The Forum Theatre in the prevention of exclusion from a peer group in the school space

Authors

  • Barbara Forysiewicz Institute of Cultural Research, Faculty of Languages, University of Gdańsk ul. Wita Stwosza 55, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs2020.2.335.342

Keywords:

Forum Theatre, social exclusion, Augusto Boal, conflict, drama

Abstract

Aim. The article is a report from the research conducted in 2017 during the Forum Theatre performance, and it demonstrates the possibilities of using the Forum Theatre of Augusto Boal in activities to prevent exclusion from the peer group of teenage students. The purpose of this article is to signal the possibility of using the idea of ​​ Boal in preventing exclusions in the school space.

Methods. In order to discuss the problems, the analysis of source material and participant observations were used.

Results. At Forum Theatre, young people reveal their worldview and value system by interacting with actors and performing stage activities. The teacher, observing the students actions in the performance, can assess their empathy, sensitivity and interpersonal competence. The teacher gets to know the qualities that affect the student’s mental state at the time of exclusion from the peer group. In the theatrical activity, the personality of the student with his or her predisposition to being a victim or torturer is revealed. Using the example of the analysed spectacle The Cage directed by Jarosław Rebeliński in 2017, it is clearly seen that the Forum Theatre makes it possible to get to know the student, and thus his or her problems in relation with peers. Forum Theatre shows the effects and causes of exclusion while simultaneously signalling to the teacher the symptoms of the problem manifesting themselves in the behaviour of young people.

Conclusion. Forum Theatre can be a diagnostic method for teachers in activities preventing the exclusion of a student from a peer group at school. Forum Theatre can be used as a method of working with students at risk of exclusion due to intolerance, lack of acceptance or lack of developed communication skills.

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Author Biography

Barbara Forysiewicz, Institute of Cultural Research, Faculty of Languages, University of Gdańsk ul. Wita Stwosza 55, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland

Polish philologist and culture expert, since 2009 lecturer at the Department of Cultural Studies at the Institute of Culture Research at the Faculty of Philology at the University of Gdańsk. In 2014-2017, as a lecturer, she cooperates with the Pomeranian College of Applied Sciences in Gdynia. At the same time, she is completing postgraduate studies in general pedagogy and pedagogical therapy at the Ateneum College in Gdańsk. She studies the mutual relations between various fields of art and the relationship between the creator and his work. The reports and conclusions from the conducted research are published in collective works in the field of cultural sciences. Since 2019, the main subject of her research is theatre (especially the Forum Theatre) as a method in pedagogical work.

References

Babbage, F. (2012). Augusto Boal i Teatr Uciśnionych [Augusto Boal and the Theatre of the Oppressed]. Dialog, 12, 158-183.

Boal, A. (2014). Gry dla aktorów i nieaktorów [Games for actors and non-actors].Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Cyklady Drama Way.

Maksymowicz, L. (2002). Drama jako metoda wspomagania rozwoju osobowości dziecka w wieku szkolnym [Drama as a method of supporting the personality development of a school-age child]. Słupsk: Wydawnictwa Uczelniane PAP.

Swędrak, J. (2008). Drama w pracy pedagoga szkolnego [Drama at work of a school counselor]. Życie Szkoły, 7, 27-30.

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Published

2020-09-11

How to Cite

Forysiewicz, B. (2020). The Forum Theatre in the prevention of exclusion from a peer group in the school space. Journal of Education Culture and Society, 11(2), 335–342. https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs2020.2.335.342

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 2 (2020): Journal of Education Culture and Society

Section

TRANSGRESSION

License

CC-BY

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. All authors agree for publishing their email adresses, affiliations and short bio statements with their articles during the submission process.