Marie Jeanne McNaughton

Educational drama in the teaching of education for sustainability

In this paper, I describe part of my research project that examines the use of Educational Drama in Education for Sustainability in the upper stages of the primary school (10‐ and 11‐year‐olds). Central to the research is a small‐scale qualitative research study. Here, I describe the educational focus of the study and outline the methodology. Central to the study was a series of drama lessons (taught by me) based on environmental themes. The lessons link with some of the key aims in Education for Sustainability—to help young people to develop awareness, knowledge and concepts, to encourage positive attitudes and personal lifestyle decisions and to help them to acquire action skills in and for the environment. The locus is within the Scottish education system. A number of key data were generated during the teaching and evaluation of the lessons. These take the form of field notes, childrens evaluations of their work and learning, observation schedules, taped interviews with participants and observers and videotapes of the lessons. The analysis of the data is ongoing, but already there is substantial evidence to suggest that the drama was instrumental in helping the children to achieve the learning outcomes set for the lessons. Some of that evidence is presented here. I suggest that the active, participative learning central to drama is particularly useful for allowing children to develop skills in communication, collaboration and expressing ideas and opinions. Also, the immersion in the imagined context and narrative, integral to the ‘stories’ in the drama, allows the children to feel sympathy for and empathy with people who are affected by environmental issues and problems. In giving the children a context for research and in helping them to plan solutions and to suggest alternatives, the drama allows the participants opportunities to rehearse active citizenship and facilitates learning in Education for Sustainability.In this paper, I describe part of my research project that examines the use of Educational Drama in Education for Sustainability in the upper stages of the primary school (10‐ and 11‐year‐olds). Central to the research is a small‐scale qualitative research study. Here, I describe the educational focus of the study and outline the methodology. Central to the study was a series of drama lessons (taught by me) based on environmental themes. The lessons link with some of the key aims in Education for Sustainability—to help young people to develop awareness, knowledge and concepts, to encourage positive attitudes and personal lifestyle decisions and to help them to acquire action skills in and for the environment. The locus is within the Scottish education system. A number of key data were generated during the teaching and evaluation of the lessons. These take the form of field notes, childrens evaluations of their work and learning, observation schedules, taped interviews with participants and observers and ...

Implementing Education for Sustainable Development in schools: learning from teachers’ reflections

In recent years, in the UK, there has been a significant focus on research in Education for Sustainable Development/Global Citizenship Education (ESD/GCE) in initial teacher education and on projects and initiatives used with pupils in schools. However, there has been less specific focus on the ‘voices’ of teachers who have undertaken such projects: the documentation of their perceptions of effective pedagogy for the development of their pupils’ learning and, importantly, the development of their own concepts and values in relation to sustainability education as a result of implementing ESD/GCE-related topics. This paper aims to provide data from this relatively under-reported area. It examines what the teachers learned about effective pedagogy from undertaking a systematic study of their own practice in ESD/GCE-based topics, and it highlights the development of their own understanding of, and values about the place of ESD/GCE in the curriculum. The paper presents an analysis of the reflective journals kept by 10 teachers during the planning and implementation of ESD/GCE projects within their own classrooms. Findings emerging from the study were that critical reflection on their work gave the teachers the confidence to adopt the more learner-centred pedagogy of ESD/GCE, and that teachers, too, were able to benefit from the participation in ESD/GCE activities.

Drama and Children's Writing: a study of the influence of drama on the imaginative writing of primary school children

ABSTRACT This study sought to discover if drama were a particularly useful tool for developing childrens skills in imaginative writing and for motivating them to write. The imaginative writing of children who had experienced drama was compared with that of similar children who had taken part in discussion work. Would the experience of drama help the children to meet the writing task more effectively in areas such as lexis, structure, voice (writing‐in‐role) and expressing ideas and emotions? A series of 20 drama lessons and 20 parallel discussion lessons was devised and taught to two sets of children. At the end of each lesson the children were asked to produce a piece of writing (e.g. a poem, story, report). After close analysis, comparisons were made between the two sets of writing. Overall, in 17 out of 20 sets of writing, the drama group met the set task better or slightly better than the discussion group. Also, the drama group wrote, on average, 24.5% more than the discussion group. Reasons for thes...

Educational drama in education for sustainable development: ecopedagogy in action

The research on which this paper is based is a response to the UNESCO directive for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) 2005–2014. Educators are advised to prepare young people for sustainable development and global citizenship and the Arts should be included in programmes in ESD. This paper presents an overview of a research project based on the hypothesis that educational drama might be a useful medium for teaching and learning in environmental, sustainable development and global citizenship education. Central to the project, an ethnographic case study employing a multi‐case approach, based on three research questions, was a series of drama–ESD lessons, taught to three classes of 10–11 year old children in three primary schools in the West of Scotland. Data were gathered using a range of instruments: interviews; observation schedules; pupil evaluations; research‐practitioner reflective field notes; and video‐recordings of the lessons. This paper presents a summary of the results of the extensive, multi‐dimensional analysis of the data, in terms of the pedagogical themes that began to emerge. The final section of the paper suggests that there are many pedagogical approaches common to educational drama and ESD and that, indeed, a range of dramatic techniques and conventions can be an important addition to the repertoire of active learning approaches employed by the ESD educator.

Learning from participants’ responses in educational drama in the teaching of Education for Sustainable Development

The context for this paper is an on-going research project that sets out to examine the use of educational drama in the teaching of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in the upper stages of primary school. The drama lessons link with some of the key aims in ESD, with a particular locus in the Scottish education system. As 2005–15 has been designated by UNESCO as ‘The Decade of Education for Sustainable Development’, it is particularly important to examine and emphasise the key role of drama in the learning process. The main focus of the paper is the examination of what pupils’ evaluations of the drama work reveal about how drama might be particularly appropriate for use in ESD-related work. The relationships between the participants in the drama, teacher and pupils, both in and out of role are explored. The conclusions suggest that active, participative learning and the unique way of working within the dramatic context might allow children to develop skills and attitudes necessary for active citizenship and might facilitate learning in ESD.

From Cradle to Stage: How Early Years Performing Arts Experiences Are Tailored to the Developmental Capabilities of Babies and Toddlers

Theatre for early years (TEY) has become increasingly popular around the world in the last 30 years but has struggled with legitimation. Scholars have challenged TEY’s validity and have declared performance to children aged younger than 3 years to be frivolous or even impossible. However, new models of aesthetic sensitivity and intersubjectivity have become allied with artistic practice, as artists choose to collaborate with developmental specialists. This article provides case studies of recent early years performances and explores how they have been tailored to specific developmental stages throughout early childhood. The authors propose that this comparison of the routes by which contemporary artists combine age appropriateness, accessibility, and aesthetic validity may define two alternative models of current praxis.

Sustainable development education in Scottish schools: the Sleeping Beauty syndrome

This paper reviews and discusses the development of Sustainable Development Education (SDE) policy within the context of the Scottish formal school system. The focus is on the progress, and lack thereof, of implementation of SDE in schools in the light of some of the key curriculum documents and associated political decisions and advisory reports. The period of the review dates from 1993, which saw the publication of a report that was regarded as the seminal document for the development of environmental education in Scotland, to 2007 and the Scottish Executives proposals for SDE in the light of curriculum reform for schools for the 21st century. The paper employs, loosely, the metaphor of the Sleeping Beauty to tell the story of SDE in Scotland in three parts: the storys three phases of emergence, obscurity and re‐emergence might serve as a useful metaphor, here.

Closing in on the Picture: Analyzing Interactions in Video Recordings

In this paper the author provides a detailed account of the processing and analyzing of data obtained through video recording during reflective practitioner research. She sets out five stages in the analysis of video recordings of classroom interactions during a series of educational drama lessons, from decisions relating to the selection of data for close analysis to the seeking of themes and finally to the presentation of conclusions. The researcher adapted and synthesized several processes derived from discourse analysis to produce a range of instruments for use in transcription and analysis of verbal and nonverbal discourse. These include a simple transcription key, classifications for verbal and nonverbal discourse, and a template for a transcription and analysis matrix.

From Acting to Action: Developing Global Citizenship Through Global Storylines Drama

This article describes research designed to find evidence that the methodology of Global Storylines offers a valuable pedagogy though which to explore concepts and issues, and to develop the associated skills and values for both pupils and teacher, in education for sustainable development (ESD), and global citizenship education (GCE). The article presents the epistemological perspectives that emerged from research in which educational drama, as part of Global Storylines topics exploring environmental themes and issues, was developed and implemented, and data gathered and analyzed. The article suggests that the relationships developed during drama contribute a unique pedagogical dimension to ESD/GCE.