Volume 21 Number 19 July 1, 2020

Drama in Education for Sustainability: Becoming Connected through Embodiment

Anna Lehtonen
University of Helsinki, Finland

Eva Österlind
University of Stockholm, Sweden

Tuija Leena Viirret
University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Citation: Lehtonen, A., Österlind, E., & Viirret, T.L. (2020). Drama in education for sustainability: Becoming connected through embodiment. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 21(19). Retrieved from http://doi.org/10.26209/ijea21n19.

Abstract

In this article, we argue that drama can serve as an interconnecting method for climate change education. In this study, we elaborate the practice of drama and participation experiences through three drama workshops: 1) process drama work on the global, social, and individual aspects of climate change, 2) outdoor drama practice on relations to nature, and 3) reflections through drama practice. The human dimension of the sustainability issues, conditions of interdependence, and collaboration were explored and manifested through the drama practices, which created frames for embodied, creative and cognitive dialogues between people with different perspectives. Being differently—as experienced through the embodied, collective, and creative practices of drama—seemed to promote experiences of interconnectedness, widen perspectives of sustainability, and motivate acting differently.

Visual Abstract

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