TOWARDS A CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE OF DRAMA RESEARCH IN THE NINETIES

Year: 1992

Author: Errington, Dr. Edward

Type of paper: Abstract refereed

Abstract:
I wish to use this paper as a vehicle for presenting a possible drama research agenda in the nineties. As can be seen from a review of literature, there are many different ways that we can investigate drama education. If we accept Goodson &Walkers' (1991) view that the task of research is to 'make sense of what we know', then the sense we make of our teaching and learning will be somewhat limited if we only employ mainstream empirical methods to research drama workplaces. In my considered view, such approaches are best suited to providing us with a macro view of drama education, but fall short of allowing a close view of the richness of life within drama classrooms. The main aim of this paper is to outline a case for recognising alternative, qualitative modes of enquiry, appropriate to the kinds of concerns, emergent issues, observations and notions of change we choose to pursue systematically in drama. This paper has three parts which serve to address fundamental aspects of all research, namely:
¥ Who will conduct the research?
¥ What methods will we employ?
¥ What might be the content of the research?

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