Can ‘Forum Theatre’ be used as a tool to provide teachers with positive strategies to deal with low-level disruptive behaviour in the classroom?

Abstract

This dissertation explores the concept of Forum Theatre, and depicts if it can be used as a tool to help teachers find positive strategies in dealing with low-level difficult behaviour in the classroom. As a result of this dissertation and findings, a workshop based training pack has been created. Inspired by Paul Dix and his method of Scripted interventions, Augusto Boal and his Theatre of The Oppressed and Forum Theatre. This dissertation merges the two theorists and creates a Training pack where teachers can use Forum Theatre to create short 30 second scripted interventions, to use when defusing low level disruptive behaviour in the classroom. This dissertation was created in response to the classroom exclusion rates in Scottish schools and the low level disruptive behaviour that causes them. The training pack created in response to the findings of this dissertation, will be used by schools to assist in decreasing classroom exclusions and increase teaching time. Further development and research is needed to definitively say wither or not scripted interventions can be created using forum theatre. Therefore, the next steps of this study are to take the training pack to Scottish secondary schools and work with teaching staff to fine tune and amend the pack to achieve all aims of this research project.