'Putting Yourself in Other People's Shoes': The use of Forum theatre to explore refugee and homeless issues in schools

Abstract

This study investigated the experiences of, and interactions between, participants of a Forum theatre workshop, which addressed the issue of the refugee child at school. Staged by a UK theatre company, whose actors had, in their own lives, experienced being homeless and/or refugees, the workshop was investigated as it was performed in three London secondary state schools. Findings revealed that the workshop was highly relevant to the students, re ecting moral dilemmas which they faced in their everyday lives, as they encountered refugee students at school. This interactive workshop gave them the opportunity to try out moral behaviour, which could potentially be applied to real-life situations. Students felt that the workshop enabled them to put themselves "in other people's shoes", both the ctional characters in the workshop as well as actual people they knew at school. The homeless and refugee histories of the actors themselves intensi ed the reality of the workshop experience. The Forum theatre workshop aimed to encourage the students to become moral agents in their own lives. However, its ability to do this was limited by the lack of both moral re ection upon the issues raised, and guidance in appropriate moral action following the workshop. This absence of follow-up relates to the fact that the workshop was perceived by teachers as a drama activity, and no attempts were made to address its moral content which, teachers felt, belonged to the domain of the Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) in the National Curriculum for England.

Teaching strategies for moral education: a review

“…or 'What other options could have been available for the moral agents to resolve their moral conflicts? ' Other authors argue that students will be even more able to empathize with the characters in the play if they act in it themselves (Bouchard 2002, Day 2002. Moreover, by acting as a moral agent within a specific context, students are able to develop moral authority and skills for empathic caring (Verducci 2000).…”

“…Moreover, by acting as a moral agent within a specific context, students are able to develop moral authority and skills for empathic caring (Verducci 2000). In the Forum theatre workshop (Day 2002), for example, the aim was to increase students' empathy with refugees and homeless people and to encourage them to become moral agents in their own lives. In the tradition of the Forum theatre, students could not only influence the script of the play but also perform in it themselves.…”

“…According to the authors, insight into these mechanisms is important in order to curb racism. Day (2002) investigated the effects of a Forum theatre workshop aimed at increasing students' empathy with refugees and homeless people and encouraging them to become autonomous moral agents. Three ethnically diverse schools in London participated in the workshop.…”

Turning a crisis into an interactive drama: An introductory paper of a ‘clickers theatre’ in nurse education

“…This type of pedagogy is deliberately pre-designed to provoke participants to enter into the action directly in the stage area. The student audience report strong reactions to extremely interactive sessions and can vary to from the feeling of fear described by Day (2002) like they are stepping into a 'bullpit' to embracing the learning potential of gaining exposure to 'near-real' events in a live and safe education.…”

8. Visualizing Boundaries and Embodying Conflicts: Lessons Learned From a Theatrical Professional Development Program

“…Interactive theatre is particularly powerful as it requires participants to be active in exploring problems, creating dialogues and developing possible solutions (Gibb, 2004). Interactive theatre offers valuable experiential learning opportunities in a range of educational settings ranging from youth education to management development (Beirne & Knight, 2007;Coopey, 1998;Day, 2002;Gibb, 2004;Elm & Taylor, 2010;Nissley, Taylor, & Houden, 2004).…”