Drama with vision impaired children

Master of EducationThis project addresses the application of educational drama with vision impaired children. It reports on three years of research and practical experience in the area and aims to highlight how important and relevant drama is for this population, thus pioneering a broad and purposeful usage of drama with vision impaired children. An implementation of educational drama with vision impaired children requires an understanding of both drama, in its educational and therapeutic forms, and vision impairment and its implications. In this way the project sought to investigate the areas of drama, drama therapy and vision impairment separately before addressing the application of drama with vision impaired children. The first part of the thesis reports on this theoretical background information. The second part of the thesis links these areas and reports on the application of drama with vision impaired children in the form of a manual. After establishing a case for drama with vision impaired children, the project provides practical information as to how to implement drama techniques with the vision impaired child. An 'action cycle' is put forward involving observation, planning, implementation and evaluation stages. Teaching methods are given and discussed for the singularly impaired vision impaired child, the child with additional impairment and, to a lesser extent, the multiply impaired vision impaired child. Examples are used extensively throughout and case-study material is provided. The project addresses the following audiences: (i) teachers working with vision impaired children who would like to implement drama techniques (ii) teachers, including drama teachers, who have a vision impaired child in their class and who would like to know more about vision impairment and how drama can be utilised with a vision impaired child (iii) others, outside the field of education, such as therapists, medical practitioners and care-givers who are involved with vision impaired children (iv) parents of vision impaired children (v) as the vision impaired population includes many children with additional disability, including physical, intellectual, hearing, emotional and social problems, the project may be useful for those working with children with impairments other than visual