Drama and environment: Joining forces to engage children and young people in environmental education

David J. Curtis*, Mark Howden, Fran Curtis, Ian McColm, Juliet Scrine, Thor Blomfield, Ian Reeve, Tara Ryan

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

24 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Engaging and exciting students about the environment remains a challenge in contemporary society, even while objective measures show the rapid state of the world's environment declining. To illuminate the integration of drama and environmental education as a means of engaging students in environmental issues, the work of performance companies Evergreen Theatre, Leapfish and Eaton Gorge Theatre Company, the ecological oratorio Plague and the Moonflower, and a school-based trial of play-building were examined through survey data and participant observations. These case studies employed drama in different ways - theatre-in-education, play-building, and large-scale performance event. The four case studies provide quantitative and qualitative evidence for drama-based activities leading to an improvement in knowledge about the environment and understandings about the consequences of one's actions. In observing and participating in these case studies, we reflect that drama is a means of synthesising and presenting scientific research in ways that are creative and multi-layered, and which excite students, helping maintain their attention and facilitating their engagement.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)182-201
Number of pages20
JournalAustralian Journal of Environmental Education
Volume29
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2013
Externally publishedYes

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