Date of Award

2020

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Organizational Unit

Morgridge College of Education, Teaching and Learning Sciences, Curriculum and Instruction

First Advisor

Maria Salazar

Second Advisor

Nicholas Cutforth

Third Advisor

Garrett Roberts

Fourth Advisor

Frederique Chevillot

Keywords

Arts education, Case study, Education, Student outcomes, Theatre arts, Theatre education

Abstract

Research suggests that theatre arts participation benefits students’ academic and non-academic learning outcomes. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the impact of a theatre arts program on academic and non-academic for high school students by addressing the following overarching research question: How does student participation in a theatre arts program impact students’ learning outcomes? The subquestions are: (a) how do students describe the impact of a theatre arts program in relation to academic learning outcomes?, (b) how do students describe the impact of a theatre arts program in relation to non-academic learning outcomes? The study follows a single case study design. Data collection included observations, interviews, documents and material culture, and a survey. Purposeful sampling was used to identify five interview participants, to include variation in setting, theatre experience, and student demographics. Data analysis included preparing the data, initial analysis, coding the data, categorical aggregation of the data, and development of themes. Findings show that theatre arts participation positively impacts students’ academic learning outcomes and non-academic learning outcomes. The academic learning outcomes include: (a) theatrical outcomes in knowledge and skill and (b) non-theatrical academic learning outcomes extending to other academic areas. The non-academic learning outcomes include: (a) positive mental health, (b) socioemotional experiences, and (c) communal experiences. These findings hold implications for practice as teachers and theatre departments can apply these findings to support their programs. It also holds implications for theory and research as it contributes to the literature on utilizing drama as a lens for applying sociocultural theory in educational research and theatre education research.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Grant H. Goble

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

en

File Size

201 p.

Discipline

Education, Theater

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