Telling tales: Critical reflections on drama teaching and research

Abstract

The ways in which drama can be experienced by students in schools is governed by the beliefs of the drama teacher. This neither denies the impact of students’ own beliefs in determining processes and outcomes, nor ignores the complexities of teacher‐student interaction. Rather it focuses clearly on the dispositions of teachers who wield the greatest power to put their own beliefs into practice. Teachers enter drama spaces with a range of beliefs about drama teaching, learners and learning, education and society. I wish to share tales about three very different kinds of drama teacher, each with their own set of dispositions and drama orientation. I know the theatre director, the radical facilitator and the social critic very well indeed because I have lived through each at various stages of my career. Each orientation is discussed alongside implications for practice. Readers are encouraged to reflect on their own tales.