Challenging understandings of racism through drama education praxis : steps to an ecology of culture

This research challenges understandings of racism through a drama based education praxis. The thesis structure is informed by the inquiry into the two part research question: How can critically reflecting on my praxis deepen my understanding of anti-racism processes in Australia? How can I document, evaluate and communicate my praxis? I situate the research in a qualitative methodology. I discuss the choice of narrative inquiry, arts-based inquiry and creative action research. I augment this with intuitive inquiry and explore lived experience research of hermeneutic phenomenology as applied to education and the social world and include first-person research. The creative action research is in three stages. The thesis is written in six chapters with a provocation, a prologue, an epilogue and appendices. The structure of the writing follows the stages of development of a drama-based experiential learning process. In the praxis chapters, I present theory and practice together, where the practice is presented as narratives that illuminate the theory. These stories of practice are usually followed by praxis discussions that are reflections on the practice in the light of the theory. Cultural conflicts such as racism can be transformed through drama education into intercultural communication and education. My argument is that taking steps towards ecology of culture in Australia today could significantly influence both the multicultural and the ecological project