Over the course of the 2007/2008 school year, I visited three classrooms to investigate the effectiveness of Augusto Boal’s drama method, Image Theatre, with elementary-aged students. In Image Theatre, the practitioners and students use their bodies to create frozen images, which in turn become the focus of collaborative meaning- making. I applied the reflective practitioner methodology in my work as it allowed me to adapt to the rapidly altering situations that arise in elementary classrooms. Through reflecting on my interactions with students, I refined a set of teaching techniques that worked best to integrate Image Theatre into the classroom and ultimately into the curriculum. My research provides a qualitative analysis of the power of Image Theatre to foster student dialogue, develop empathic learning, and introduce conflict awareness techniques. My thesis highlights some specific exercises and theoretical frameworks that guided my work and produced the most effective results. The effects of applying Image Theatre to elementary-aged classrooms has not been extensively studied in the past and my research attempts to address this academic gap. It is my hope that future researchers will adapt my activities and further demonstrate the capacities of this theatre technique. Ultimately, I hope that Image Theatre methods can find a place in standard curricula.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Miami University, Dept. of Educational Leadership, 2008. / Title from second page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 189-199).

Over the course of the 2007/2008 school year, I visited three classrooms to investigate the effectiveness of Augusto Boal’s drama method, Image Theatre, with elementary-aged students. In Image Theatre, the practitioners and students use their bodies to create frozen images, which in turn become the focus of collaborative meaning- making. I applied the reflective practitioner methodology in my work as it allowed me to adapt to the rapidly altering situations that arise in elementary classrooms. Through reflecting on my interactions with students, I refined a set of teaching techniques that worked best to integrate Image Theatre into the classroom and ultimately into the curriculum. My research provides a qualitative analysis of the power of Image Theatre to foster student dialogue, develop empathic learning, and introduce conflict awareness techniques. My thesis highlights some specific exercises and theoretical frameworks that guided my work and produced the most effective results. The effects of applying Image Theatre to elementary-aged classrooms has not been extensively studied in the past and my research attempts to address this academic gap. It is my hope that future researchers will adapt my activities and further demonstrate the capacities of this theatre technique. Ultimately, I hope that Image Theatre methods can find a place in standard curricula. / Education, Faculty of / Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of / Graduate

The aim of this thesis is to find out how the participants of the Theatre of the Oppressed become empowered and how they use these experiences from the Theatre in other spheres of life. The research is based on a qualitative method and semi-structured interviews with open coding. The sample consists of Roma and non-Roma respondents. The results show that the necessary prerequisites for empowerment include meetings and dialogues with others, games and interventions, sharing of experiences and active work against oppression. In other dimensions of life, we can see personal empowerment manifest itself by higher self-confidence, advanced communication skills and responsible citizenship. In the professional sphere empowerment is presented in a work with a group, in a current job or in an involvement in new projects. For a civil society to thrive it is important that people from the majority society meet and work together with members of the minority groups. It is also essential to promote civil competences and social capital, meet with strongly engaged activists, open discussions in the public sphere and support the principle of taking responsibility for one's life and the life of the community. Key words: Theatre of the Oppressed, empowerment, active work against oppression, Roma and non-Roma people,...

This dissertation positions Community Theatre as an agency for development and education based on the educational principles of Freire and Boal’s Theatre for Development. The dissertation argues that Appreciative Inquiry can enrich the practice of Community Theatre by approaching HIV and AIDS education through an asset-based, participatory, inclusive, learner-centred approach. The dissertation further hypothesises that the infusion of the 4-D process of Appreciative Inquiry into Community Theatre processes aimed at HIV and AIDS education will enhance young people’s agency as active participants and agents of change in their communities beyond the didactic notions inherent in ABC education approaches to HIV prevention. This approach can encourage meaningful participation and critical consciousness amongst young people in the HIV prevention response. / Dissertation (MA (Drama))--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Drama / unrestricted

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Teachers have an undeniable influence on youth, on whose shoulders tomorrow rests. It is vital for teachers to be conscious of their role in both the local and global community in order to facilitate occasions for students to develop a sense of global consciousness. By imparting to students the desire to learn and to explore their interactions with things, people and experiences, and actively pursue knowledge, they develop critical literacy skills required to both acquire understanding and be(come) understood. Through this research study, the implications of applying David Diamond’s community drama work called Theatre for Living, as an effective and critical literacy practice to enhance social conciousness within a middle school, is assesssed. The program was implemented in a split grade 7/8 and grade 8 classroom in southwestern Ontario. The study exemplifies for educators a practical yet significant step for initializing and developing a broad sense of awareness in students; that is the sense of global consciousness.

Teachers have an undeniable influence on youth, on whose shoulders tomorrow rests. It is vital for teachers to be conscious of their role in both the local and global community in order to facilitate occasions for students to develop a sense of global consciousness. By imparting to students the desire to learn and to explore their interactions with things, people and experiences, and actively pursue knowledge, they develop critical literacy skills required to both acquire understanding and be(come) understood. Through this research study, the implications of applying David Diamond’s community drama work called Theatre for Living, as an effective and critical literacy practice to enhance social conciousness within a middle school, is assesssed. The program was implemented in a split grade 7/8 and grade 8 classroom in southwestern Ontario. The study exemplifies for educators a practical yet significant step for initializing and developing a broad sense of awareness in students; that is the sense of global consciousness.

This thesis document presents a case study of a professional development playbuilding process at a public elementary school located in Austin, Texas. The study argues that playbuilding is a form of participatory action arts-based research particularly when positioned within the professional development setting. This qualitative study uses a narrative thematic analysis of the playbuilding process and workshop performance to examine how reflective and reflexive practice is situated within playbuilding as professional development. The document concludes with a discussion of the limitations and transformative potential of playbuilding and argues for the creation of critical pedagogical professional learning communities for teachers in school settings. / text