Drama in education and the use of the ‘Theatre of the Oppressed’ in educational contexts in Sweden.

Abstract

The use of Drama and theatre in education has become established in Italy and there are numerous drama based activities in schools of all types, as well as plays and writing aimed specially at children and young people. Even Italian pedagogy in recent years has widened its research on the educational value of the use of drama and scientific investigation on suitable methodologies for its application. However there is still a lack of adequate training for operators in the field. In fact there are no training courses that adequately link theatrical and educational competencies, and trainers working in this area usually come form a background in theatre but have rarely developed reflections on the educational experience and outcome that their work produces. I have had the opportunity to spend a period in Stockholm researching on the practices involved in the various uses of drama in education (with particular reference to the Theatre of the Oppressed, which has interested me for a number of years). I was a guest of the of the Larärhögskolan Institute of Education in Stockholm where I had the opportunity to meet several Swedish educational experts and I was introduced to numerous applications of drama in educational and social contexts. This article is a summary of those experiences.