearly marked by stagnation and zero development in areas

such as education and economy. This situation only served to accentuate the existing

asymmetries between urban and rural Portugal, between the highest and the lowest

classes.

In an economy that was still predominantly rural with a highly hierarchical

structure, the advantages of reading did not impress anybody in rural areas -

where approximately 80% of the population lived, a simple and routine existence

was the norm and communication was largely still carried out orally

(Mnica, 1978, p. 62).

As we can see, these differences between the populations of various regions were

instrumental in fanning the flames of poverty, which, in turn, proved to have a

significant effect on levels of education and illiteracy, especially in rural zones.

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The schools of the New State served as instruments for instructing children in the

Salazar doctrine. Portuguese schools of the 1930s were comparable to those of

nineteenth century England as regards indoctrination, discipline inside the classroom

and matters of social differences in the schools:

in this country, there is no shortage of schools founded on atheism and betrayal;

schools where lower class children's minds are illuminated, i.e. where children

are taught to despise religion and to abide by the laws of subordination .

(Mnica, 1978, p. 4)

Elementary school teaching in the New State was a chaotic practice. For example, one

of the fundamental factors was the number of students per room. It was quite common

to have classes of 70-80, with ages ranging from 7 to 13 or 14. Classes were

characterized by a wide spread of ages and a mix of different mental capacities, and by

various forms of discrimination applied. For instance, more attention was devoted to the

oldest students, as they would soon be taking their examinations. As a result, lessons for

the younger age groups were often cancelled or ignored. Moreover, students from the

upper classes were given a variety of privileges and were usually forgiven unacceptable

behaviour.

Under the New State, education was repressive in all aspects and was distinguished by

excessive physical punishment.

Education had to be repressive for two fundamental reasons: firstly, because the

children were born with original sin; and secondly because some of them revealed a

greater need for `trimming down', as they came from particularly `bad' environments.

In such cases, the origin of Evil was twofold: innate and environmental.

(Mnica, 1978, p. 31).

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Teachers became little more than vehicles of this political-ideological force.

Classrooms were ruled with order and obedience, fear and repression. They totally

lacked pedagogical methods designed to help students learn, to stimulate innovation or

encourage individuality. In classrooms, learning was exclusively an exercise of the

ability to read, write and count.

The learning process in the classrooms of the 1930s was distinguished by simple

memorisation of what was in schoolbooks and by students' passivity in their evaluation

of contents. Students were required to be able to repeat quickly and accurately facts,

such as the names of the rivers and mountains in Portugal. Teachers were allowed to use

only one book and were prevented from so much as attempting to experiment with

innovative pedagogical practices.

In England, in 1880, teachers were fighting for a strong union to dignify their

occupation, and, at the same time, to push for a critical evaluation of what was

transmitted in the classroom. It is relevant to note that at the end of nineteenth century

in England, two pioneers of drama in schools - Harriet Finlay Johnson and Henry

Caldwell Cook - were already concerned with innovating lesson format, students'

attitudes in the classroom and innovative concepts about education in schools. This

attitude contributed to the practice of experimentation with different pedagogical

methods, which was, in a way, remarkably innovative.

It seems clear that there has been little investment in education in Portugal over the

years.

The census of 1991 revealed that 11 per cent of Portuguese were illiterate. That of

2001 showed that, despite the improvements and changes made in the field of adult

education, nine people in a hundred still cannot read or write. Alberto Melo, author

of the document that laid out the goals for the development of adult education, states: In

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this country, which has to cope with an unparalleled situation of schooling failure,

there has never been a campaign or a strong strategy `to combat the problem'.

(Journal de Noticas, (Portuguese Daily Newspaper), 15/12/2002)

Key Stage One schools, such as those dating back to the Plano dos Centenrios and

P3, (names of specific buildings with specific characteristics, Plano dos Centenrios

are schools similar to Norwegian buildings, with fireplaces and a ski-rack at the

entrance, P3 are schools following the Denmark model, buildings with open spaces

inside the school and no doors), built in the middle of the dictatorial regime.

In 2003, the Special Programme for the Reorganisation of the Network of Elementary

Schools, key stage one, implemented by the XIV government confirms that even today -

particularly in the interior regions - there are schools that do not even have the most

basic facilities. For example, many schools are without a library or cafeteria. Others

lack the equipment necessary for providing efficient teaching and for motivating

students from the interior regions, students who are typically prone to dropping out of

the education system, after Key Stage Two or Three. This propensity to drop out of

school is largely attributed to disillusionment engendered during elementary school

education and to the economic constraints, which distinguish the interior regions.

Towards the end of the 1960s, some teachers tentatively attempted to apply the natural

global method for teaching students to read and write, championed by the Movement of

the Modern School. This was only introduced into Portugal through private institutions,

founded and recognised as an official branch of the International Modern Movement in

1966. This movement made its first appearance in some public schools in Portugal,

eight years after the 1974 revolution. Regarding drama in education, however, there is

much to suggest that the stagnation has to do with the teaching courses, from the

beginning of the dictatorship until the year of the revolution. Because teachers in their

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teaching course did not have any artistic expression, numerous generations failed to

cultivate the habit of exploring drama in the classroom. Moreover, after the revolution,

drama was always the poor cousin of school teaching, and teaching in general. In the

area of teacher graduation, and at the level of practical teaching, forms of expression

during the dictatorship were manifestations that could easily be construed as

inappropriate behaviour.

According to educational authorities, recreational activities always had to be carried

out under the closest surveillance as it was precisely through such activities that

good teachers could discover the true character of their students, correct rebellious

traits and inculcate into students the `desired' norms.

(Mnica, 1978, p. 322)

Against this backdrop, it is easy to imagine that the concept of drama in education was

fated to fail, from the very start. This situation remained in effect for forty years, which

constitutes an enormous delay with regard to the exploration, theorisation and

development of drama, in Key Stage One schools. Even before Salazar dictatorship in

Portugal, England was home to at least five recognised pioneers in this field, (Bolton

1998) allowing different concepts about drama in schools, propagated by people such as

Peter Slade and Brian Way.

It is from a perspective of evolution and transformation that have taken place in the

context of key stage one, that this study viewed and analysed the content of the

interviews. The first of these took as a starting point the conditions under the

dictatorship, in relation to the following parameters: features of the schools in the

Algarve, where teaching was carried out, teacher- pupil relationship in the classroom

and students' attitudes; curriculum used; situation of drama in schools, in the Algarve

region; and the equipment and support materials available to teachers and students in

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the schools. The second aspect involved the same parameters, but viewed from the

perspective of the supervisors in relation to teachers practice today. Teachers who

belong to a different generation from their supervisors, who have experienced 30 years

of democracy. In relation to the first parameter, regarding teacher -pupil relationship the

respondent stated that classes still had many pupils and made it plain that the

relationship between the teacher and the pupils was still unilateral and that the pupils'

attitude was still distinctively passive. As regards classroom layout, the conventional

pattern of the pupils sitting in rows and facing the teacher at the front of the class, by the

blackboard, still applies. Moreover, the dynamics of schoolroom work are still largely

unchanged, with pupils sitting alone at their desks doing exercises from a book. As to

the second parameter, curriculum used, respondents stated that in many classrooms,

they still found the same method of working, reading and writing as they themselves

experienced in their Key Stage One schools. They also added that this is still the model

that student teachers of today tend to reproduce, as they naturally consider it a safe

approach - even though they had the opportunity to study several different methods,

while in training.

In relation to the situation of drama in school practice, some respondents clearly stated

that it did not exist and when they wanted to work it in their classroom, it was

considered strange, by other teachers. A respondent belonging to the Movement of

Modern School referred a different attitude concerning the use of drama in schools. In

the experience of the respondent, drama was always part of the practice. This

Movement mentioned in this chapter, has a different concept of education. Still there are

few schools with teachers belonging to the Movement, which require commitment in

the many workshops teachers attend. In relation to their practice as students, concerning

drama, they see there is lack of will to take any risks and use drama in teaching, on a

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daily basis. Respondents recognised that drama is used largely under language content,

and that students still see the use of drama as great performances for an audience.

The characterization could only be complete, after presenting the questionnaire referring

to the actual practice of teachers in key Stage One.

The table below shows quantitative data.

QUESTIONS ANSWERS

1 what ages are you teaching?

2 -first grade

1 - first and second grade

2- third grade

1-second grade

1- fourth grade

2 Do you use drama strategies and conventions to explore

other areas of the curriculum?

6 -yes

1- no

3 How many times in a semester you use to work through

drama:

4- once a month

2- every week

1 - once a week

4 Are you familiar with different authors and theories of

drama to work in the classroom?

3- yes

4- no

5 If you answered yes, who and which?

If you answered no go to question number 8

5- did not answer

1- answered three names

1- did not remember any

name

6 when work through drama which of these conventions

you use to structure your work for learning opportunities

4- did not answer

1 improvisation, role on the

wall, forum - theatre

1 - improvisation, teacher in

role

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1 - others

7 If you answered others, which ones? 1- games

8 - I'm not familiar because

2- I don't have time in the

classroom to use it

1-I don't feel the need to

work through drama

1- add another answer

9 In your teacher training, did you learnt about drama in

the classroom as an approach for teaching

7 - yes

According to this table, the second question is the one, which triggers off the

questionnaire into the focus of this study. This question provides the connection to all

others. In an objective analysis, within a sample of seven teachers there are six positive

answers and one negative answer, about using drama strategies and conventions to

explore other areas of the curriculum. The third question, about frequency of use, four

answered once a month in a semester, one answered once a week and two answered

every week. The fourth question inquired whether subjects were familiar with theories

and authors to work through drama. This question got three positives answers and four

negative ones.

Subjects who answered no to the fourth question, passed immediately on to question

eight. In this question, two said they were not familiar with different authors and

theories of drama in the classroom, because they didn't have time to use it in the

classroom; one didn't feel the need to work through drama and one added the following:

because I have the necessary knowledge to use drama without knowing about theories

or authors. Amongst those three, who were familiar with theories and authors, only

one identifies three names. These three subjects answered the sixth question, about

identifying conventions to work through drama, in organising work for learning

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opportunities. One subject uses improvisation and teacher in role, another also uses

improvisation, role on the wall and forum-theatre and another subject uses other

methods (question seven about other methods). All the subjects learnt in their teacher

training about drama in the classroom, as an approach for teaching other areas of the

curriculum

From the systematic analysis of the interaction between questions and answers, we

know that six subjects use drama strategies and conventions to explore other areas of the

curriculum. One subject does not. However, this subject works through drama once a

month, but is not familiar with theories or authors and does not identify any convention

to work through drama. The subject recognises that it does not have time in the

classroom to use it. The answers of the remaining six subjects can be interpreted as

follows: all subjects use drama conventions and strategies to explore other areas of the

curriculum; three use it once a month, two use it every week and one uses it once a

week. From the three subjects who answered once a month, two are not familiar with

theories or authors and do not use any conventions. One of these two subjects also says

that it does not have time in the classroom to use them, the other one adds that it has

enough knowledge to use it without authors or theories. The last subject amongst these

three subjects is familiar with theories and authors, but does not mention any. However,

this subject identified more than one convention, such as improvisation, role on the wall

and forum-theatre. Since the focus of this study is the use of drama as a complementary

form of pedagogy, the relation between the use of drama strategies and conventions to

explore other areas of the curriculum, its routine use would be every day, every week,

once a week, or at least once a month. From the subjects who answered every week to

work through drama, there was one subject who was not familiar with authors or

theories, does not identify standardised conventions or any others, and said in question

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eight that it does not feel the need to work through drama. The other subject is familiar

with authors and theories, but does not remember any and was able to identify two

strategies: improvisation and teacher in role. The subject who used to work through

drama once a week, is the only one who mentioned three names of authors, and

identified other conventions, such as games.

However, it is significant to see that all the subjects learnt in their teaching training

about drama in the classroom, as an approach for teaching other areas of the curriculum.

It is relevant for this study to realize that the majority of subjects use drama. On one

hand it is compulsory in the Portuguese national curriculum, which includes drama

under the heading of artistic education (music, visual, physical, IT, dancing), as an area

of the curriculum, with its own competencies, suggesting also that work can be done to

integrate it into a more general perspective with generalist teachers or with the support

of experts. Nevertheless, the verification of those assumptions also shows some

inconsistency in the answers and a very different practice from what is offered in

teacher training courses. Even if the subjects use drama to explore other areas of the

curriculum, even if some authors are identified as well as some conventions, their

unclear and disorganised knowledge of theories, strategies and conventions to work

through drama were significant and they concurred towards a proposal to systematize

proper drama terminology; that explains the importance of using particular strategies

and conventions for learning opportunities and organize work during a long period of

time. The analysis of interviews and questionnaires underlines the need for a review of

the current elementary education key stage one towards a redefinition of learning

methods

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CHAPTER II

The Importance of drama in education

Chapter One presented an overview of an attitude that is still prevalent in many schools

in the Algarve, highlighting the need to redefine the position of the teacher in the

classroom and stressing why drama should be considered as a complementary form of

pedagogy in this redefinition.

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This chapter will argue for the importance of drama throughout our lives, analysing the

reasons why it should be preserved in key stage one environment, presenting different

learning methods as meaningful to learning and understanding, comparing the nature of

drama in education in key stage one.

The meaningful themes are drawn from learning methods, arts philosophy, philosophy

and drama in education and they will seek to provide insight into what the application of

drama has to offer education in key stage one.

The role of drama as part of our process of explaining the world has to do with the need

we all have to interpret and give meaning to what we are experiencing.

The world is an unknown place and we try to make sense of it through the application of

various strategies. For example, we use imagination to relate to the world using

metaphors, categories, values and contexts.

Vygotsky (1979) showed how important the imagination is for the mental development

of the child, and how make-believe play is very important in giving meanings to things.

In fact, young children often have difficulty in separating imaginary situations from real

ones. During the process of growing up, imaginary situations take on different purposes

and become subject to different rules and greater demands.

This study focuses on the use of imagination in our process of explaining the world, as

well as the regular use of imagination through drama. Let us consider the example of

students learning three basic competences reading, writing and arithmetic

exclusively from exercise books. Two main suggestions arise from this; the first is that

learning is somehow estranged from the pupils responsibility; the second is that

working from exercises books does not require group problem solving, or imagination.

Imagination is the instrument of discovery. (Rugg, 1963, p. 37).

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According to the above argument, imagination should not be separated from education,

and what this study maintains is that one of the places to use imagination and create

all sort of ifs to facilitate understanding and the allocation of meaning to the world

is drama. Macmillan (1923) underlined that, Imagination requires room.(Macmillan,

1923,p14.). A teacher using this complementary form of pedagogy can offer this room.

Through dramatic activities, children are activating imagination, raising all sort of

questions to enter the makebelieve world that fulfils the child with what the real world

cannot offer. According to Edward Bond (1996), children need to know about their

place in the world; they need to know what their role is; they need to know through

questions to which there is sometimes no easy answer, no right or wrong answer.

Nevertheless, children still need to ask.

In the beginning, there is perception and imagination; children map the world around

them with lies i.e. without appropriate knowledge.

The childs map of the world is a lie and so the child is a lie. Its descriptions of world

and itself are lies. Yet rationality is the product of is confirmed by its lies. Its elders

teach it to anthropomorphise the world. They tell it lying tales; and indeed, to love a

child in this world is to lie to it. But if a child is not lied to, and if it does not lie to itself,

its mind is incoherent and cannot bear reality The map is lie but themapless mind is

autistic.

(Bond, 1996, p. 11).

A child knows nothing and the process of growing up is to fill that nothing with

symbols, roles, different contexts and using language in different situations, while

experiencing a changing society.

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In the context of the above argument, it is important to stress what Bruner (1991), Bond,

(1996) and Vygotsky, (1979), all say about the importance of roles, actions, stories and

contexts, in our process of growing up:

For stories define the range of canonical characters, the settings in which they

operate, the actions that are permissible and comprehensible () As we enter more

actively into the life of a culture around us, as Victor Turner remarks, we come

increasingly to play parts defined by the dramas of that culture. Indeed, in time the

young entrant into the culture comes to define his own intentions and even his own

history in terms of the characteristic cultural dramas in which he plays a part

(Bruner, Haste, 1987, p. 91).

These concepts are used to present a picture of how human development is directly

linked to the bricks from which drama is built: stories, roles, contexts, sets, language

development in different situations, questions, symbolic systems, understanding the

surrounding world, and make-believe as the source of so many meanings.

According to Bruner and Haste, children were seen as isolated beings in mapping the

world through the major stages of development after birth with regard to cognition. This

study, however, underlines the importance of relating the cognitive and cultural aspects

that place the understanding and interpretation of the world in an appropriate,

shared social context ( Bruner, Haste, 1987, p. 1).

A number of researchers have demonstrated the importance of collaborative activity

in enhancing problem-solving ability. They have observed the role of language and

interaction in exploring possible solutions. What in fact happens in such interactions is

that the childs own cognitive approach to the problem is challenged, either by peers

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directly or by parents or teachers scaffolding understanding through pacing problem-

solving process.

(Bruner, Haste, 1987, p. 8).

In this study, the term understanding will always be connected with drama. Therefore

understanding something through the medium takes the form of an external response,

which, in turn, stems wholly from social and cultural factors. Understanding

something in education is normally taken to mean acquiring knowledge in relation to

situations, contexts, people and attitudes. When we understand something, we are able

to relate particular information to broader concepts. Understanding is, thus, always

positioned in an external world and has to do with experiments based on self.

The word understanding only makes sense in public context. This becomes clear

when we ask how we know that someone has understood x because we can only

properly answer that question by observing how they act and by listening to what they

say. (Fleming, 2001, p. 61), It is the understanding which can not be abstracted from

the context in which it finds expression.

(Fleming, 2001, p. 62)

Gardner (1995) maintains that any sort of rehearsal or performance can be illustrative

of whether someone has understood something especially drama that can be

considered as a response to or a reflection of any issue. Understanding something

through drama where, we can view education as a constant process of refining and

deepening, seeing things from new angles, making fresh connections (Fleming,

2001, p. 62).

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The above arguments sustain the importance of the use of drama as a complementary

form of pedagogy. A complementary form of pedagogy that will complement and

enhance the learning that actually takes place in many classrooms in the Algarve.

To declare oneself against the institution of the three Rs in the schools is like being

against motherhood or the flag. Beyond question, students ought to be literate and

ought to reveal in their literacy () What is missing are not the decoding skills, but

two other facets: the capacity to read for understanding and the desire to read at all

it is not the mechanics of writing nor the algorithms for subtraction that are absent, but

rather the knowledge about when to invoke these skills and the inclination to do so

productively in ones own daily life

(Gardner, 1995, p. 186/187)

This underlines that understanding is a basic skill that needs to be maintained and

developed in cultivating the additional skills we acquire as we grow, the ones we need

in our striving to cope with the world around us. It also underlines that we only

understand something, if we desire to know and give meaning to knowledge.

According to Bond (1996) and to Freires pedagogy, (1993) there cannot be knowledge

or understanding, if people are dependent on ideology and do not take a critical position

towards authority. This is not to say that rebellion or inappropriate behaviour is

permissible, rather that children cannot be educated as passive citizens. Again,

imagination will be in the centre of the desire to know and understand knowledge.

In Chapter One, drama has traditionally been viewed in schools as something useless

and trivial, something very dangerous for ideology in exactly the same way as

imagination. During many years, in Portugal, imagination and drama were seen as

something subversive, something that was hidden by those who never let their

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() knowledge is not an abstract, isolated subject-based discipline, but is based in

human action, interaction, commitment and responsibility

(Bolton, 1998, p. 177)

In addition, it is important to note that on the basis of predetermined structures centred

on the teacher as a single point of reference, it is likely that children will find it difficult

to adapt to a classroom environment that clash with the luggage they bring with them,

from the first years of their lives.

What will happen in school cannot be predicted exactly in any given case. Recent

insights into the process however, reveal how difficult it is for most children to master

the agenda of school, particularly to the extent that its mode of operation clashes with,

or is irrelevant to, biases and constraints that have emerged during the first half decade

of life.

(Gardner, 1995, p, 104)

This seems to prompt many questions: why does the curriculum of Key Stage One so

often separate children from their reality, from the world where they also learn? Why is

it that academic goals that give priority to acquiring limited skills and preparing

children to overcome different levels are regarded as indicators of excellence?

The language of school is remote from daily experience, favouring abstract terms and

concepts and entailing formulaic exchanges between teacher and student. Meanings are

often defined in technical ways and there is considerable metalanguage talk about

talk.

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(Gardner, 1995, p.134).

Since 1990, Dorothy Heathcote has underlined that the mode of teaching practice was

failing, and yet we still find this preoccupations in education methods. Many educators

in the Faculty of Education in Faro use Freires pedagogy to underline the importance

of a different stance of the teacher in the classroom. The elementary school teacher, key

stage one, should adopt a critical position, a position centred on transformation

transformation through more dialogue about complex issues, issues explored in a more

collective way, a way that challenges responsibility and reflection about learning and

understanding.

Therefore, in the classroom, teachers should use a complementary form of pedagogy,

which has to do with:

() lived experiences, meaningful and useful (...) An open system will allow the

students and their teacher in conversation and dialogue to create more complex orders

and structures of subject matter and ideas than is possible in the closed curriculum

structures of today.

(Fleming, 2001, p. 28)

The principal contention of this study is that the creative mind of children is always

looking for the unexpected and new, and these two aspects receive nourishment in the

present moment, that drama creates. Drama is about something happening now.

Children have the chance to be in a laboratory, to experience real situations, without

the burden of future repercussions. (Johnson, ONeill, 1984, p. 104)

The present moment is the best way to deal with many different moments of all kinds,

the present moment being part of an adventure that can lead to any place, any time, any

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They may need to alter their teaching style gradually, so that pupils can adapt to new

approaches, and they will no longer be able to adopt the familiar teacher stance of

being the one who knows. They must be prepared to build on the knowledge and

experience which pupils bring with them to the work, and they must value their pupils

contributions to the lessons more than their own

(ONeill, Lambert, 1982,p21)

A redefinition in education is also supported by those who criticised fragmented

knowledge, which is not the case indrama as a complementary form of pedagogy. The

interaction between contents (interaction between different areas of the curriculum),

extended beyond a single lesson, even though the duration of the work naturally does

not imply a precise outcome or a specific presentation, the constant questioning, the

problemposer and problem-solver, and respect for group work, shows that children are

motivated to acquire knowledge from such activity. As demonstrated in Chapter One,

through the analysis of the questionnaires, the actual teaching practice, showed

inconsistency, and a low level of knowledge regarding a different concept of

methodology in education, which was working other areas of the curriculum through

drama.

In our first play, we bring together all areas of knowledge. The story has a place or

several places; it contains things of different shapes and sizes. It contains a text, lines,

people or animals in those places. It contains movement, gestures, and expressions.

Above all, play is dependent on a context in which anything can happen. Children are

responsible for their answers; they are responsible for their questions, their doubts and

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their understanding. All these aspects are naturally subject to a limited basis, but it is

this very basis that will help children to acquire more knowledge.

In the words of Edgar Morin, we should always maintain that the learner must be

responsible for his knowledge.

Learning about learning, which includes integrating the learner into his knowledge,

should be recognized by educators as a basic principle and permanent necessity.

(Morin, 2001, p. 27).

Learning the contents of the other areas through drama as a complementary form of

pedagogy is shown by the response that children might have in the various tasks: for

example, children framed as people in the Middle Ages, to explore the living conditions

of that time. Through the present moment that drama offers along with the lived

experience, children can be able to explore feelings, attitudes, constraints, rules,

relations, thoughts and other behaviours of a distant age, comparing the evolution and

changes of today. The learner enters into his knowledge, for it will no longer be

exclusively learnt from a book or from the reception of the information through the

teacher.

The emphasis will be on discovery rather than on mere implementation of factual

knowledge.

( ONeill Lambert, 1982.p17)

Emphasising the need for a redefinition in education in key stage one, from the

perspective of the importance of drama as a complementary form of pedagogy, this

study would like to introduce an example of Freires theory about literacy, as a principle

for hope. In the words of Peter Roberts (1998), from the University of Auckland:

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() Freires theoretical and practical work in the area of literacy can be understood

as one dimension of a broader narrative of hope.

(Roberts, 1998, Vol. 50, p. 108)

In this article, Peter Roberts looks at the importance of pedagogy of transformation in

Freires theory, with regard to the importance of dialogue for those who want to be

socially critical human beings. He maintains that the most important concept that must

be applied in elementary school key stage one is that teaching any subject has to be

based on the experiences of the participants.

This does not mean that personal experience should represent the end-point of a

literacy programme () Freires point is that each person has unique access to at least

one domain of knowledge the reality of their lived experience () A literacy

programme (indeed any educational programme) cannot succeed if learners are unable

to relate in some way to what educators or coordinators are saying. The stronger the

connection with existing knowledge and experience, the better

(Roberts, 1998, Vol. 50, p. 108)

The importance of dialogue as a means to encourage the learner to establish a critical

comprehension of the world through discussion and using the words of the learners

is one of the cornerstones needed for education to take place in the sense of learning and

understanding.

The crucial bridge between existing and new forms of knowledge and experience in

any educational endeavour (a literacy programme being one example) is dialogue.

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read, taste, touch, smell, like or hate. It is about working with active students looking

for meaning in their learning. It is about motivation through dialogism. It is about

developing a critical consciousness about any matter, a consciousness fed by the process

of questioning which is inseparable from drama.

Furthermore, drama as a complementary form of pedagogy can provide motivation

A more convincing explanation of dramas motivational force is that it harness the

inclination to play which while at its strongest in early childhood persists into

adolescence and arguably into the whole of adult life

(Fleming1994, p 37)

Drama as a complementary form of pedagogy can also provide:

Continuous use of imagination in different problem-posing scenarios, in all

sorts of contexts through many different roles.

It is imagination that allows both teacher and students to devise alternative

modes of action, alternative projects and solutions ()

( Heathcote, Bolton,1995, p,7-8)

Active participation rather than passive learning with the chance to be part of an

active group with equal rights where all points of view are given credit.

Time to negotiate and explore alternative solutions to situations, therefore

giving children the opportunity to understand different contents of areas of the

curriculum, from various perspectives.

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Time to use the make-believe world and for children to be whoever they want to

be and even live an adventure, to help them to learn in an environment they

are familiar with.

In a play a child deals with things having meaning ( Bolton, 1998,p176)

Finally, learning through drama in the classroom gives children the opportunity to

relate real-life experiences to all educational areas of the curriculum.

It has become clear that interest, motivation and learning all result when drama is

employed for educational ends

(Morgan, Saxton, 1987,p4)

CHAPTER III

Drama as a complementary form of pedagogy to work within other areas of the

curriculum

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It is important to remember that there is never a single right answer in drama only

one that appears right for a particular group or situation. In this complementary form of

pedagogy, teachers have to accept the risks involved. Nevertheless, teachers must have

at their disposal different strategies in structuring drama work in key stage one for

responding to the needs of different age groups. This method is reliant on working with

children at a greater depth in contrast to the superficial and sometimes inconsistent

demonstrated in chapter one.

As such in the context of key stage one, one of the most important aspects of the use of

drama to work within other areas of the curriculum is the involvement of the teacher

both in and out of role.. Chapter two advocate a different stance of the teacher regards

the relationship between teacher and pupil in the classroom. Therefore, it would be most

useful for children to see their teacher as having the same joint commitment as they do.

The way the teacher demonstrates this is entirely dependent on how the teacher defines

the best way to work for a set period, in a particular situation, or with a particular age

group.

This method emphasise the ingredients essential for drama work, such as context, roles,

framework and drama strategies. And underlines the ingredients to meaningful

education and qualitative assessment by both the teacher and the children with regard to

the work carried out in different areas of knowledge, such as project work, questioning,

reflecting and/or critical analysis.

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with fund raising. Such projects often petered out as soon as their concrete goals had

been achieved.

The activities to which I refer normally correspond to responses to municipal offers,

or to financing programmes sponsored by state departments, stemming from various

competing sources () This consumerist manner of utilising the funds available is,

however, contrary to the integrationist approach to learning, changing the direction

of funding and turning it into a simple reinforcement of the primitive and atomist

theories of education.

(Niza, MEM, A School for Democracy. (On line in Hhttp:// margarida

belchior.planetaclix.pt/mem.htm ), Retrieved in, March, 10,2004)

Working in projects focuses the group on posing and solving problems. Projects are

imbued with the sense that all participants are peers, all working together and respecting

different opinions and feelings. They are built on for enriched dialogues about the

context and about the various roles or sets. They are dependent on the participation of

everyone involved, including and especially the teacher.

They are offered the opportunity to think, to feel, to talk, to act, and so to learn as

they normally learn in the real world through experience and collaboration with

others.

( Ball, Airs, 1995,p 56)

Everyone is in the same boat and everyone has a job to do.

The main feature of projects is that no matter how different people may be, they are all

valuable to the project in the same way as every single piece of a jigsaw is essential to

the whole. In this regard, Gardner (1995), Johnson and ONeill (1984) refer to the

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concept of the master and the apprentice, a relationship in which learning is based on

observation and practice. In the same way, through the application of drama, children

understand that what they are doing is sharing on equal terms with their teacher, who

they very often view as the person most distant from them in the process of education.

The main features of working through drama in a project is that, the importance of the

teacher to take on a role, acting with the children and using the same context and

conventions. As we will see later on in this chapter, being in a role can allow the teacher

to guide pupils into different meanings; add information, explore other forms of

communication and to reflect on decisions and opinions without being considered an

authority rather a peer. According to Heathcote, (1995) the argument of children

having ownership of their drama, and responsibility for their learning, can only

happen over a period of time, she defends that can only happen if it is to work during

several sessions. Therefore, during this period the teacher must decide which moments

are important to be in or out of role. Because the project work must be worked over a

long period of time, teachers will have several opportunities to be in role as an

important strategy to be involved in the drama, and also to be out of role whenever

necessary.

The teacher can go into and out of role to help them to clarify and reflect on the

situation. They may decide on what resources are required, where they can be found,

what language and tone is appropriate to the situation, whether extra help is needed

and, if so, how can be summoned

( Ball, Airs, 1995,p98)

Project work is not about staging a play with characters, scenery, lights, sound and

costumes. It is about co-operative work on any area of the curriculum, using strategies

from drama to work in specific content, while constantly bearing in mind that there is

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no line of orientation imposed by the teacher and that any source material must be

shared with the children.

So we need to train our teachers to structure for a learning situation to happen rather

than the sharing of information in a final way to take place.

(Johnson, ONeill, 1984, p. 29).

According to Bolton (1971), one of the characteristics of a dramatic activity, is that

Any limitations are imposed by consensus and are changeable.

(Bolton, Gavin, 1971,p7)

In chapter two, this study advocate the importance of redefinition in education and also

a new stance of the teacher in the classroom, specially concerned with the fact that

children should ought more responsibility in their learning. Therefore, in using drama as

a complementary form of pedagogy, both teachers and learners have the chance to work

throughout the project on a mutual basis of commitment and negotiation, concerned the

structure in which the content of the project is embodied. Teachers using drama as

complementary form of pedagogy have to be prepared to take some risks in the

classroom. As said before in this chapter, defended by Fleming (2001), the teachers

who are not willing to take risks can bring to the classroom predetermined structures to

work with children. However, if they do so the students miss the chance to have a

different school experience, experience different attitudes in the classroom and explore

meaningful work.

Project work in this study is classified as the primary principle in the important work of

planning curriculum content.

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comprehension, it offers the opportunity of teaching different age groups in the same

classroom or teaching children with different capacities. This is because different

degrees of complexity and research can be applied to the various activities and tasks

required by the different age groups.

According to Heathcote (1984), children should not come to the classroom with labels

for it in one way or another allow teachers to close their mind to certain difficulties that

children might have.

() I must not be afraid to move out of my centre, and meet the children where they

are () I must also have the ability to see the world through my students, and not my

students through it.

(Johnson, ONeill, 1984,p18)

In the case of using drama as a complementary form of pedagogy, all the children are in

the same boat, to work in a collaborative way and to respond to certain stimulus in a

fictional world provided by drama.

Heathcote (1984) defends the:

() diagnostic power of dramatic methods. It can readily be used to test what

information people already possess, when assessing the next stages of instruction, and

can be an excellent guide for diagnosis of the conceptual maturity, as well as to reveal

social sensitivity.

(Johnson, O Neill, 1984,p 150).

In project work, teachers must be aware of the use of language with the purpose of

orienting children into a different world, the world of the imagination. Teachers have to

be more sensitive to motivate children to enter that world and never lose the

atmosphere. The teachers voice becomes more important than ever because it is the

instrument used to create the mood. The voice is the instrument of many roles, many

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purposes, and many questions, and it is essential always to remember that the teacher is

no longer simply a transmitter of information but has become a facilitator and

researcher of significant information.

The poetic, selective handling of language is necessary, again not the effete

smoothness of accent and delivery, but the economical, selective powerful choice of

words where fitness for purpose is paramount. This means a good ear, and a tonal

control above the normal used or expected to be used in everyday commerce.

(Johnson, ONeill, 1984, p. 33)

The teacher who wants to use drama as a complementary form of pedagogy must be

concerned with the constant changes in society. He or she must always be looking for

something new, and must always look beyond the information provided through the

training course. Such teachers must be researchers all the time, and must have at their

disposal a variety of themes and questions to take into the classroom while remaining

open to receiving different information and then finding out more about it.

The training in the natural seeking to go beneath the outer form to the inner meanings

so that the apparently dissimilar are revealed to have common areas of meaning. The

great universals. This leads to the understanding of the significance of rituals, to the

seeking for the nature of objects as well as the shapes of objects. It gives unity to

experiences. It finds form everywhere, from the momentous form in buildings towering

in space to the movements of a child in play. Given this sense no meaningless or

cheap artifact will be introduced in that classroom

(Johnson, ONeill, 1984,p33).

It is not simply a matter of relying on exercises books or on the books officially

recognised by the Portuguese Department of Education.

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SECTION II

Context

In presenting this principle, this study aims to provide evidence for the contention that

drama is about exploring something through roles in a fictional world with numerous

questions and a considerable amount of reflection. This something, is the universal

content that must lead to particular details about life, which is the raw material from

which any context must be built in a drama project. The context to work through drama

should be drawn from the curriculum, from the needs and requirements of the students,

from the teachers observation of the needs of the class, from the age group with which

the teacher is working, from any learning area.

Therefore, in Key Stage One classrooms the context must be significant to children of a

specific age, with specific cultural backgrounds, interests, desires and preoccupations.

For example, in project work children can work with any content drawn from life that is

close to their community, their language, their culture and their social concerns.

Therefore, in the dramatic context, children will be themselves living out a fictional

situation about life, reflecting and learning in the safe atmosphere of make-believe. As

such, the children are both the participants and the audience because of the

understanding that can arise from that situation.

In dramatic playing the student is involved in activities which do not necessarily

require him to be anyone other than himself. These activities are designed to place the

student in a make-believe situation in which he can explore his reactions and actions in

a spontaneous way.

(Morgan, Saxton, 1987, p. 118)

Having chosen a significant context, to establish the time and place of a fictional

situation to develop in a drama project, it is important to achieve a consensus among all

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This is make-believe and all participants are in the same world.

The conventions are signs and symbols that start the same encounter for all participants

and are used to stimulate different experiences in a dramatic context. The way teachers

use a convention depends only on their goals and aims.

A convention achieves value through being appropriate to the moment it has been

selected for

(Neelands, 1990, p. 6)

The context can be explored with many different signs, such as, teacher in role of other

person, objects, about a certain person, that can be historical, a photograph, or a painting

representing a certain space or person, clothing in a specific space, a Dairy of a person,

a letter that brings news from a certain person. In this study, the purpose to underline

the importance of conventions has to do with the need for authenticity in exploring the

fictional context. The choices of conventions in this study are mainly drawn from

Dorothy Heathcote s work. In her work, conventions can move away children from the

naturalistic way of acting.

the conventions allow for the point of attention to be away from the participants

themselves; they and the teacher together legitimately focus on the physical presence of

a visitor or on a drawing or on a costume or property or on a written or spoken

message.

(Heathcote, Bolton, 1995,p185)

i.e. the children ought to focus on everything else instead of themselves, the effect is to

make them focus on others. These are conventions that () slow down time and

enable classes to get a grip on decisions and their own thinking about matters.

(Johnson, O Neill, 1984, p166).

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the context without rush in. A collective role in key stage one can reinforce the

differences amongst the group, but as a positive thing towards respect for everybody

opinion, can reinforce the individuals ideas that contribute for a whole.

When applied in groups it seems to have certain additional bonuses for the teacher

and the class alike in that it allows group pressure to be applied in two ways; to

produce differing attitudes and experiences to be available to the group and to demand

adequate communication of these attitudes by the individuals in the group, to the

group

(Johnson, O Neill, 1984, p51)

In this complementary form of pedagogy and also defended by the drama practitioners

bellow, drama.( )works from the strength of the group. It draws on a common stock of

experiences and in turn enriches the minds and feelings of individuals within the

group

( O Neill, Lambert, 1982,p,13).

Children should have the chance to think in terms of a collective response that will give

them more responsibility in dealing with the experiences. Children should have the

chance, to listen and to respect others ideas, to clarify ideas so that others can

understand, to negotiate, and to be able to give up and change ideas and opinion.

it is likely that the most valuable kinds of learning will take place when the group is

working as a whole

(O Neill, Lambert,1982, p. 27)

A collective role moves us away from the idea that an individual role is synonymous

with memorising lines. Roles in this study are not about having a text, or having an

action with roles to take on. It is more about individuals in a group with a collective role

that launches the participants to the same space and time contributing to the

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understanding of that role and its function in the context a role that will eventually

lead to questions and opinions on which everyone has the chance, and indeed the

obligation, to reflect.

Some people may sometimes seem to have an awful lot more to offer than others, but

their work is always only a part of our work and is always simply their contribution to

what we are all learning

( Ball, Airs, 1995, p68)

Through a project, children can have different roles that will help to develop, for

example, their use of spoken and written language in different situations. Following the

example stated in chapter two, if children are working the middle age in Europe, they

can explore the three social classes (people, aristocracy, the church). They will

eventually have different roles, exploring different behaviours; attitudes, spoken

language, and they can explore the differences between today, of the written language.

They can also explore the setting of scenarios of the different social classes which will

motivate them to research work, and eventually can lead them to draw and painting

tasks.

An example from theatre, about the use of collective roles can be found in Augusto

Boals work, the Theatre of the Oppressed (1979) and Games for Actors and Non-

Actors (1992), as he worked a lot with people with no experience of the theatre, around

the world to teach his method and specially try to give people space for debate and

overcame their oppression. The use of Forum Theatre allowed people to perform and

reflect about their oppression, the so called, spect actor, the active spectator. The

roles were very often collective and usually represented a social class, a community, or

a human condition. The philosophy of the Theatre of the Oppressed was to to move

from the individual to the general, rather than vice-versa. (Boal, 1992,pxxiii).

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The intention of the above example about Boals work is to underline the aspects that

this study considers useful for applying key stage one, which are, the opportunity to

stimulate debate, () (in the form of action, not just words), to show alternatives, to

enable people to become the protagonists of their own lives.

( Boal, 1992,xxii).

The chance for children to ask questions and found their own answers as the spect

actors

This again is fundamental to the Theatre of the Oppressed it is never didactic to its

audience, it involves a process of learning together rather than one- way teaching ()

(Boal, 1992,xxi.)

The understanding of the philosophy of his work is useful for the teacher to apply in the

classroom some techniques/strategies proposed later in this study, like Still Images and

Forum Theatre.

Images work across language and culture barriers and as Boal shows, frequently

reveal unexpected universalities.

( Boal,1992,pxx)

A powerful context requires an important element of worthwhile tension. Tension is

another essential aspect of any text, play, story, and life. In the case of this study,

moments of tension in drama activities.

The importance of dramatic tension to explore the context through dramatic activities,

will challenge the participants to overcome, a threat, a dilemma, a pressure, a stranger, a

mystery, it can give to children more motivation and children can become more

involved, in the action. () tensions may be invitations, or lures, to become committed

and involved in the unfolding story or action. (Neelands, 1990,p68)

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SECTION III

Questioning

This principle is above all a principle that concerns education as a whole, i.e. it is not

the exclusive preserve of drama. With this principle, what is being encouraged is above

all a pedagogy looking for changes in the teachers stance in a key stage one classroom.

A pedagogy in the fundamental fields of, learning and understanding. A pedagogy

defended in chapter two using Paulo Freires (1993) assertions of communication that

drives more deeply into the real meaning of education.

As stated in Chapter One, there are still many classrooms in Algarve with pupils sitting

in rows and facing the teacher at the front of the class by the blackboard.

In the past, children in school were expected to acquire knowledge, and learning facts

was an end in itself. For the student today an effective memory is not the only

requirement. He must be able to react to what is being taught and must be active in

seeking understanding. In other words, he must seek, find and then be able to question

what he has found in order to see all the facets, so that he may defend it or understand

why it is no longer defensible.

( Morgan, Saxton, 1987,p68)

Within this complementary form of pedagogy, the true role of questioning has to do

with communication, speculation and interpretation all in the context of active pupils

who are prepared to explore, to decide, to negotiate, and to discover deeper meanings in

their learning. The question is central to learning ( Morgan, Saxton, 1987,67)

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As mentioned previously, framework, can help to create the proper tension, especially

because, it adds a wealth of different information to the content being explored. It is not

about setting dialogues about the event, but rather about putting a range of questions

about the event into different perspectives.

Above all the importance offramework is to encourage learners to take a critical

position towards the issues they encounter in the drama work and to gradually help

them to take grater control of their drama work.

There are many ways of providing frames but the most important factor is that the

participants have to be framed into a position of influence () I take it as a general

rule that people have most power to become involved at a caring and urgently involved

level if they are placed in a quite specific relationship with the action, because this

brings with it inevitably the responsibility, and, more particularly, the view point which

gets them into an effective involvement.

(Johonson, ONeill,1984,p168)

A great many perspectives are available with a wealth of different contents. In every

lesson planned, we can see the children framed as scientists, architects, villagers,

newspaper reporters, and the like. So whenever children enter an event with their

different roles, frame is naturally being implemented.

When role is used it can set frame very quickly because the very fact that someone

has enter into a full signing system, in drama time automatically places the rest of the

people present into roles themselves, for they must be addressed as if they are so

(Johnson, ONeill, 1984,p163)

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drama - a tese original

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