MA Drama and Education: Context and Practice

Carmarthen Campus

Evening and Weekend Study

Wales’ only master’s programme in Educational Drama...

Are you interested in developing your pupils’ creativity?
Are you a primary school teacher with an interest in Drama and Theatre-in-Education?
Are you a secondary Drama teacher or FE lecturer, Head of a Drama Department or Creative Arts faculty?
Perhaps your professional growth would be enhanced by taking a look at this challenging, professionally relevant degree?

Drama can play a central role in the curricular and extra-curricular life of most primary and secondary schools and FE colleges.The current move towards a more creative curriculum ensures Drama’s continued importance within the education of our young people.

Gulliver's Travels, a Schools tour. This MA will enable you to engage in exploration and critical debate into the nature, purpose and function of Drama and Education. A series of workshops, tutorials and seminars will provide you with new approaches to Drama, based firmly on an awareness of the changing role and nature of the subject since its first appearance in schools.

The MA is awarded on successful completion of four taught modules and a dissertation. There are no formal examinations. Each taught module unites theory and practice in a comprehensive panorama of drama and education so that, by the end of the course, teachers can become confident and well-qualified subject leaders in the area.

The dissertation will be developed from aspects of the course which have particularly stimulated your interest. The dissertation can also build upon your own professional circumstances and experience.

The Programme - Modules Topics Include:

Educational Drama – examines the development of the subject since the 1970s, with particular reference to the emergence of theory, the role of assessment and the National Curriculum, as well as the subject’s links to other creative arts.
The Work of Dorothy Heathcote - explores the use of Teacher in Role and Mantle of the Expert within the subject.
Pioneers and Practitioners – considers the social and historical context of the contemporary subject area.
Classroom Drama: Improvisation and Devising – practice-based exploration of how improvisation and devising can aid teachers’ work
Teaching Scripts and Stories – strategies for creative drama work drawing upon writers’ work and its curricular role from Primary School stories to Advanced Level set texts.

Features of the Programme

study in your local area for a University of Wales higher degree
personal and professional development within a learning community
opportunity for study and reflection
opportunity for interaction with experienced educators
access to the University’s Teaching Resources Centre and other HE information sources
personal mentor/tutor

Who is this designed for?

those who have a number of years’ experience and who wish to update and develop their drama skills further
those more recently qualified in the field of education & training, who wish to prepare themselves for future areas of responsibility within the field
those who have an interest in Drama and would like to develop their understanding of the educational benefits of the field

Mode of Study

The MA can be studied on a two year part-time basis

Attendance at seminar /tutorial/ workshop sessions
100% coursework

Postgraduate Qualifications

Study modules are credit rated (30 credits at M level per module) and can be used to obtain the following postgraduate qualifications:

Postgraduate Certificate in Educational Drama - 2 taught modules - 60 credits
Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Drama - 4 taught modules - 120 credits
MA Educational Drama - 4 taught modules and a dissertation - 180 credits

Why study at this University?

Wales’ only Master’s programme in Drama and Education
Approaches to Drama across the curriculum, Drama within English and Theatre Studies
Small teaching groups, a friendly and caring atmosphere and personal attention
Tutors are specialist drama professionals who can offer the most up to date training
Opportunity for Professional Development
Studying for an MA can extend your horizons, lead to further professional qualifications and can aid promotion prospects.

Programme Specification

Educational Aims

The aim(s) of the programme are to:

provide a flexible pattern of study for students who seek further professional development within the field of Educational Drama;
provide students from different backgrounds with the opportunity to cultivate critical, analytical and higher order understanding of their own practice, as well as bringing a fresh approach to their subject knowledge and understanding;
develop the capacity of students to plan and manage their own learning, developing the necessary skills to achieve success at Level 7.

Programme Outcomes

The Learning Outcomes of the modules within the MA Drama and Education will enable students to demonstrate:

Knowledge and Understanding

a thorough knowledge and critical understanding of the values and principles relevant to education;
an in-depth knowledge of the diversity of learners and the complexities of the education process;
a critical understanding of the complexity of the interaction between learning and contexts, and the range of ways in which participants (including learners and teachers) can influence the learning process;
a thorough knowledge of the societal and organisational structures and purposes of educational systems, and the possible implications for learners and the learning process;
a critical understanding of how to apply knowledge, practice, concepts and skills within the field.

Subject-specific Skills

an ability to critically analyse educational concepts, theories and issues of policy in a systematic way;
a well-developed ability to identify and reflect on potential connections and discontinuities between each of the aspects of subject knowledge and their application in educational policies and contexts;
a critical ability to accommodate new principles and understanding;
a substantial competence in using a range of evidence to formulate appropriate and justified ways forward and/or potential changes in practice;
an ability to contribute to the creation of drama activities using the skills and crafts of performance making;
an ability to critically reflect on their own and others’ value systems;
a critical ability to use their knowledge and understanding critically to locate and justify a personal position in relation to the subject;
a thorough and in-depth understanding of the significance and limitations of theory and research;
a capacity to analyse and critically examine diverse forms of discourse and their
effects on representation in the arts, media and public life.

Generic and Graduate Skills

an ability to develop a strong line of argument, both verbally and in written form;
an ability to compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses in arguments/ opinions of others;
an ability to use information and communication technology (ICT) including word processing, databases, internet communication, information retrieval and online searches;
an ability to work with others, as a result of the development of interpersonal skills, to demonstrate the capacity to plan, to share goals, and work as a member of a team;
an ability to improve their own learning and performance, including the development of critical study and research skills, information retrieval, and a capacity to place and manage learning;
a critical ability to analyse, synthesise, evaluate and identify problems and solutions;
a critical ability to reflect on their own learning.

Fees

Fees are reviewed annually. Tuition Fees

For further information, contact:

Dr Jim McCarthy (Programme Co-ordinator)
School of Performing Arts
Tel: 01267 676668
E-mail: j.mccarthy@trinitysaintdavid.ac.uk

or 01267 676767