Tackling racist conflicts in Greek primary schools through drama

Lioliou, Theocharia (2013) Tackling racist conflicts in Greek primary schools through drama. Doctoral thesis, Birmingham City University.

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Abstract

The recent transformation of Greece from a homogenous country into one that is a receptacle for people from different cultures occurred in a society unprepared for such change, resulting in severe cases of racism, inside and outside school. The purpose of this study was to explore for the first time in the Greek setting the response of young children who had displayed prejudiced behaviour to a series of drama lessons. It also examines the efficacy of process drama in the hands of a novice in this approach drama teacher. The project was based in antiracist education theory, combining elements from multicultural education, and applying conventions of drama approaches with those prevailing in process drama/drama in education.

This was a multiple case study research drawing also upon action research methodology. It consists of two pilots and three applications in different primary school classrooms of seven to eight-year-olds. Preliminary research identified the sample through anonymous questionnaires and the main field work consisted of a series of drama sessions; semistructured interviews and participant observation took place before and after each class application

The setting was found to be extremely monocultural, with traditional teaching methods still being prevalent and racist views present among both children and teachers. The results from the drama were encouraging, proving that, even in the hands of a beginner, drama can inspire empathy to pupils through deep emotional experiences which contain the potential for changing beliefs.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Dates:	Date Event November 2013 Completed
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Racism, Process drama, Drama in education, Prejudices, Inequality
Subjects:	CAH25 - design, and creative and performing arts > CAH25-02 - performing arts > CAH25-02-03 - drama CAH22 - education and teaching > CAH22-01 - education and teaching > CAH22-01-01 - education
Divisions:	Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences > Centre for Study of Practice and Culture in Education (C-SPACE) Doctoral Research College > Doctoral Theses Collection
Depositing User:	Richard Birley
Date Deposited:	18 Jul 2017 11:01
Last Modified:	03 Mar 2022 16:58
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/4880