A Study of a Selected School Theatre Arts Program

The Problem: The purpose of this study was to develop an analytic profile of a secondary education theatre arts program. Five major areas were exam ined: (1) the students, (2) the school\u27s administration, (3) the theatre arts faculty, (4) theatre arts course work, and (5) theatre arts produc tion work. In addition, an examination of the self concepts of theatre students and non-theatre students was made to see if differences existed between the two groups. Sample: The sample for the study was made up of: (1) one hundred senior high school students from one North Dakota high school, (2) the theatre arts faculty at the school, and (3) the school\u27s principal and associate principal. Of the one hundred high school students, fifty were identified and labeled Non-Theatre Participants, and fifty were identified and labeled Theatre Arts Participants. All students were selected at random. Procedure: Data for the study were gathered by administering: (1) the Gen eral Information Questionnaire, (2) the Non-Theatre Participants Question naire , (3) the Theatre Arts Participants Questionnaire, (4) the Theatre Faculty Questionnaire, (5) the School Administration Questionnaire, (6) the Tennessee Self Concept Scale and (7) interviews with the theatre arts faculty. Summary of the Findings: 1. Students who participated in theatre arts came from families in which a large percentage of the parents had attended college. 2. General non-theatre participants supported theatre arts and felt that it was a worthwhile activity. 3. Theatre arts participants stated that theatre arts was one of the most important activities provided by the school. 4. The school\u27s administration actively supported the theatre arts program. 5. The theatre arts faculty developed a successful working rela tionship with the school\u27s administration. 6. The theatre arts faculty developed a philosophy of educational theatre arts based upon widely recognized aims, goals, and objectives for secondary education theatre arts programs. 7. The theatre arts department operated within the widely recog nized aims, goals, and objectives of secondary education. 8. The theatre arts curricular activities were well integrated with the theatre arts extra-curricular activities. 9. The theatre arts department worked with other departments to develop a well integrated theatre arts major