preview

Dorothy Heathcote : Self Made Drama Educator Essay

Satisfactory Essays

Dorothy Heathcote was a self-made drama educator that played a large part in developing what is termed today as process drama, drama in education, and dramatic pedagogy. Having a theatrical background did play a part in her philosophy; however, drama in education is not singularly based in theatrical aspirations. Heathcote defines educational drama as being “anything in which attitudes, not characters, are the chief concern lived at life-rate (discovery of the moment) and obeying the natural laws of the medium” (O’Neil 3). Rather, Heathcote’s philosophy focuses on child centered education while using dramatic conventions. Heathcote used her teaching models and redefined the role of the teacher in efforts to have students become more accountable for their own personal education.
In these models, teachers act less as omnipotent powers in the classroom; and more as guides who structure frameworks for students to play within, follow their own personal inquiries, and serve their own needs. This served to create learning and skills on a higher level. This was a significant departure from the rhetoric and lecture based education that was popular in Britain during the 1960’s and 1970’s. Heathcote quoted Edwards and Furlong’s evaluation of the education system in A Drama of Learning: Mantle of the Expert:
Pupils are too consistently treated as consumers of knowledge in a context where they have little status and few rights…. A large group of pupils has to behave for considerable

Get Access