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Education Studies Drama and Theatre Education at Warwick

Drama and Theatre Education at Warwick

These notes outline the work done by the drama subject group in the Warwick Institute of Education. Drama is taught in specialist and dedicated practical spaces and is enhanced by access to the Warwick Arts Centre and other important regional cultural centres and producers. The drama staff have close relationships with primary, secondary and tertiary schools and colleges. The drama group in the Institute is probably the biggest concentration of practitioners and researchers in drama and theatre education in the UK and it enjoys national and international recognition as a centre of excellence in teaching and research.

Taught & Research Programmes

PGCE Drama with English

There are 15 students registered for Drama with English and a further 45 registered for English with Drama. These students are training to be Drama and/or English teachers in secondary schools. Many will work locally when they complete their training. Some aspects of the Drama with English course are open to Full Time MA and Ph.D students. The PGCE Drama with English was awarded the top category A status by OfSTED following a full inspection in 2005.

MA in Drama and Theatre Education

There are 32 students registered in the Masters programme. The MA attracts teachers, theatre workers and others from the UK and from abroad. There is a rich cultural mix in both the student group and the course itself. Successful graduates come from all five continents and often return home to new work opportunities and promotions. The MA provides for the study of drama as an art form and as a teaching method in schools and other learning contexts. The course is a mix of lecture, seminar and extensive practical work and training including placements in local schools and theatre companies.

M.Phil/Ph.D

There are 20 students registered for M.Phil/Ph.D work in Drama and Theatre Education and the drama group has a successful track record in terms of recruitment and completion rates. Current work undertaken by doctoral students includes; an analysis of the implementation of drama into the Taiwanese curriculum; research into how the teaching of drama can aid those learning English as a foreign language; a study of translation in inter-cultural applied drama contexts; defining the creolising of drama practice in a Caribbean context and conceptualising the carnivalesque in drama education. Previous successful dissertations have included studies of the social and moral philosophies of drama education and case studies of theatre in education and curriculum innovations in drama

CPD

There are 40 students registered on short courses (30 CATS) of classroom research in drama and creative inquiry. These students are practising teachers funded by Creative Partnerships. The CPD models of inquiry offered by drama in the Institute have become the template for action research projects funded by Creative Partnership nationally.