The Use of a Drama Intervention Workshop Programme To Tackle Anti-Social Behaviour in Secondary Schools

Abstract

This dissertation provides an overview of how the use of drama intervention workshop programme that uses Dorothy Heathcoat’s method ‘Mantle of the Expert’ could tackle anti-social behaviour within secondary schools. The programme will teach pupils about citizenship and therefore coincide with one of the Curriculum for Excellences four pillars, ‘Responsible Citizen’. The study will assess the Curriculum for Excellence and its teaching of citizenship within the Health and Wellbeing curriculum and create a pilot model for secondary schools to tackle and explore expressively the issues of anti-social behaviour within the drama curriculum. Reviewing the literature surrounding anti-social behaviour and the Curriculum for Excellence as well as interviewing two teachers allowed for the researcher to assess what types of anti-social behaviour affect secondary schools while evaluating how citizenship is taught and who is responsible for teaching it. By analysing other intervention workshops which tackle different types of anti-social behaviour the researcher is able to assess the main aims that are required when creating a model in order for the intervention workshop programme to be effective. In summary, the researcher was able to analyse on a small scale the issues that affect secondary schools in regards to anti-social behaviour and created a pilot model using Dorothy Heathcote’s ‘Mantle of the Expert’ method in order to create a safe space for the pupils to learn collaboratively with their teacher and peers and explore the behaviours of anti-social behaviour expressively within the drama curriculum in order to eliminate such behaviour inside and outside schools. Therefore encouraging pupils to take responsibility of their own learning and in turn learn about citizenship.