Why Theatre Matters
Urban Youth, Engagement, and a Pedagogy of the Real

Kathleen Gallagher (Author)

9781442626942

Paperback / softback, published 25 September 2014

320 pages, 7 b&w illustrations, 6 b&w tables
22.9 x 15.3 x 2 cm, 0.48 kg

‘Why Theatre Matters is written as a beautifully moderated conversation among the students and the teachers… This book reflects a researcher who pursues excellence and vulnerability together, inviting the field of theatre education to do the same.’

What makes young people care about themselves, others, their communities, and their futures? In Why Theatre Matters, Kathleen Gallagher uses the drama classroom as a window into the daily challenges of marginalized youth in Toronto, Boston, Taipei, and Lucknow. An ethnographic study which mixes quantitative and qualitative methodology in an international multi-site project, Why Theatre Matters ties together the issues of urban and arts education through the lens of student engagement. Gallagher’s research presents a framework for understanding student involvement at school in the context of students’ families and communities, as well as changing social, political, and economic realities around the world.

Introduction
Chapter One: The Complexity of People, Conversation, and Space as Data
Chapter Two: The Social and Pedagogical Context for Engagement
Chapter Three: The Multi-dimensionality of Engagement: Academic Achievement, Academic Enthusiasm, Voluntary Initiative and What the Numbers Tell Us
Chapter Four: Social Performances: Students and Teachers Inhabit Their Roles
Chapter Five: Life or Theatre?
Chapter Six: Up Close and Personal: Unfinished Stories