The Impact of Theatre Performance in a School Setting on Children's Learning

Abstract

ABSTRACT This thesis asks how does school-based theatre performance help primary-aged children learn, how is the learning altered or enriched by teacher intervention and how does the impact of the performance change over time? Drawing upon three case-study productions between 2016 to 2018 of Devon based performance company Theatre Alibi, this inter-disciplinary research explores the relationship between the company, schools and centrally the children who have experienced their performances. Using a child-centred, mixed method approach, incorporating quantitative and qualitative analysis and arts-based methods to capture research from over 900 children aged between 5-11 years, this thesis provides new insights into audience reception, educational and longitudinal impact. It also gives feedback on under-researched audiences for theatre makers, educators, academics and policy makers on the impact of theatre on children. This thesis traces the connection between theatre and learning, looking in turn at: the company’s contribution and distinctiveness in the field of Educational Theatre; the emotional impact of a one-off experience; the impact of teacher mediation; and finally, the after-life of the performance. This inter-disciplinary research argues the emotional impact of theatre performance is long-lasting, refuting the ‘common-sense’ assumption that performance is transient, disappearing the moment its eventfulness is over. It offers the academy, theatre practitioners, teachers and policy makers’ research into unheard voices of children, particularly non-traditional theatre goers in the setting of their own school, seeing a performance not as a one-off experience, but as an untapped source for further learning and particularly creativity. It also offers rare insight into longitudinal findings by following the impact on children of a performance of no more than an hour’s duration over a two-year period.