The Impact of a High School Theatre Arts Program on Students’ Academic and Non-Academic Learning Outcomes: A Case Study

<p>Research suggests that theatre arts participation benefits students’ academic and non-academic learning outcomes. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the impact of a theatre arts program on academic and non-academic for high school students by addressing the following overarching research question: How does student participation in a theatre arts program impact students’ learning outcomes? The subquestions are: (a) how do students describe the impact of a theatre arts program in relation to academic learning outcomes?, (b) how do students describe the impact of a theatre arts program in relation to non-academic learning outcomes? The study follows a single case study design. Data collection included observations, interviews, documents and material culture, and a survey. Purposeful sampling was used to identify five interview participants, to include variation in setting, theatre experience, and student demographics. Data analysis included preparing the data, initial analysis, coding the data, categorical aggregation of the data, and development of themes. Findings show that theatre arts participation positively impacts students’ academic learning outcomes and non-academic learning outcomes. The academic learning outcomes include: (a) theatrical outcomes in knowledge and skill and (b) non-theatrical academic learning outcomes extending to other academic areas. The non-academic learning outcomes include: (a) positive mental health, (b) socioemotional experiences, and (c) communal experiences. These findings hold implications for practice as teachers and theatre departments can apply these findings to support their programs. It also holds implications for theory and research as it contributes to the literature on utilizing drama as a lens for applying sociocultural theory in educational research and theatre education research.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Year dc:date.available

2020

Author dc:creator

• Goble, Grant H.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Maria Salazar
• Nicholas Cutforth
• Garrett Roberts
• Frederique Chevillot

• Arts education
• Case study
• Education
• Student outcomes
• Theatre arts
• Theatre education
• Art Education
• Theatre and Performance Studies

Statement dc:rights

• <p>Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.</p>

Language dc:language

en

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1770

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.du.edu:etd-2760