Focuses on the first production of Edward Bond's play "The Children." Discusses Bond's interest in theatre in education and assesses the significance of his dramatic writing for young people. Examines the experiences of the young people in the first cast of "The Children" and the perceptions of the teachers who facilitated the project. (SG)

Provides an overview of the America Reads Challenge and the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center's (CSPAC) education projects. Analyzes the joint CSPAC/America Reads puppet project, and considers its efficacy. Proposes that immediate, focused evaluation helps demonstrate quantitatively the local impact of an educational theatre project, while…

Uses two examples of fieldwork on the Indian sub-continent on which to base a model for a participatory practice in Theatre for Development (TFD). Offers a brief contextualisation of TFD within the development discourses of modernization and participation. Outlines four key elements for this type of participation: passion, story, contradiction and…

Presents a historical, critical story of directing textbooks that aims to identify major shifts in directing pedagogy at mid-century in the United States, when the debates over the goals of theatre education became a catalyst for change. (SG)

Explores how the concept of "social capital" relates to the teaching of speaking and listening. Concludes that helping students identify, analyze and employ the aural, visual and verbal grammar of spoken English is not an adjunct to the subject of drama, but an intrinsic part of understanding the art form. (SG)

Takes stock of the variety of uses of "drama" in Singapore. Looks at the environment in which drama is operating to trace the growth and development of drama in Singapore schools. Concludes that much has happened in the area of educational drama over the past 10 years, both in and out of schools, from assembly plays, student drama performances to…

Gives a personal account of the authors' experiences as ex-patriots in Malawi, using theatre for education and development at a time when art, entertainment and education may have been the last thing on their audiences' minds. Describes how they developed and rehearsed a play and had plans to take it to 10 villages. (SG)

Discusses Jo Trowsdale's case for "Reconsidering the Role of the Artist in Initial Teacher Training (ITT)" (RIDE, 2002). Notes that it argues for the centrality of engaging with different models of practice and different kinds of artists as a way of creating more equitable arts education experiences for all young people. Considers recent national…

This study compared the creative thinking abilities of students taking dance class in high school to nondance students (n = 286). The Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) was the basis of the comparison using a pre-test/post-test format. Dance subjects were enrolled in classes that included a variety of dance forms plus some creative work.…

This essay discusses issues of cultural difference in dance studies and presents specific pedagogical strategies for engaging the students' embodied knowledge as a research tool in both historical and cross-cultural investigations. (Contains 2 notes.)

This paper represents an attempt to document some of the methods and processes involved in creating a new dance work. I observed, over a 5-week period, the making of a contemporary dance piece with a group of 19 3rd-year BA dance students at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. The choreographer was Melbourne-based Dianne Reid, who…

Many UK universities now recognise that artistic practice can constitute a form of research in its own right; increasingly, practising artists are sponsored or employed to work creatively within the academy, whilst the regulatory frameworks of research degree programmes have evolved to enable practical doctoral submissions. These developments have…

The purpose of the "Perspectives" section of "Research in Dance Education" is to make available valuable material relating to dance education that is out of print and, therefore, difficult to obtain. In this issue's "Perspectives" contribution, the author raises issues that are significant for dance education and possibly as relevant today as…

The purpose of this research is to instigate a debate about the way in which professional ballet dancers are trained and the content of that training. The literature on the teaching of ballet has always focused on two areas: ballet vocabulary and training. The former is treated as both a fixed and autonomous form, and, for the latter, methods of…

This paper provides an opportunity to share experiences and perceptions of the first 5 years of a degree programme for professional dancers. A partnership developed in the mid-1990s between the UK's Birmingham Royal Ballet and the University of Birmingham, Westhill (now School of Education), to provide a part-time, post-experience, flexible study…