Dialogicality in teaching process drama: three narratives, three frameworks

ABSTRACT

This case study explores dialogicality in teaching process drama through the narratives and practices of three experienced drama teachers of the Open University. Dialogue is understood here in the context of ‘I-Thou’ attitude and as the phenomenon of heteroglossia. The analyses of the videotaped reflective interviews with the teachers and process dramas revealed a polyphonic picture of dialogicality in the teaching process, in which juxtapositions of communion and alterity are favoured. These findings may help drama teachers to become more conscious about the challenges and possibilities of generating a fluid and energised dialogicality in process drama.

KEYWORDS:

• Process drama
• dialogicality
• heteroglossia
• narrative analysis
• drama teacher

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Central Finland Regional Fund of the Finnish Cultural Foundation.

Notes on contributors

Tuija Leena Viirret

Tuija Leena Viirret is a university teacher in drama education at the Open University of the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland. She has long-term experience in teaching qualified, working teachers and future teachers, who study to gain qualification in teaching drama. Her PhD research focuses on interactional phenomena in process drama and TIR practices.