How does theatre educate?

Can theatre education help motivate urban high school students who are at risk of failure? Kathleen Gallagher believes it can.

From 1989 to 1999, Gallagher – now an associate professor of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto (OISE-UT) – was a drama teacher at a Toronto high school that had a diverse student population, including many refugees and first-generation immigrants.

“This is when I began to realize that theatre could educate in important ways that are different from other subject areas and from the traditional notion of high school theatre class. The drama classroom became a world in which they could critically examine their challenges, explore their dreams and play out their real-life dramas.”

Gallagher, who joined OISE-UT in 1999, earned her doctorate in education from U of T while teaching high school. She is pursuing her research as the recently-appointed Canada Research Chair in Urban School Research in Pedagogy and Policy.

“Theatre class in school can, of course, introduce students to the stage and can even prepare some for a career in the theatre. But it goes beyond that. It can have particular relevance for urban students who often face greater systemic barriers than other more privileged students.”

Gallagher will test her theories in a variety of school settings in Canada, the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Belgium and Singapore, areas where she has already conducted research with grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Gallagher is also the academic director of the new Centre for Urban Schooling. In one of the Centre’s first projects – a collaboration between OISE-UT and the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) – U of T faculty and TDSB educational experts will work together to improve education and address systemic barriers for under-served youth in Toronto’s schools.

For Gallagher, the power of theatre education has roots in her own history. “When I was four-years old, my older sister had just started high school and was taking a fantastic theatre arts program. I would sit mesmerized as she rehearsed her monologues. It had an enormous impact on me. Since then, I’ve never thought of theatre education as a frill. It engaged my imagination in profound ways.”