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Social drama in an activity-based peer group: a theatre for fostering self- and other- understanding

University of British Columbia

. A phenomenological approach was used to investigate the social experiences of "at-risk" adolescents as they occurred in the context of a drama project comprised of discussion and role play based on social issues deemed relevant by the participants. Experiences of self- and other-understanding were examined in and beyond the context of the project. Fourteen adolescents enrolled in an alternate "transition" classroom program for adolescents identified as "at risk" for school, drop out participated in the social issues drama project during 12 class periods over one month. The researcher and her assistant facilitated the activities in the project. Initially, participants completed questionnaires assessing demographic background, stress, and empathy. The adolescents' responses served as a springboard to the qualitative data. Over the next eight class periods in the project, the group engaged in discussion and dramatic role play activities based on relevant social issues identified by the participants. All of the above activities were audio taped. During the last two sessions, the adolescents participated in individual interviews that were audio taped about their experiences in the project. Transcripts of the discussions, role plays, and interviews were analyzed concurrently with observations and field notes taken by the researcher and assistant. The data were organized into four components: (1) a description of the adolescents' background; (2) a content analysis of the social issues identified for the subject matter of the drama activities, namely relationship issues in peer, family, and friendship contexts; (3) analysis of the participants' processes of perspective-taking, empathy, and prosocial behavior in and beyond the context of the role play activities; and (4) the adolescents' experiences of the project and the effects they perceived as resulting from the project. Implications for educational practice and for further research are discussed.

Thesis/Dissertation

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2009-05-19

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/7967

Special Education

University of British Columbia

UBCV

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