Raising the Curtain: Investigating the Practicum Experiences of Pre-service Drama Teachers

Gray, Christina; Wright, Peter; Pascoe, Robin

doi:10.14221/ajte.2017v42n1.3

Cited by 24 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Their challenging experience of negotiating the unexpected highlighted for the pre-service teachers the fundamental importance of collegiality and the need for mental and physical support structures within the school to help manage stresses placed upon them as teachers through sustained involvement in extracurricular programs. This first-hand realisation and acknowledgement of the need for additional support was powerful particularly given previous findings confirming the prevalence of stress in the lives of Arts teachers and beginning teacher attrition (Anderson, 2002(Anderson, , 2003Donelan, 1989;Gray, 2016;Gray, Wright & Pascoe, 2017;Haseman, 1990;Wales, 1999).…”

Section: Discussion: Emerging Ideas About Arts Teachingmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…They may lead tours, organise theatre excursions and enter their students into performing arts festivals. These activities are frequently undertaken in addition to the regular teaching load and without financial remuneration (Ballantyne, 2007;Gray, Wright & Pascoe, 2017;Kelly, 1999). While extracurricular activities consume a considerable amount of time and require specific expertise, little attention is afforded to developing these requisite skills and understandings during pre-service training.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“Learning the Ropes”: Pre-service Arts Teachers Navigating the Extracurricular Terrain

Gray¹,

Lowe²

2019

AJTE

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Arts teachers undertake a multitude of extracurricular activities. Yet, while these activities consume considerable time and require specific expertise, little attention is afforded to developing these skills and expertise during pre-service training. This article presents findings from a study into the value of a pre-service teacher production as a form of professional development, from both the technical and personal development perspectives. Thirty pre-service secondary Arts teachers participated in the production. Through focus-group interviews, participants indicated the benefits of building technical understanding as well as personal benefits of engaging in an ensemble experience. All spoke of the potential transferability of what they learned to their future teaching practice. Given that Arts teachers are expected to facilitate extracurricular activities as part of their professional work, this article advocates the importance of examining ways in which rich experiences such as the production examined here should be formally embedded into pre-service teacher training courses.

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Section: Discussion: Emerging Ideas About Arts Teachingmentioning

confidence: 76%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Learning the Ropes”: Pre-service Arts Teachers Navigating the Extracurricular Terrain

Gray¹,

Lowe²

2019

AJTE

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“…(p. 25) Whilst the substantial workload and stress of managing the extra-curricular components of teaching in the performing arts are evident, so is the rewarding nature of this work (Gray & Lowe, 2019). The willingness of teachers to engage in such activities is largely due to the considerable benefits for the students and wider-school community (Anderson, 2002(Anderson, , 2003Gray, 2016;Gray, Wright, & Pascoe, 2017;Lierse, 1999).…”

Section: Literature Review: Problematising Homogeneitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Being the adult you needed as a kid: why the AITSL standards are not the best fit for drama teachers

Gray

Lambert

2019

Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education

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The Australian Professional Standards for teachers attempts to regulate the profession and improve teacher quality. Yet the standardisation of teachers' work has attracted criticism from researchers who assert that a "one size fits all" model for judging teacher quality fails to recognise the affective, enactive and relational aspects of teaching. Given the interactive and interpersonal nature of teaching drama, this concern has salience. Our research into the experiences of early-career drama teachers reveals the positive influence these teachers have on their students and in their schools. Of particular note, are the strong role models they have become through the development of authentic, professional relationships where students feel supported and empowered to explore their feelings, achieve academically and flourish as human beings. These relationships are co-constructed during extracurricular activities, namely in production rehearsals, where together they work towards common goals. Our findings suggest a case can be made for re-evaluating the process of judging teachers against a standardised set of criteria that neglects to capture the nuances of drama education and the passion, commitment and relationality of early-career drama teachers.

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“…They may lead Arts tours, organise theatre excursions and enter their students into performing arts festivals. All of these activities often occur in addition to the drama teacher's regular teaching load and without financial remuneration (Gray, Wright, & Pascoe, 2017;Kempe, 2012). Given that learning how to facilitate these tasks occurs "on the job", it is imperative that pre-service drama teachers have opportunity to observe quality mentor teachers in real school settings where these practices are exercised.…”

Section: Learning Drama Pedagogymentioning

confidence: 99%

“They made me feel like a teacher rather than a praccie”: sinking or swimming in pre-service drama education

Gray

Wright

Pascoe

2018

Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education

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Support, professional guidance and modelling of teaching practice offered by quality mentor teachers are important components in preparing teachers for the profession. Yet research confirms the impact of poor mentoring on pre-service teachers' developing pedagogy. This paper reports findings from a qualitative study with pre-service drama teachers and their mentors as a way of better understanding how mentoring impacts their developing pedagogy, in a learning area that is highly interactive and relational. Data comprised of observations of planning and teaching, participant interviews, journals and field notes representing five pre-service drama teachers' experience of mentors during an extended teaching practicum. These data revealed the considerable variance and disparities in mentoring styles and quality and the repercussions for the pre-service drama teachers. The discussion addresses the implications of these findings in light of those mentor attributes identified as most conducive to creating competent and confident beginning drama teachers.

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Raising the Curtain: Investigating the Practicum Experiences of Pre-service Drama Teachers

Cited by 24 publications

References 28 publications

“Learning the Ropes”: Pre-service Arts Teachers Navigating the Extracurricular Terrain

“Learning the Ropes”: Pre-service Arts Teachers Navigating the Extracurricular Terrain

Being the adult you needed as a kid: why the AITSL standards are not the best fit for drama teachers

“They made me feel like a teacher rather than a praccie”: sinking or swimming in pre-service drama education

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