Drama as Art, Pedagogy and Practice
A Practice Based Framework for Primary Teachers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33178/scenario.19.2.1Keywords:
Drama Education, Transdisciplinary Education, Arts Intergration, Drama as an Art Form, Creative MethodologiesAbstract
This paper introduces a practice-based drama framework developed in response to the evolving educational landscape in Ireland. Recent curricular reforms, including the redeveloped Primary Arts Curriculum (NCCA, 2025), have repositioned drama as a distinct art form while continuing to value its capacity for integration across learning areas. Drawing on the findings of Teachers Talking Drama (McEntee & Finneran, 2025) and grounded in qualitative research with primary teachers, the proposed framework addresses long-standing challenges around teacher confidence, clarity, and enactment. It offers a flexible, accessible model built on three interdependent pillars: drama as collaborative process, drama as a transdisciplinary tool, and drama as artistic practice. In doing so, it responds to teachers’ desire for concrete strategies that are context-responsive and aligned with curriculum aims. The framework aims to reposition drama not as a marginal or enrichment activity, but as a foundational methodology that supports expressive, critical, and inclusive learning across the primary school.
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