The enactment of drama in the Arts F-10 curriculum: connections and controversies

PhD Thesis


Watson, Marthy Ella. 2021. The enactment of drama in the Arts F-10 curriculum: connections and controversies. PhD Thesis Doctor of Philosophy. University of Southern Queensland. https://doi.org/10.26192/Z1GM-TH96
Title

The enactment of drama in the Arts F-10 curriculum: connections and controversies

TypePhD Thesis
Authors
AuthorWatson, Marthy Ella
SupervisorDanaher, Patrick
Burke, Katie
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
Qualification NameDoctor of Philosophy
Number of Pages340
Year2021
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.26192/Z1GM-TH96
Abstract

Curriculum enactment is considered a complicated process of mediating policy into practice, and is often viewed as an isolated, linear process controlled by human agency (Ball, 2016; Fullan, 2014; Reid, 2005). In this thesis, I argue that the space between policy and practice in the Australian Curriculum: The Arts Foundation – Year 10 is messy, multi-layered, entangled and complex. This study investigated the Australian Curriculum: The Arts Foundation – Year 10 curriculum and how the junior secondary drama curriculum was translated from national policy to enacted educational outcomes at state and classroom levels.

The Australian Curriculum: The Arts Foundation – Year 10 has been available for implementation in schools across Australia since the beginning of 2015. Despite the positive response to the arts curriculum at the time, it was noted that it was difficult to predict how the curriculum would be enacted to ensure that every child in Australia would have access to quality arts education (ACARA, 2012a). But what did this mean for the enactment of the drama curriculum in Australia? How did the stakeholders, in order to enact the curriculum, attend to practice and identify the tensions arising in this space? And what might a drama curriculum be, in that enactment, across the multiple educational sites in the Australian context? Would this enactment look, feel and seem the same in different sites? Such were the provocative questions motivating this study.

The study traced and mapped the trajectory of the enactment of drama within curriculum agencies, educational organisations and the middle years of schooling (Years 7 and 8) in Queensland schools. These sites included the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA), the Department of Education (DoE) in Queensland, Independent Schools Queensland (ISQ), the Queensland Catholic Education Commission (QCEC) and four secondary schools in Brisbane, Queensland, representing Catholic, Independent and State schools.

The study drew on the theoretical and methodological sensibilities of actor-network theory (Callon, 1986; Latour, 2005; Law, 2004) and case study (Stake, 1995) to investigate the entanglement of curriculum policy and curriculum enactment. The analytical approach of actor-network theory illuminated the associations between people (human) and material ii objects (non-human) (Latour, 2005) actors. The study followed the human and non-human actors during network tracing to reveal how associations were formed to make visible the effects and consequences of the enactment process. Whilst this distinction between the human and the non-human may seem inconsequential, it brought forward the critical roles played by all actors (Law, 2009).

Tracing the networks whereby the drama curriculum was enacted revealed slippage and spaces of struggle. As these stories in the network overlapped and appeared in different networks, the effects of how actors influenced one another in their entanglement to implement the drama curriculum became visible. Rhizomatic constructed maps were constructed for each chapter to reveal the ceaseless forming of connections between sites and entities. This allowed the reader to visualise curriculum enactment in a non-hierarchical way to observe “the fabric of the rhizome” (Deleuze & Guattari, 1987, p. 25). Here connections between actors were observed to untangle the connections and controversies of the enactment of drama, and attended to the research question of how the drama curriculum was mediated and enacted in the different sites.

The study contributed to the educational field and, in particular, to analysing the curriculum enactment of drama, as it is the first study in Australia to follow the junior secondary drama curriculum from intended to enacted curriculum in different sites. The use of actor-network theory as theoretical and methodological sensibilities ruptured the traditional sociological assumptions about knowledge, subjectivity and the social. Lingering in this space and pondering the tangled practices yielded the appreciation for the precarious and uncertain nature of curriculum enactment. The findings provided openings for further conversations to explore the mediation of drama in educational sites.

KeywordsAustralian Curriculum, actor-network theory, curriculum enactment, drama curriculum, educational policy
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020390201. Education policy
360499. Performing arts not elsewhere classified
390101. Creative arts, media and communication curriculum and pedagogy
390199. Curriculum and pedagogy not elsewhere classified
Byline AffiliationsSchool of Education
Permalink -

https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q678v/the-enactment-of-drama-in-the-arts-f-10-curriculum-connections-and-controversies

Download files


Published Version
  • 282
    total views
  • 209
    total downloads
  • 2
    views this month
  • 2
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

Finding Joy, Meaning and Confidence in Writing: Using Embodied Arts-Based Practices with Children in the Primary Grades
Curtis, Elizabeth, Delaney, Nicole and Watson, Marthy. 2024. "Finding Joy, Meaning and Confidence in Writing: Using Embodied Arts-Based Practices with Children in the Primary Grades." Early Childhood Education Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-024-01811-9
Teacher perspectives on enhancing well-being education through integrating arts‐based practices
Moar, Sigrid, Burke, Katie and Watson, Marthy. 2024. "Teacher perspectives on enhancing well-being education through integrating arts‐based practices." British Educational Research Journal. 50 (5), pp. 2422-2440. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.4029
A sad tree: visualising ecological emotions through bodies in place
Watfern, Chloe, Watson, Marthy, Doran, Barbara and Vaughan, Priya. 2024. "A sad tree: visualising ecological emotions through bodies in place." Visual Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/1472586X.2024.2328603
An investigation of the use of arts-based embodied learning in Early Years classrooms
Watson, Marthy and Delaney, Nicole. 2024. "An investigation of the use of arts-based embodied learning in Early Years classrooms." Barton, Georgina and Garvis, Susanne (ed.) Kinaesthetic learning in early childhood: Exploring theory and practice for educators. United Kingdom. Routledge. pp. 66-82
Planning drama programs in your school: new ways of thinking about drama learning
Watson, Marthy and Delaney, Nicole. "Planning drama programs in your school: new ways of thinking about drama learning." 2023 Drama New Zealand National Conference. Rotorua, New Zealand 01 - 03 Jul 2023
Negotiating the enactment of the arts curriculum in primary school classrooms
Watson, Marthy and Delaney, Nicole. 2023. "Negotiating the enactment of the arts curriculum in primary school classrooms." 2023 Drama Australia National Conference . Newcastle, Australia 02 - 03 Jun 2023 Australia.
Understanding the transformative potential of drama: Using visual literacy to teach real-life issues in the drama class
Watson, Marthy and Delaney, Nicole. 2023. "Understanding the transformative potential of drama: Using visual literacy to teach real-life issues in the drama class." Odyssey: Drama Queensland State Conference 2023. Toowong, Australia 20 - 20 May 2023 Australia.
Encountering Berlant part 1: Concepts otherwise
Anderson, Ben, Aitken, Stuart, Bacevic, Jana, Callard, Felicity, Chung, Kwang Dae (Mitsy), Coleman, Kathryn S., Hayden Jr, Robert F., Healy, Sarah, Irwin, Rita L., Jellis, Thomas, Jukes, Joe, Khan, Salman, Marotta, Steve, Seitz, David K., Snepvangers, Kim, Staples, Adam, Turner, Chloe, Tse, Justin, Watson, Marthy and Wilkinson, Eleanor. 2023. "Encountering Berlant part 1: Concepts otherwise." Geographical Journal. 189 (1), pp. 117-142. https://doi.org/10.1111/geoj.12494
Literacy teachers as researchers: Developing small inclusive projects in your classroom
Barton, Georgina and Watson, Marthy. 2022. "Literacy teachers as researchers: Developing small inclusive projects in your classroom." Practical Literacy: the Early and Primary Years. 27 (3), pp. 8-10. https://doi.org/10.3316/informit.668060883927820
Arts-based reflection for care of self and others in the academy: a collaged rhizomatic journey
Watson, Marthy and Barton, Georgina. 2021. "Arts-based reflection for care of self and others in the academy: a collaged rhizomatic journey." Black, Alison and Dwyer, Rachael (ed.) Reimagining the Academy: ShiFting Towards Kindness, Connection, and an Ethics of Care. Cham, Switzerland. Springer. pp. 135-156
Negotiating the enactment of the arts curriculum in early years classrooms: Opening spaces to reveal other ways of knowing
Watson, Marthy. 2022. "Negotiating the enactment of the arts curriculum in early years classrooms: Opening spaces to reveal other ways of knowing." Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) 2022 Annual Conference. Adelaide, South Australia 27 Nov - 01 Dec 2022 Australia. Australian Association for Research in Education.
Investigating the Benefits and Challenges of Workplace Volunteering Experiences for International Students' Employability Literacies
Barton Georgina, Kavanagh Marie, Watson, Marthy, Hartwig, Kay and Hu, Yijun. 2022. "Investigating the Benefits and Challenges of Workplace Volunteering Experiences for International Students' Employability Literacies." Journal of International Students. 12 (3), pp. 777-793. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v12i3.3493
Using Arts-Based Methods and Reflection to Support Postgraduate International Students' Wellbeing and Employability through Challenging Times
Watson, M. and Barton, Georgina. 2020. "Using Arts-Based Methods and Reflection to Support Postgraduate International Students' Wellbeing and Employability through Challenging Times." Journal of International Students. 10 (S2), pp. 101-118. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v10iS2.2849
An interactive dialogue-oriented creative experiences – stories that evoke place: Using Visual Culture as a teaching tool
Watson, Marthy. 2019. "An interactive dialogue-oriented creative experiences – stories that evoke place: Using Visual Culture as a teaching tool." International Society for Education through Art World Congress (InSEA 2019). Vancouver, Canada 09 - 13 Jul 2019 Portugal . International Society for Education Through Art (InSEA).