Research informed teaching and drama: curating the evidence

Abstract

Recently, there has been a considerable amount of discussion on social media about the nature of evidence informing teacher decisions about learning. These discussions emerged as a result of a post entitled ‘The problem with using scientific evidence in education (why teachers should stop trying to be more like doctors’) (McKnight and Morgan 2019). In a previous editorial for this journal, we reflected on the complexities of educational research and our role in contributing to the discussion asking then, ‘Is it time then to change the game by sharing educational research in new ways? Might we achieve the change we all know is needed, within drama and beyond, by bringing together personal narratives, established research findings and the aesthetic and dynamic qualities of drama and theatre?’ (Dunn and Stinson 2015, 99). Since its inception, NJ has attempted to share those personal narratives, research processes and results, and critically analyzed examples of practice in an attempt to build a shared community of understanding for drama educators. It is a challenging space. Part of the challenge is to celebrate and share high quality practice and research in a fixed, text-based medium that struggles to document the ephemeral nature of so much of what we do. This journal is an essential platform for discussion about drama education: what we do; how and why we do it. In the current educational and educational research climate, it is crucial that practitioners and researchers in the field of drama education have opportunities to share their research about the critical and creative work that is being undertaken in schools, in universities, in theatres, and in applied theatre contexts. It is imperative their voices are heard. We are pleased to share with our readers that our top ten, most read online articles are (in order):