Theatre Education : the Analysis of State Standards and Curriculum Content for the Introductory Theatre High School Classroom

Abstract

Changes in education are common. Old educational philosophies are integrated with new ideas and concepts on a fairly consistent basis. The 1990s saw considerable shifts in curricular development with more emphasis on educational psychology, grading scales, learning styles; innovations to curricular formats, and the governmental standardization of state and area education (Wiles and Bondi, Curriculum Development: A Guide to Practice 19). However, there are some subjects, such as music, art, health, or home economics whose curricula are not usually held accountable through standardized testing. For some of these classrooms, curriculum can fall short, and funding is overlooked in favor of spending money on subjects that are tested. Theatre is one such subject. In a curricular context, there are several theories about the forms of curriculum that are most conducive to the learning of students. There has also been much written about the most effective ways in which theatre is practiced. Theatre is adaptive and, therefore, offers many areas of study. There is very little, however, written about the effective teaching of theatre. Through the analysis of state standards, classroom content and curriculum formats, as well as an in depth study of the current literature about theatre education, this thesis will present a clear format for an introductory level, high school theatre curriculum.