Drama in compulsory school for pupils with learning disabilities : An interview study

The aim of this study is to illustrate how drama can be used as a pedagogical tool in compulsory school for pupils with learning disabilities, and the conditions needed for drama to become a meaningful element in teaching. Five qualitative interviews were conducted with teachers with experience of drama in special school teaching. The questions of the study ask what emerges in the teachers´ descriptions regarding the value of, and conditions for, drama in compulsory school for pupils with learning disabilities, and which didactic considerations and choices the teachers give expression to current drama in their own teaching. As a starting point for the study and as an aid in the analysis work, Dillon´s (2009) curriculum theory, sociocultural perspective on learning and Vygotsky´s (1930/1995) theory of imagination and culture have been used. The results, based on an analysis of the teachers´ descriptions, indicate that the teachers see drama as an opportunity for learning through participation in interaction and drama as a mediating tool for learning. The most important prerequisites for drama, according to the teachers, are competence, courage, and commitment on the part of the teacher, as well as support from people around and governing documents. The didactic considerations and choices that the teachers express are about scaffolding in and through drama as well as about drama in the proximal development zone. Based on the results of the study, theory, and previous research, it is concluded that drama has beneficial effects, but risks reduced space in compulsory school for pupils with learning disabilities. It is also concluded that knowledge in drama should be spread among teachers and that more research is needed to strengthen and preserve the place that drama has in compulsory schools for pupils with learning disabilities