The South African school curriculum recognises the vital importance of life skills acquisition
through the learning area, Life Orientation (referred to in the primary school as Life Skills). The
Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) Life Skills (Creative Arts) for the
Intermediate Phase promotes drama-based instruction in life skills learning. The curriculum
links to Forum Theatre techniques which are aimed at the learner’s holistic development
through, among others, social game playing, improvised role-play and devising and performing
a problem play which includes audience participation mediated by a ‘Joker,’ a facilitator role
usually filled by an experienced and trained teacher. Children learn about the self, their peers
and society through reality-based exploration and the conflicts that arise due to socialisation
and power-based problems. Cognitive behavioural, existential and experiential learning
theories and the theatrical theory and practice of Augusto Boal, who invented Forum Theatre
as part of the Theatre of the Oppressed, formed the framework for this performative case study
inquiry conducted in a South African primary school. A researcher-designed Forum Theatre
intervention was implemented by the Grade 6 (Creative Arts) teacher with four Grade 6 classes
over eight weeks in Life Skills (Creative Arts) classes, culminating in Forum Theatre
performances by the four classes, respectively. Data were gathered through classroom
observation in which the researcher assumed the role of observer-participant, conducted
individual and focus group interviews with Grade 6 teachers, did interviews with Grade 6
learners, took video recordings of learners’ classroom activities, recorded the Forum Theatre
performances, and collected the learners’ written reflections. The findings indicated: the
process adjustments required to facilitate Forum Theatre activities in a primary school setting;
effectiveness of experiential learning of life skills through game-playing and discovery;
performative pedagogy fostered life skill acquisition; performative pedagogy harnessed nonverbal,
embodied learning to build social insight; and describes the teacher experience in
implementing a Forum Theatre intervention. Recommendations for practice include teacher
training for experiential, explorative, and performance-based teaching in line with the CAPS
document, which provides for a range of performative teaching and learning activities to
promote effective life skills acquisition in primary school learners. / Educational Studies / Ph. D. (Education)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/26761 |
| Date | 28 October 2020 |
| Creators | Bettman, Maria Catharina |
| Contributors | Smit, Brigitte |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (396 leaves) : illustrations, application/pdf |
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