Annotated Bibliography: Source Three

Works Cited

Wooster, Roger.  Contemporary Theatre in Education. Chicago: Intellect Books, 2007. p. 10-27. Print.

            Wooster spends Chapter 3 of this book focusing on the hybrid of theatre and education. He begins with the explanation of the origin of Theatre in Education (TIE), which was part of the ‘alternative theatre’ movement of the 1960s. This concept was described as developing the power of drama to encourage thought, reflection, and analysis in young people. He also states that educational drama essentially uses children’s innate ability to play and role-play as a way to deepen and make their process of learning more efficient. Wooster describes the “child-centered” education, which is basically a philosophy that puts the emotional needs of children before the requirement of learning facts. More effective learning took place when children were encouraged to investigate the world through play and active approaches to different concepts. Group interaction, for example, would teach them to cooperate and think more rationally about the information they were studying. Within drama, Wooster explains, it is possible for children to address their personal and social needs, as well as come to terms with their own selves in the world.

            In this book, only one chapter seemed relevant to the topic I plan to discuss in my paper. The beginning of the book goes into detail about the history of theatre in education, and the end incorporates that knowledge compared to other countries. This information does not seem as significant to me as the chapter about integrating theatre into education for children. The author explained many different points of view about this topic. He used research from many psychologists to help explain his ideas and reasoning.

            This book will help me during the process of my paper by allowing me to describe Theatre in Education; how it started, and the impact it has on children. The author portrays many examples the positive effects it has on children, and also supports his ideas with research. I will use this information to describe benefits of theatre arts education in elementary school students.  However, the other articles I have read focused more on how it has an impact on their school work. This book mentions that concept, but goes more into detail about the psychological benefits in and outside the classroom.

·         “Drama is often used for playing out situations in which the individual has to make decisions about morals. By making situations conscious, the child is able to look at life as an observer and make slow inward decisions.” (10)

·         “The claim that drama can contribute to self-discipline, personal and emotional development and human relationships, has been substantiated by much of the admirable work we have seen.” (11)

·         “This is not to say, as some have argued, that the only purpose of drama is theatre. The ability to ‘play’ is a pre-requisite of theatre but it is also a building block for continuing human and personal development.” (22)