Maša Rimac Jurinović

Drama is a Safe Place

Maša Rimac Jurinović – Faculty of Teachers, University of Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract:

Drama pedagogy in working with children and young people is based on humanistic beliefs and a holistic approach to learning. It encourages and nurtures critical reflection and collaborative learning in questioning the existing world so that we can imagine a better, more equal, more humane world. In thinking about that world, children and young people also think about their place in the world, real and imagined. The research investigates using qualitative methods whether a drama group can become a safe place where young people think about who they are without expectations (mostly adults), what they should be and where they explore in safe circumstances what kind of world they would like to live in. The research participants are high school students (1st and 2nd grade) who belong to a conservative Christian community and who attend the elective course Drama, and a portrait of their drama teacher is given. Although at first glance the respondents have extremely similar beliefs, and they grow up and mature in a community that supports the same values, the respondents have very personal insecurities, thoughts and frustrations. The research showed that for them the drama group is a place where they can question themselves, their beliefs, but also others and their significantly different attitudes in safe circumstances. But it is even more interesting that the drama group represents an emotional refuge for these young people (Firth-Godbehere 2023).

Firth-Godbehere, R. (2023). A human history of emotion: How the way we feel built the world we know. 4th Estate.