Exploring popular theatre in education: A participatory project in an alternative education program for pregnant teens and young mothers

• Main Author: Hunt, Lindsay Ruth
• Other Authors: Conrad, Diane (Secondary Education)
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: Education; Popular theatre; Alternative education; Young mothers; Participatory
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10048/1363

To shift the emphasis with regards to what is important in education, beyond achievement tests, it would be helpful to consider other possibilities for engaging students. Popular theatre as form of popular education is explored as an option for providing this better way in. I considered both critical and feminist pedagogies while being guided by the following questions: What are the possibilities and limitations of a popular theatre project implemented within an alternative school context? Why should we make space for such processes in schools? Through a participatory study using popular theatre within an alternative program for young mothers and pregnant teens, ethnodramatic scenes are presented, depicting themes that arose within the program. There were successes and failures; however, what was most notable were the constraints of the school system that may not allow for such processes to exist within current educational structures. Suggestions for future projects are proposed.