Adolescence is a turbulent time and a critical transformational phase during which
major physical, emotional, cognitive and social shifts occur. The objective of this
study is to explore ways in which female adolescents can acquire anger
management skills. The study proposes that emotional competency is cultivated as a
result of the neurological plasticity of the brain and by applying learning material
based on the work of scholars in the fields of neuroscience and Applied Drama.
Adolescence is an opportune time for girls to learn emotional competency skills as
the incomplete development of the prefrontal area of the brain makes them more
inclined to risk taking and less aware of logical thinking processes. The study
indicates that anger floods the body with secretions like cortisol and adrenaline,
blocking logical thinking. Angry incidences can have destructive consequences for
relationships. The empirical study includes discussions of training levels for anger
management, such as the identification of anger-related emotions and anger styles,
understanding anger, and curbing angry expressions through assertive
communication.
As anger management is a practical aptitude, the empirical study applied selected
Process Drama conventions (as modes of Applied Drama), specifically role play,
tableaux, Mantle of the Expert and dramatized poetry. The benefit of these
conventions lies in the facility with which they can alternate between dual modes of
engagement and learning content. Process Drama launches the workshops’
participants into a make-believe world in which they can identify with a situation from
the inside out while simultaneously observing the situation from the outside in, a
phenomenon called metaxis. The female adolescent, while protective of her social
relationships, can safely enter a fictitious world and face the problems raised by
anger without jeopardizing her privacy or dealing with real-life emotions. The
convention of dramatized poetry enabled creative expression as the participants
wrote their own poems to personalize their insight into their need for anger
management. While the methodology was being practised, it was also assessed. As
the outcomes of the learning objectives were the participants’ responsibility, I could assess during the activities if they accommodated learning objectives in their
biography. In this study the participants were, for example, not able to fully utilize the
skill of assertive communication.
The integrity of the methodology of Process Drama for girls was affirmed when it was
successfully combined with the principles of brain-based learning. The literature
review and the outcomes of the empirical study confirmed that Process Drama
adheres to the principles of brain-based learning which is, inter alia, physiological,
social and emotional, and occurs in tandem with the developmental phase of the
participant. The research study is the culmination of various disciplines and an
endeavour to present a multimodal anger management programme that incorporates
the adolescent female on a cognitive, emotional and physical level, and in a sound
collaborative environment. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / lk2014 / Drama / DPhil / Unrestricted
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:up/oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/43268 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Van den Berg, Celia |
| Contributors | Munro, Marth, celia@3gi.co.za |
| Publisher | University of Pretoria |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | © 2014 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
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