An initial meeting of the Drama National Working Group meeting took place at Optima, Glasgow on Wednesday 5th March. The aims of the meeting were to identify and discuss the key national issues with regard to Drama education 3-18 and to begin considering actions to address these issues.
Using the International Futures Forum “3 Horizons” tool, the group set out to map the current landscape and to explore visions for the future, not just in three years’ time but looking further ahead into 2020 and beyond.
The statements the group used to stimulate discussion through the 3 Horizons sessions are shown below:
- The most effective Drama education is driven by learners
- Effective career-long professional learning (CLPL) supports teachers, building confidence and capacity
- Theatre Arts Technology should play a central role in Drama education
- Establishing and maintaining effective partnerships is key to successful Drama education
- Skills developed through Drama can be delivered through subjects in other areas of the curriculum
These statements were designed to provoke conversation and thinking in relation to current practice, either observed or undertaken by members of the group, and thinking about the future direction of Drama education and its relevance to learners.
From the conversations, the key issues that were highlighted during the day included:
- The need to build practitioner confidence and capacity to teach Drama
- The quality and quantity of Drama training during initial teacher education
- The challenges associated with building and sustaining partnerships with arts professional and organisations
The outputs from the meeting are collated and posted below in both Word and PowerPoint format.
Comments from all stakeholders on the outputs are very welcome.
