Drama education as part of a good lives model treatment approach

Purpose Forensic psychiatric treatment is aimed at reducing violence risk factors (Bonta and Andrews, 2017) and achieving positive, prosocial life goals (Willis et al., 2013). Drama education can be provided as part of this treatment, but the evidence base is scarce. Therefore, the present study aims to provide insight into experiences with drama education as part of forensic psychiatric treatment. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative study was conducted, based on participant observation and 16 interviews, to explore the experiences of patients and treatment providers with drama education during forensic psychiatric treatment. Analyses were conducted following the consensual qualitative research method (Hill et al., 1997). Findings The five central themes that emerged from the analysis were knowledge, happiness, excellence in play, community and staff-patient hierarchy. Participants reported that they enjoyed the drama lessons, appreciated the group atmosphere and were able to practice their social-emotional skills. Furthermore, patients and their treatment providers became better acquainted with each other because the power differences between patients and staff decreased during the drama lessons. Practical implications Drama education can be considered a useful part of clinical forensic psychiatric treatment, given the positive experience of participants and its perceived positive impact on treatment. Originality/value This was one of the first studies to examine the influence that drama education may have on forensic psychiatric treatment. Four of the five themes were in line with the good lives model (Willis et al., 2013), indicating that drama education fulfiled basic human needs or “primary goods” that are important to address in forensic psychiatric treatment, as it decreases the need to compensate these goods with criminal behaviour.

Possibilities of theatrical pedagogy in solving problems of social sphere

In my article I focus on the connection between the artistic and social spheres, the transcendence of art education into therapy and I will briefly mention the structure of art education with a focus on theatrical pedagogy in the Czech Republic. I divided the article into theatrical pedagogy in practice for younger school age, teenage and youth, adults and seniors, and the following areas: a) Theatrical pedagogy in the structure of the Czech educational system and as a part of leisure activities and Drama education as a subject for future teachers. In this part I shortly present what drama education / theatrical pedagogy in the Czech school system means and I draw the introduction on the studies and ideas of prof. Mgr. Jaroslav Provazník, who leads the Department of Drama in Education at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague; b) The potential of nonverbal theatre techniques in communication with specific groups and theatre pedagogy in the context of integration and inclusion; c) Pedagogy of substitute subjects – performativity of objects. In this section I present a personal description of one five-year cycle with “object workshops” – drama education: empirical research, comparison, development of methodology of working with the subject in the context of drama education.

The Effects of an Authentic Collaborative Project on University Directing Students’ Learning Experiences

This phenomenological study reports an authentic collaborative project between students of acting and directing (AD) and students of Teaching English as Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) in University Sains Malaysia (USM). The project, which is integrated and infused with features of authentic learning and creative drama education, aims to provide the AD students with new learning experiences that are authentic in nature and that focuses on their abilities to direct a full theatre performance. Using qualitative data collection methods (i.e., online reflections and open-ended items), the study identified and determined six meaningful learning experiences that the 29 AD students gained: (i) constructing, sharing, and utilizing knowledge; (ii) understanding roles as directors; (iii) identifying and solving problems; (iv) creating and building teamwork; (v) developing creativity in directing; and (vi) practising professionalism in directing. The paper also provides some guidelines for other practitioners and researchers to undertake similar projects in future and in other settings.