Supporting Teachers’ Critical Reflection Through the Embodied Practice of the Rainbow of Desire

Abstract

I draw on theories of embodied and critical reflection to propose how Boal’s The Rainbow of Desire (TRoD) develops teachers’ critical consciousness by supporting them to interrogate practice through the lens of power. In particular, the embodied, emotional, problem-posing, and collaborative characteristics of TRoD offer an embodied approach to critical reflection that makes visible the structures and dynamics of power informing teachers’ decisions and actions and the possible consequences for their students.

Key words:

• critical pedagogy
• critical research
• embodied reflection
• power
• The Rainbow of Desire
• Theatre of the Oppressed.