INVESTIGATION OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF CREATIVE THINKING AND ADAPTABILITY SKILLS THROUGH PROCESS DRAMA TECHNIQUES IN JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN SRI LANKA

Ayomi Indika Irugalbandara B.A. (Honours), PGDE (Distinction), M.Ed.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education Faculty of Education Queensland University of Technology 2020

Keywords

Acceptability, adaptability skills, drama-based intervention, creative thinking, engagement, feasibility, fidelity, hot-seat, improvisation, observation, process drama techniques, possibility thinking, storytelling, socio-cultural theory, tripartite perspective.

Investigation of the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills through process drama techniques in junior secondary school students in Sri Lanka i Abstract

Creative thinking and adaptability skills are widely considered to be important 21st-century skills. However, in Sri Lanka they are not being taught, which may affect students’ ability to compete in a global skills market, and, as a result, they may lack specific life skills, such as thinking creatively, the ability to creatively solve problems, engaging in lifelong learning, reasoning and the ability to plan and apply their knowledge. Subjects such as drama may be successful vehicles for developing such skills in students; however, when students experience a teacher-oriented approach to drama, neither creativity skills nor dramatic performance are encouraged, either individually or collaboratively.

In order to address these skills shortages, this study set out to explore the potential of an intervention that could develop creative thinking and adaptability skills in Sri Lankan school students. I implemented in a non-randomised control group an intervention program that I had designed to examine and evaluate the potential of process drama techniques to develop creative thinking and adaptability skills in Grade 7 school students, aged 11-12, who were studying drama. The program was implemented over twelve consecutive weeks, in weekly two-hour sessions, by regular drama teachers who had been trained in the method. The training involved a whole- day workshop. I conducted pre/post-test measures to assess the intervention, using an adapted version of the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking and Martin’s Adaptability Scale. I also observed lessons in which the implementation was carried out, and conducted interviews and focus groups with both staff and students involved in the trial, in order to ensure fidelity, feasibility, and the measure of acceptability of the program in relation to both students and teachers in the Sri Lankan school context.

The study found that process drama techniques and approaches did improve students’ creative thinking and adaptability skills scores, compared to both the control group and the active control group. As such, the data suggest that when a suitable environment and possibilities for active engagement are provided, students engage energetically in creative experiences, processes and development, and their creative thinking and adaptability measurement scores are significantly enhanced. The data found that the teachers had implemented the program faithfully, and that it was a viable

ii Investigation of the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills through process drama techniques in junior secondary school students in Sri Lanka program both for students and teachers. However, while students were enthusiastic in their evaluation of the program, the teachers found that there were external forces, such as the lack of physical space and the format of the examination assessment, which prevented them from continuing with the program after the study was completed. Implications of these findings in relation to both Sri Lankan drama education and future research directions are discussed.

Investigation of the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills through process drama techniques in junior secondary school students in Sri Lanka iii Preface

For my country which is being offered free education access for all…

For the unprivileged people who are shouldering the burden of my living expenses in Australia by paying taxes on their blood, sweat and tears …

For their children’s future potential…

iv Investigation of the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills through process drama techniques in junior secondary school students in Sri Lanka Relevant Publications

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Irugalbandara, A. I., & Campbell, M. (2020). A new strategy for Sri Lankan drama education. Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 25(2), 256-262. doi: 10.1080/13569783.2020.1730173

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

Irugalbandara, A.I. (December, 2019). How could an educational intervention influence students’ creativity and adaptability skills? Paper presented at the Australian Association for Research in Education Conference (AARE), QUT, Kelvin Grove Campus, Brisbane.

Irugalbandara, A.I. (October, 2019). Creativity as a right in drama education: Sri Lankan student experiences. Paper presented at the HDR conference, Griffith University, South Brisbane.

Irugalbandara, A.I. (October, 2019). Fostering creative thinking through drama education: teacher perspectives. Paper published in the 33rd Annual Conference of the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU), Pakistan.

Irugalbandara, A.I. (March, 2019). Dramatic thinking as an open thinking strategy. Paper presented at the international conference on 3rd Australia and New Zealand Conference on Advance Research (ANZCAR -2019), Melbourne, Australia.

Investigation of the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills through process drama techniques in junior secondary school students in Sri Lanka v Table of Contents

Keywords ...... i Abstract ...... ii Preface ...... iv Relevant Publications ...... v Table of Contents ...... vi List of Figures ...... x List of Tables ...... xi Statement of Original Authorship ...... xii Acknowledgements ...... xiii Introduction ...... 1 My personal journey to the research problem ...... 2 Research context: Sri Lanka...... 3 The structure of formal education ...... 5 The rationale behind conducting this study ...... 7 Criticisms of the present education system in Sri Lanka ...... 7 Drama-based approaches for teaching and learning ...... 16 Suitable drama techniques for successful teaching and learning of creative thinking and adaptability skills in schools ...... 16 Aim of the study ...... 17 Research objective ...... 18 Research question ...... 18 Research design ...... 18 Significance of the research ...... 18 Thesis outline ...... 19 Literature Review ...... 22 The place of drama education in sri lanka ...... 22 The advantages of teaching drama differently ...... 28 Creative thinking ...... 30 Adaptability skills ...... 38 Tripartite perspective on adaptability ...... 43 Process drama for successful teaching and learning of creative thinking and adaptability skills in schools ...... 45 Assessing creative thinking and adaptability skills in drama ...... 58 Chapter summary ...... 62 Conceptual Framework ...... 63 Vygotsky’s sociocultural perspectives ...... 64 Zone of Proximal Development ...... 66 Vygotsky on drama and creativity development ...... 68 vi Investigation of the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills through process drama techniques in junior secondary school students in Sri Lanka The application of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory to the present study ...... 71 Possibility thinking ...... 73 Possibility thinking and process drama techniques ...... 78 Chapter summary ...... 81 Research Design ...... 83 Methodology ...... 84 A Non- Randomised Controlled Trial (NRCT) Design ...... 84 Data collection ...... 87 Measures ...... 88 Data collected for establishing acceptability, fidelity, and feasibility...... 95 Chapter summary ...... 99 Method ...... 100 Data collection procedures ...... 100 Pilot study ...... 100 Main Study ...... 103 Procedure ...... 105 Pre-intervention Workshop ...... 107 Intervention manual ...... 108 Pre-intervention survey ...... 110 The process of classroom observation ...... 114 The process of focus group discussion ...... 116 The process of interviews ...... 117 Data transcription and translation ...... 118 Data analysis and interpretation ...... 119 Quantitative data analysis ...... 119 Chapter summary ...... 124 Results ...... 125 Results for creativity ...... 126 Verbal creativity total score...... 126 Figural creativity total score ...... 128 The overall results of the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) ...... 130 Gender and creativity ...... 132 Results for adaptability ...... 133 Tripartite perspective on adaptability ...... 135 Fidelity, acceptability and feasibility of the program ...... 139 Fidelity of the program ...... 140 Acceptability of the program ...... 144 Feasibility of the program ...... 152 Chapter Summary ...... 167 Discussion and Conclusion ...... 169 Outline of the overall process of the thesis ...... 170 Discussion oF findings ...... 170 Creativity results ...... 171 Adaptability results ...... 176 Possible reasons for success of the intervention ...... 179

Investigation of the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills through process drama techniques in junior secondary school students in Sri Lanka vii Discussion of the fidelity, acceptability and feasibility of the intervention ...... 183 Section summary ...... 191 Implications ...... 193 Implications for policymakers ...... 193 Implications for teacher practice ...... 195 Implications for school administration ...... 198 Implications for parents ...... 198 Section summary ...... 199 Contribution to knowledge ...... 200 Limitations of the study ...... 202 Recommendations for future research ...... 204 Future implementations ...... 205 Concluding remarks ...... 205 References ...... 207 Appendices ...... 243 Appendix A: Ethical approval for pilot study ...... 243 Appendix A1: Principal Information Sheet (Pilot) ...... 258 Appendix A2: Principal Consent Form (Pilot) ...... 260 Appendix A3: Teacher Information Sheet (Pilot) ...... 261 Appendix A4: Teacher Consent Form (Pilot) ...... 263 Appendix A5: Student Information Sheet (Pilot) ...... 264 Appendix A6: Student Consent Form (Pilot) ...... 266 Appendix A7: Parent Information Sheet (Pilot) ...... 267 Appendix A8: Parent Consent Form (Pilot) ...... 269 Appendix B: Approval letter for the main study from Ministry of Education ...... 270 Appendix C: Ethics for Main Study ...... 271 Appendix C1: Principal Information Sheet (Group A) ...... 285 Appendix C2: Principal Consent Form (Group A) ...... 287 Appendix C3: Teacher Information Sheet (Group A) ...... 288 Appendix C4: Teacher Consent Form (Group A) ...... 290 Appendix C5: Student information: sheet (Group A) ...... 291 Appendix C6: Student Consent Form (Group A) ...... 293 Appendix C7: Parent Information Sheet (Group A) ...... 294 Appendix C8: Parent Consent Form (Group A) ...... 296 Appendix D1: Principal Information Sheet: (Group B) ...... 297 Appendix D2: Principal Consent Form (Group B) ...... 299 Appendix D3: Teacher Information: Sheet (Group B) ...... 300 Appendix D4: Teacher Consent Form (Group B) ...... 302 Appendix D5: Student Information Sheet (Group B) ...... 303 Appendix D6: Student Consent Form (Group B) ...... 305 Appendix D7: Parent Information Sheet (Group B) ...... 306 Appendix D8: Parent Consent Form (Group B)...... 308 Appendix E1: Principal Information Sheet: (Group C) ...... 309 Appendix E2: Principal Consent Form (Group C) ...... 311 Appendix E3: Parent Information: Sheet (Group C) ...... 312 Appendix E4: Parent Consent Form (Group C) ...... 314 Appendix F: Intervention Manual ...... 315

viii Investigation of the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills through process drama techniques in junior secondary school students in Sri Lanka

Investigation of the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills through process drama techniques in junior secondary school students in Sri Lanka ix List of Figures

Figure 1 Lack of skilled workforce in Sri Lanka ...... 9 Figure 2 Main effect of Gender on Verbal Creativity Scores...... 12732 Figure 3 Pre- and post-verbal creativity total score ...... 128 Figure 4 Pre/post figural creativity total score ...... 1305 Figure 5 Pre/post TTCT total score ...... 1327 Figure 6 Interaction between Group and Gender for total creativity scores ...... 1338 Figure 7 Pre/post adaptability total score ...... 1349

x Investigation of the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills through process drama techniques in junior secondary school students in Sri Lanka List of Tables

Table 1 4P’s of Creativity ...... 37 Table 2 Data collection plan in this thesis ...... 869 Table 3 Adaptability scale ...... 948 Table 4 Summary of participant involvement in the intervention ...... 1049 Table 5 The whole process of intervention ...... 10510 Table 6 Formation of the intervention manual ...... 1094 Table 7 Scoring rubric for verbal creativity indexes ...... 1216 Table 8 Scoring rubric for figural creativity indexes ...... 1227 Table 09 Gender of participants ...... 12530 Table 10 Levene’s test for homogeneity of variances – verbal test scores at each time point ...... 12631 Table 11 The total score of pre- and post-verbal creativity...... 12732 Table 12 Levene’s test for homogeneity of variances - figural test scores at each time point ...... 1294 Table 13 The total score of pre and post-figural creativity ...... 1294 Table 14 An overall analysis of the TTCT Pre/post total score ...... 1316 Table 15 Levene’s test for homogeneity of variances - adaptability test scores at each time point ...... 1338 Table 16 Pre/post-adaptability test results ...... 1349 Table 17 Pre/post cognitive adaptability skills ...... 13540 Table 18 Pre/post cognitive adaptability skills between groups and within groups ...... 13641 Table 19 Pre/post behavioural adaptability skills ...... 13742 Table 20 Pre/post behavioural adaptability skills between groups and within groups ...... 13843 Table 21 Pre/post emotional adaptability skills...... 13843 Table 22 Pre/post emotional adaptability skills between groups and within groups ...... 1394

Investigation of the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills through process drama techniques in junior secondary school students in Sri Lanka xi Statement of Original Authorship

The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted to meet requirements for an award at this or any other higher education institution. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made.

Signature: QUT Verified Signature

Date: 14th August 2020

xii Investigation of the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills through process drama techniques in junior secondary school students in Sri Lanka Acknowledgements

This thesis would not have been possible without assistance, encouragement and love from many special people in my life.

First and foremost, I wish to express my sincere gratitude to my principal supervisor, Professor Marilyn Campbell. You have been an unbelievably supportive mentor throughout my thesis journey and have inspired me to believe in my skills and research ideas. Thank you for being available at any time to discuss my research face to face. Moreover, your quick response to each email was highly appreciated. I will always be grateful for your advice, help and flexibility. It has been a privilege and a pleasure to work with you at the Queensland University of Technology.

I was also very thankful for the guidance and support of lecturer, Dr Rebecca English, who recently joined as an associate supervisor. Your continued unwavering support and motivation has helped to form the focus and shape of this thesis. Thank you for helping me to find a clear research path and the inspiring emails for academic success. I would also like to add my thanks to Dr Carly Lassig, my associate supervisor, who has given insightful comments on my thesis project. My gratitude also goes to Professor Bree Hadley, my former associate supervisor from Creative Industries, who helped me strengthen my thesis.

I want to extend my thanks to all of the schools, principals, my academic colleagues, teachers and students who contributed to my research in Australia and Sri Lanka. Mainly, I am grateful for the inner-city Brisbane Catholic School which allowed me to pilot my study. Your acceptance and passion helped me to develop creative thinking and adaptability skills in Sri Lankan students.

I would also like to thank my loving family. First, my husband, Dennis Fernando, for his continuous support and love during my PhD journey. My deepest gratitude and love are always with you and thank you for being the best support and assistant. I am forever grateful to you for encouraging me to work towards my educational goals. Moreover, my three children - my life: their unconditional love motivates me always to be a successful academic and a loving mother. Thank you, Sudu putha, Maddu and Du patiya. My sincere love always to my Amma and Thaththa; I am genuinely grateful for all the opportunities you have given me in life. I love you, Mom and Dad!

Investigation of the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills through process drama techniques in junior secondary school students in Sri Lanka xiii Apart from that, I am grateful for the support I received from the National Centre for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences of Sri Lanka for financial support, and the Queensland University of Technology for a tuition fee scholarship. It is pretty sure: if I hadn’t received this scholarship, I would not have been able to finish my PhD. Moreover, I would like to give special thanks to the Faculty of Education, QUT for granted me three months extension scholarship for continuing my studies. Finally, I cannot forget the Open University, where I am attached to the Faculty of Education. Thank you, Open University, for granting study leave.

Special heartfelt thanks to my Professional Editor, Dr Jo Carr, who provided copy editing and proofreading services, according to the guidelines laid out in the university-endorsed National Guidelines for Editing Research Theses. Thank you, Dr Jo, for your commitment to my whole thesis. Moreover, my colleague Mary Finch, who has always kept me positive and encouraged me when writing the PhD became a real challenge. Thank you for always listening and giving support these past years. Your friendship is valuable to me. Also, I would like to thank all the PhD colleagues who shared an office with me on the 3rd floor in the B block building. It was great conversing with you about research and discussing our PhD experiences.

Finally, I would like to dedicate this PhD to my beloved Jesus Christ. Thank you for inspiring me to be the best person I can be in life.

xiv Investigation of the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills through process drama techniques in junior secondary school students in Sri Lanka Introduction

Introduction

The development of creativity and adaptability in students is an essential part of education, especially in the 21st-century (McKeown, 2012; Simonton, 2003). However, in Sri Lanka the pedagogical approach is lagging behind much of the rest of the world and students are not encouraged to be creative or adaptable (Abayasekara & Arunatilake, 2018; Sedera, 2016; Senarath, Patabendige, & Amarathunga, 2017; National Education Commission, 2014a; UNESCO, 2014; World Bank, 2017). This thesis sets out to explore whether creative thinking and adaptability skills can be developed in junior secondary school students in Sri Lanka through the use of process drama techniques. The conceptual framework to this study combines elements of Vygotsky’s sociocultural approach (1978) and Craft’s concept of “little c” creativity, as well as Craft’s (2000) concept of “possibility thinking” and its attributes. The study employed a quantitative approach and was conducted in collaboration with six government schools, involving students from three different districts in Western Province, Sri Lanka. A non-randomized design was used to assess the intervention. The study focused on measuring the total score of the students’ creative thinking and adaptability skills according to two measures: the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (1984), adapted in 2018 and Adaptability Scale (Martin et al., 2013b). Finally, this thesis also sought to ensure and measure the fidelity of the intervention, and to measure the acceptability of the program as well as its feasibility and sustainability in the context of Sri Lankan schools.

This introductory chapter outlines the thesis that follows, and makes the case for why I am researching this particular topic. I begin in Section 1.1 with discussion of my personal journey towards exploration of this specific topic. In section 1.2 I provide an overview of the proposed study and present the background to the research problem by reviewing recent, relevant literature, to help position the reader in relation to understanding the present educational crisis in the Sri Lankan education system. In section 1.3 I discuss criticisms of the current education system in Sri Lanka; and then in section 1.4 I explore the place of aesthetic education in Sri Lanka, comparing the aesthetic education curriculum with those of a few selected countries. In Section 1.5 I explain my research objectives and the research design; and then in section 1.6 I

Chapter 1: Introduction 1 highlight the significance of my study in the Sri Lankan context, and, finally, outline my whole thesis.

MY PERSONAL JOURNEY TO THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

My inspiration for undertaking this study is mainly related to my own experience of learning and teaching in the context of the Sri Lankan education system. The school education system in Sri Lanka is very competitive. From Grade 1 to Grade13, all students’ education is driven by exams. As a product myself of the Sri Lankan system, I experienced how difficult it was to get good marks for the core subjects, such as maths, science and English. I only loved drama, dancing and sports. When I was in Grade 11, I was in the school dancing group, as well as the netball team. Teachers always blamed me for my low grades and pushed me to get good marks, to get into a good university, and to secure a profession (which in Sri Lanka means ‘a good life’). There is a general belief that arts subjects are not as good as maths or science. When I sat for the General Certificate of Ordinary Level examination, I received low passes, except for dancing. However, I knew I was different; and I realised that memorising facts neglected my creative mind and reduced my imagination and critical thinking skills. Moreover, I experienced the fact that good marks obtained through rote learning did not provide opportunities for me to think outside the box. Therefore, I thought to do something different for Grade12. I selected drama and dancing for my major subjects, despite the opposition of my parents and teachers. I knew that if I put my mind to something I loved, it might work. At the end of Grade13, I finished my collegiate level school, obtaining the highest results for General Certificate of Advance Level with 2 A’s and 2 B’s (out of overall marks of 400, I got 302 marks). This was beyond even my expectations, and doors opened for me to attend university.

When I was reading for my first degree, I was fortunate to read dozens of research articles and books related to drama and dancing. I then understood how these subjects influence the development of critical thinking skills. I myself experienced how drama activities inspire our inner creative thoughts. Without the pressure of memorising facts, my arguments and discussions allowed me to obtain good grades. I was finally fortunate to obtain the university’s first-time first-class pass, and to become a Lecturer in aesthetic studies. I have now completed 16 years’ teaching experience as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Secondary and Tertiary Education, Faculty of Education, The Open University of Sri Lanka. I started to consider the idea that I would

2 Chapter 1: Introduction

like to see whether teaching through drama might somehow increase students’ creative thinking capabilities, and engender more positive attitudes towards learning, which it seemed that the majority of students lacked. I firmly believe that the ability to think creatively should be an outcome of all successful education. I have always argued that the value of creativity, imagination and innovation lies in the aesthetic curriculum. I am convinced that it is possible to effectively teach, learn and assess the necessary skills and understandings that are fundamental to each art form (especially Dancing and Drama). I have faith in the maxim: ‘free to think, empower to be’. I therefore attempt to promote students' creativity and to encourage them to experience different phenomena which help to develop skills which they in turn can implement in their own classrooms. For example, I have given my undergraduate students opportunities to inquire and discover using varied strategies and approaches, and integrating skills into their day-to-day activities. These attempts aim to improve the aesthetic culture of education, so that students can contribute positively to everyday life, including in the workplace.

When I started to work on my PhD, I met fabulous supervisors who were a great help in guiding and shaping my ideas. I was eager to investigate more deeply how drama-based teaching approaches could help to develop students’ thinking skills. After having carried out comprehensive research into the literature on teaching through a drama-based approach, I understood that process drama and its techniques could be helpful in increasing students’ skills. The rationale was that process drama techniques can be practicably implemented within any compulsory curriculum. I was therefore enthusiastic about investigating in more depth whether teaching drama in specific and innovative ways could increase students’ creative and adaptive skills, lacking in Sri Lankan school students.

RESEARCH CONTEXT: SRI LANKA

Sri Lanka is in many ways a development success story. Its recognised history spans 3,000 years, with evidence of pre-historic human settlements dating back to at least 125,000 years (Rahula, 1956; Roberts, Boivin, & Petraglia, 2015). The country is home to many cultures, languages and ethnicities. Before liberation in 1948, the British, who succeeded both the Portuguese and the Dutch, ruled the country. The country’s real economic development in recent years has facilitated a reduction in

Chapter 1: Introduction 3 poverty and more shared success. This economic success has been underpinned by Sri Lankan success in providing education, evident in the statistics.

Sri Lanka has increased rates of admission to primary and secondary education now for several decades (World Bank, 2011a, 2011b). According to the World Bank (2017), the net enrolment rate (NER) is 99.08 per cent in primary education and 89. 04 per cent in secondary, and there is gender equivalence in both. In senior secondary education, NER is 65 per cent, which is comparatively high for middle-income countries. On average, Sri Lankan students attend school for about ten years, compared to six years in South Asia (World Bank, 2017). Sri Lanka reported the highest youth literacy rate in South Asia at 98%, as compared to 89.66 % in India, and 83.2% in Bangladesh (World Bank, 2017). The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) measures the Human Development Index (HDI) each year, based on three essential elements of human development: a long and healthful life, access to education, and a respectable standard of living. In 2018, Sri Lanka was recognised by the UNDP as achieving “high human development” (United Nations Development Programme Report, 2018, p.3). Sri Lanka’s HDI value for 2017 was 0.770 - which placed the country in the high human development group - placing it in 76th place out of 189 countries, compared to other countries in South Asia, such as India, ranked on 130 and Pakistan ranked on 150 respectively (UNDP, 2018). In 2015, the primary school completion rate was 98.7 per cent and reached 99 per cent in 2017 (UNESCO, 2018). The secondary school completion rate is 94.98 per cent (World BANK, 2017).

Sri Lanka’s commitment to public education compares well to similar countries in South Asia. Although per capita GDP is low, Sri Lanka's education spending remained at 2.1 per cent of GDP in 2015 and was 7.3 per cent of government spending in 2014 (World Bank, 2016). This rate is lower than the spending levels in other South Asian, lower-middle-income nations like India and Pakistan, where education costs accounted for 3.84 and 2.5 per cent of GDP in 2013 respectively (World Bank, 2017). Sri Lanka achieved nearly all the education-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (UNICEF, 2011), so that around 96 per cent of Sri Lankans have finished primary education and 87 per cent have completed secondary education.

This success is the result of continued government assurance in relation to education. It is one of the few countries in the world that gives comprehensive free education from Grade 1 to Grade 13 (Ministry of Education, 2013; Nawastheen, 2019).

4 Chapter 1: Introduction

The free education system was introduced in 1945 and makes provision for: up-to-date free textbooks for all students up to Grade 11; free school uniforms; scholarship schemes for students experiencing financial difficulty; concession cards for travel to school; free medical checks in schools; and provision of dental care and free spectacles to needy students (Ministry of Education, 2008). In addition to free education, access to general education is considered to be a right in Sri Lanka (Nawastheen, 2019). The general education of the country is administered by the 72-year-old Education Ordinance, which has been amended from time to time. I will next discuss the contemporary organisation of the education system in Sri Lanka.

The structure of formal education The duration of general education is 13 years: five years of primary, four years of junior secondary, and four years of senior secondary. If a child is progressing without failing any grades, he/she will able to complete their schooling at the age of 19+. I next discuss the different features of the general education system.

The Primary Stage The first five years of schooling at the primary stage of education are vital in terms of laying a stable base for learning. This stage (Grades 1-5) is further subdivided into three key stages.

i. Key stage1 (Grades 1 and 2): Learning is play-based with some emphasis on active learning and limited deskwork.

ii. Key stage 2 (Grades 3 and 4): The focus is on play, activity-based learning and deskwork.

iii. Key stage 3 (Grade 5): The focus transitions to a new emphasis on deskwork. Students are considered to be ready for the early years of secondary education, and their formal teaching and learning starts with four main subjects, mother tongue, religion, mathematics and environment-related activities (ERA).

Junior Secondary Stage Students move from an integrated curriculum to a subject-based curriculum at the secondary stage. There is a standard curriculum, but in certain subjects’ specialisation is allowed, with the student selecting certain elective areas. From Grade 6 onwards, students are given the option to study aesthetic education as an elective subject, which comprises art, music, dance and drama. It aims to retain the integrated flavour of the

Chapter 1: Introduction 5 curriculum, at the same time assisting the students in the selection of an aesthetic subject of their preference when they graduate to Grade 12. The other subjects taught in Grade 6 are first language (Sinhala or Tamil), English, mathematics, religion, and health and physical education. In addition, three periods are set aside each week for students to improve their practical and technical skills by engaging in group activities.

The curriculum for Grades 7 to 9 includes nine subjects: First language (Sinhala or Tamil), English, mathematics, science and technology, social studies, life competencies, religion, aesthetics, and health and physical education. Life competences, which helps students who struggle with day-to-day living, is a new subject in the junior secondary curriculum. From Grade 6 onwards students are given the option to study selected subjects through English immersion. They can select any subject besides history and religion to study in English if there is a competent teacher at the school. Progression depends on passing exams toward the end of each school year. After completing the four-year junior secondary level at Grade 9, students continue to Grades 10 and 11.

Senior Secondary Stage The curriculum for Grades 10-11 includes six compulsory subjects, mathematics, the first language (Sinhala or Tamil), religion, science, English, and history, and three optional clusters covering a variety of subjects such as commerce, agriculture, home science, health studies, aesthetics, languages, and information technology. At the end of Grade 11, students sit for the General Certificate in Ordinary Level Education (GCE O/L) exam; and more than 50 per cent continue at school to study in Grade 12 in one of five different subject streams. The remainder of the students leave school either to get a job or to enrol in more advantageous fields of training.

Collegiate Stage While students complete a General Certificate in Ordinary Level Education (GCE O/L) in Grade 11, they qualify for Grades 12-13 when they achieve a Credit pass for first language and mathematics. The collegiate level (General Certificate in Advanced Level Education - GCE A/L) is available in the Science, Commerce, Arts, and Technology streams. It is of two years duration and constitutes the final stage of secondary education. It includes an attainment examination and a selection examination for university admission.

6 Chapter 1: Introduction

From the above brief outline of the success of educational development in Sri Lanka, it can be seen that there are many strengths in the way education is managed and implemented in the country. However, significant shortcomings in education in Sri Lanka still remain. In the next section, I discuss the rationale for my study.

THE RATIONALE BEHIND CONDUCTING THIS STUDY

Criticisms of the present education system in Sri Lanka In the previous section, I detailed the significant developments in Sri Lankan education. I would like to honour all governments which have contributed to the continued success of the Sri Lankan free education system. However, attempts to achieve educational success in Sri Lanka are now brought into question because the system of education that we have had for the 21-st century is seen in some respects to be failing the nation, mainly in relation to adolescents. It is therefore important to discuss some of the current constraints in the Sri Lankan education system.

The main problem in Sri Lankan education is a human capital mismatch in relation to the enhancement of national economic and social development. Most research studies (e.g., Abayasekara & Arunatilake, 2018; Aturupane, 2013; World Banak, 2017) highlight the fact that the public education system, although successful at the level of basic education skills, has not been preparing students for 21st-century demands. According to the World Bank report (2017), the general education system and school-based pedagogy in Sri Lanka have failed to produce students with the requisite skills that are in high demand in a competitive economy. Most of the school leavers are mismatched for the job market (National Human Resources and Employment Policy for Sri Lanka, 2012). Some researchers (e.g., Senerath Pattabadige, & Amarathunga, 2017) have found that many graduates fail to find a suitable job that matches either their achieved level of education or the current demands of the economy. Earlier, in 2014, Senarath and Patabendige had identified a substantial educational mismatch among graduates employed in the Sri Lankan graduate labour market. Senerath et al., (2017) also suggested that high-quality creative and adaptation skills are not prioritised in the general education system, a fact that may be partly to blame; graduates are seen to be competent in relation to content knowledge, but lacking in job-specific skills (World Bank, 2017). According to the Labour Demand Survey Report (2017), Sri Lanka's highly educated (with a degree)

Chapter 1: Introduction 7 young graduates constitute the highest unemployment rate. The survey suggested that 70 per cent of employers’ report that general education does not produce young people with up-to-date knowledge of relevant methods, materials and technology (World Bank, 2017). Other research (e.g. Kumaranayake, 2010; UNICEF, 2004; 2013; World Bank, 2008, 2011a, 2011b) has suggested that the decentralised nature of educational policy and administration, students' inadequate levels of life skills, lack of pastoral care, and traditional teaching methodologies are all elements of the problem. It appears that Sri Lankan educators face challenges in respect to how best to prepare students to adjust effectively to the rapidly changing world, not only in their own country but also in terms of participating in the increasingly globalised world (Sedara, 2016).

The above analysis suggests, therefore, that the current school education system is inadequate for preparing students for the future. Critics have stated that school leavers are weak in terms of critical thinking and problem-solving skills (Abayasekara & Arunatilake, 2018; Aturupane, 2013; Kumaranayake, 2010). The National Education Commission (2014a) reported that the system does not encourage imagination or creative skills; that students are not taught to be creative or to use their own initiative; they are not encouraged to be conceptual, analytical or critical thinkers (Abayasekara & Arunatilake, 2018). Other critics (e.g., Sedara, 2016) argue that school test papers (even Grade 11 (GCE O/L) examination papers) allocate more space to measuring low cognitive skills than higher-order thinking skills. According to the World Bank Enterprise Survey (2014), a number of Sri Lankan firms identify this kind of lack of required skills as a significant or severe restraint on economic growth, noting that this deficit is higher in Sri Lanka than in other middle-income and developing countries. Figure1 below indicates the problematic profile of the skilled workforce in Sri Lanka.

8 Chapter 1: Introduction

Figure 1 Lack of skilled workforce in Sri Lanka. Adapted from the World Bank Enterprise Survey (2014).

The above figure reflects the actual situation in relation to the labour force in Sri Lanka. While young Sri Lankans spend more time in the education system than young people in other regions of South Asia, when it comes to labour market requirements, skills do not meet market needs; which calls into question the value and real-world applicability of the education system. The data suggest that Sri Lanka has an educated youth demographic with low generic skills, workplace values or adaptability.

Currently, over 80 % of students in Sri Lanka study the same subjects; this means students tend not to focus on their various interests or abilities, but rather follow curricula and teaching that are designed above all to prepare them for university entrance examinations (Aturupane, 2013). Perhaps even more importantly, Sri Lankan students are seen to lack ‘soft skills’ (World Bank Enterprise Survey, 2014). While employers move towards seeking employees with a hard work ethic and employability skills (for further information on employability skills, please refer page 13), the education system is geared towards producing young people with narrower academic skills; which is why many are now questioning the quality and relevance of the present system of education and training.

The main reason for this problematic situation is that the general system of education is highly stereotyped and standardised. The teaching/learning process is defined by set textbooks, standard school subjects, classroom-based and teacher- centred learning approaches (Sedera, 2016; The National Education Commission, 2014b; UNESCO, 2014; World Bank, 2011a; World Bank, 2011b); which have failed to keep up with rapid global changes in society and technology. Currently, teaching

Chapter 1: Introduction 9 remains predominantly didactic, with little recognition of the continually changing environments students live in; and importance is primarily given to auditory learners (National Committee for Formulating a New Education Act for General Education, 2008). This report identifies the following weaknesses in the teaching/learning processes and practices:

o mechanical methods currently adopted for learning and teaching make schooling dull, boring, superficial, irrelevant and stressful for the majority of school children, leading to additional disciplinary problems. o inadequate provision of learning support by teachers during the teaching/learning process, including help to better understand the process of learning, which prevents many learners from achieving the learning goals set for them. o inconsistencies across subject areas in relation to instructions issued to teachers, the nonalignment of textbooks with new theoretical understanding, and limited attention paid to optimum use of available library resources or development of courseware to facilitate learning and teaching. o poor instructional leadership at all levels of the educational hierarchy, preventing the classroom environment and school level supervisory practices from aligning appropriately with new thinking in education. o predictable, generic test items that are prominent in public examinations, which distort classroom practices, increase demand for private tuition, and prevent children from learning for life. (National Committee for Formulating a New Education Act for General Education, 2008, p.75).

These identifications of shortcomings are informed by the understanding that an education system whose principal focus is on the rote-learning of facts is incompatible with the skills required by school-leavers in the 21st-century (World Bank, 2017).

What is possibly a more sinister effect of schooling in Sri Lanka is the nature of the highly competitive examination culture (The National Education Commission, 2014a; 2014b). While Sri Lanka has a distinguished history of public examinations, which are closed book, handwritten tests designed to assess students' memorisation of facts, the quality of the judgements generated by these exams is questionable (World

10 Chapter 1: Introduction

Bank, 2017). The examinations are overloaded with content knowledge, which indicates that the school system is failing to understand its broad educational goals and objectives (Sedera, 2016; World Bank, 2011a). Theoretical education, paper-pencil examinations, chalk-note approaches, and irrelevant examination questions position the student within a culture of rote memorisation. Students recall memorised facts in the examination hall to achieve good passes. They have studied closely model question papers designed to prepare them for this assessment process.

The first main public examination takes place in Grade 5, and preparation starts in Grade 3. This examination has provided an educational opportunity and upward movement to economically and socially underprivileged families, which has contributed to the agenda of improving social equity (The National Education Commission, 2014a). However, now it has transformed into the competitive process of getting into a popular school; and socially advantaged groups (parents) prioritise this examination. In consequence, heavy exam pressure has created numerous psychological problems in young students (Perera, 2009). The next public examinations take place at Grades 11 (General Certificate in Education (Ordinary Level) and 13 (General Certificate in Education (Advance Level). The Grade 11 examination opens the door to collegiate level (Grades 12-13). The harmful effects are heightened in relation to the GCE (A/L) examination, with its association with the intensively competitive university entrance examination. From the school curriculum viewpoint, the A/L and O/L examinations have a significantly limiting impact on extra-curricular activities, the kinds of experiences which develop the social and communication skills which are linked to employability competencies.

The prioritised attention to the delivery and reproduction of content knowledge over the years has not permitted teachers to develop students’ coping skills or self- esteem through the provision of adequate emotional sustenance. The highly competitive examination culture pushes Sri Lankan students in ways which result in anxiety, depression and other significant damage (Perera, 2009; World Bank, 2011a). Teachers instruct for specific examination performance, and students are compelled to attend additional private educational tutoring. Parents believe that these exams will provide a good path to their children’s future, and pressure from parents is a major source of stress for students. The World Health Organization ranks Sri Lanka as having the fourth-highest suicide rate in the world (WHO, 2001); and government figures link

Chapter 1: Introduction 11 this statistic to anxiety about school performance, parental pressure to achieve academic excellence, and economic distress (WHO, 2016). Most students who die by suicide have failed their examinations (Ranasinghe, 2013).

The narrow examination-driven school system is seen to leave no time for opportunities to socialise; and it does not teach resilience or coping skills (UNICEF, 2004; WHO, 2016; World Bank, 2017); in fact, creating a quite opposite effect on the total development of the child. The intensity of examination pressure results in serious neglect of student personality development. For example, there is little time to participate in co-curricular activities, no time for relaxation or to engage in imaginative or creative activities (Aturupane, 2013). All these observations explain the extent to which researchers such as Ranasinghe, (2013) and Sedere, (2016) have criticised Sri Lanka's education system as being overtly test-driven and as failing to nurture and develop holistic individuals. A lack of skills in creativity and adaptability are seen as weakening efficiency and growth in Sri Lankan economic development (World Bank, 2014a; 2017).

The arguments cited above highlight weaknesses in the Sri Lankan educational approach to preparing students for the demands of the 21st-century labour market. Clearly, Sri Lankan teachers are doing their very best to develop students’ content knowledge at schools across the country; but researchers have increasingly argued that Government policy, such as the narrow curriculum and exam-focused approach, constitute significant barriers to the development of essential skills for the life of work (Abayasekara & Arunatilake, 2018; Athurupane, 2013; Sedara, 2016). There are increasing calls in relation to both the quantity and quality of teaching and learning experiences and for inclusion of a focus in the Sri Lankan education system on future employability skills. Unfortunately, the Sri Lankan Government has yet to identify the best preparation in response to this call. It is clearly essential to remember, however, that education is not only about creating effective workforces; it must also aim to develop well-rounded people, prepared with the skills needed to live a happy, healthy and well-adjusted life. In the Education 2030 Report (OECD, 2019) a case is made for education arrangements that develop a broad set of knowledges, skills, attitudes and values in order to empower students of the future to take on these tasks. It is vital, therefore, to continue the dialogue to which this chapter contributes, not only in

12 Chapter 1: Introduction

relation to refining and supporting teachers’ skills, but also in putting pressure on the government to build an education system that is fit for the 21-st Century and beyond.

It is also essential to identify which are the skills or competencies that school students require to develop employability skills. The Universities UK (2018) Report highlights the fact that ‘soft skills’ are highly appreciated by employers (Universities UK, 2018, p.14): skills such as creativity, adaptability, problem-solving and communication (Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, 2018); skills seen as relevant to employability and of value to all students. Fettes, Evans, and Kashefpakdel (2018) provide a more elaborated explanation of employability skills:

…. young adults progressively need personal, people, creative and problem- solving skills. However, to be able to apply these skills in ways to suit a specific situation, task or problem, to contextualise and re-contextualise skills for themselves in moving between different contexts, they also need: meta- cognitive strategies, which relate to higher-order thinking - thinking about thought processes - and self-knowledge. Such strategies include goal setting, selecting, planning, self-assessment, monitoring and reflection on own learning and performance… confidence, resilience, initiative, self-motivation, ambition (Fettes et al., 2018, p. 21).

The recent innovative research studies cited above provide good direction for thinking about how to prepare Sri Lankan students for the 21-st Century and beyond. It is important also to identify the specifics of where school students can be supported to develop these skills. For example, it might be in the classroom setting or it might be in the context of extra-curricular activities, such as after-school clubs (Goodman et al., 2015). My personal position as researcher is to choose the classroom setting as the best place for this project, with a specific focus on arts subjects, as researchers such as Kashefpakdel, Newton, & Clark (2018) have shown that expressive arts subjects, including dance, drama, music and art, have the potential to help students to develop employability skills; to develop creativity, to offer opportunities for new experience, to take students out of their comfort zone to create something; all recognised as effective experiences. For example, arts subjects stimulate students to generate and synthesise ideas; to improve their focusing skills (Darling-Hammond et al., 2019) - focus is an important capability in the real world of 9 to 5work. They also help to develop students’ visualisation and interpretation skills (Wittber, 2017); the ability to visualise an artistic idea can be applied in the work context: ‘seeing’ what needs to

Chapter 1: Introduction 13 happen, then making it happen. Visualising ideas is an energetic process in every context. Arts subjects also develop the capacity to physically mirror and to pay attention to and to correct detail (McCracken, 2010); students understand the importance of attending to minimum features in working towards achieving perfection. The ability to look at something, recognise a specific problem or detail, correct it on a finite scale is an important element of professional work. Arts subjects also encourage group activities and collaborative and cooperative learning (Wittber, 2017), which is also an important element of professional work and problem solving.

Direct teaching methods of lecturing and note-taking might not be the way to develop these skills. Drama teaching, however, has been shown in other parts of the educational world to be an effective approach to teaching these skills (Davis, 2010; OECD, 2018; Saunders, 2019). The potential of drama in this respect has yet to be explored in the Sri Lankan context. It is possible that the teaching style of Sri Lankan teachers hinders the development of creativity, and adaptability skills in students. The dominant pedagogy, as noted, is that of lecturing and having students take notes, memorising and reproducing the content in examinations. While this method of teaching has stood Sri Lankan students in good stead for learning the basics, it appears in some respects to have outlived its usefulness. More effective and more inclusive ways of teaching students have been shown in other countries to support the development of creativity, adaptability and communication (Ewing, 2018; Piazzoli, 2012). If Sri Lankan teachers can change their teaching methods, then perhaps their students will gain these necessary skills.

Drama-based approaches offer an opportunity to explore whether creativity and adaptability in students can be enhanced in Sri Lanka. Researchers such as Bowell and Heap (2017), and Davis (2010) suggest the effectiveness of models like process drama that permit both teacher and students to involve themselves in different roles, and to express feelings and viewpoints. The teacher’s role is significantly modified, from the conventional role of lecturing or questioning to a position from which they interact with students, inside a dramatic scenario, transforming the classroom into an environment in which authentic interaction and honest discussion can take place (Park, 2013). Park gives an example of an opening scene of a process drama conducted in a secondary classroom where the teacher invites her students to a drama elsewhere by performing in the role:

14 Chapter 1: Introduction

…here is a group of Korean middle-school students who are excitedly waiting for the drama to begin. No scripts to memorize and no costumes to wear. They have just heard that they are going to do a drama activity and the drama will start when the teacher wears a cap, glasses or a scarf. Suddenly, the teacher puts on a cap and talks to the class. ‘Hi guys, I’m Jay, the hotel receptionist. You remember me? You probably heard about my story, right?’ At that moment, the students realize that the teacher has become Jay, the hotel receptionist in the story who kicked President Jefferson out of a luxury hotel because he was wearing dirty clothes. Having read the story in the previous class, they all quickly notice what the teacher is talking about (Park, 2010, p. 155)

Instantly when the teacher switches into her dramatic role, the entire session moves to a different place, new characters, new situation. The classroom is converted into a stage performance, in which teachers and students interact, cooperate, listen to each other, react, experience, and, importantly, develop their creative and critical thinking capabilities through having to compromise and reflect on each other’s thoughts and viewpoints (Park, 2010).

In Sri Lankan classrooms these opportunities are not offered through creative arts subjects, which are still considered primarily as one of the subjects in which good examination marks can be achieved. The secondary school arts curriculum provides few opportunities for students to access these kinds of learning experiences that develop reflection, problem-solving skills, the ability to contextualise and re- contextualise when moving between different situations, to develop critical and creative thinking skills; and to work effectively in groups, communicating with others, listening kindly, being helpful and sharing; taking direction and either leading or following as necessary in group situations. Schooling in Sri Lanka is currently failing in terms of supporting the development of personal skills, such as emotional stability, stress management, creativity, adaptability, responsibility, accountability, commitment and self-discipline. New approaches to teaching and learning are needed; different platforms from which students can create their own knowledge, make their own meaning, always exploring and reviewing their knowledge. Sri Lanka may be able to learn from practices implemented elsewhere.

It is never easy to ascertain what processes and practices will translate into a different cultural milieu. Researchers such as Corbett (2019) and Saunders (2019)

Chapter 1: Introduction 15 argue that drama approaches offer an aesthetic space in which students may develop deeper self-understanding, a learning space to consider adaptation and awareness. In the next sub-section, I discuss whether drama-based approaches are worth considering as a method of responding to the issues discussed above in relation to Sri Lanka.

DRAMA-BASED APPROACHES FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING

Drama-based approaches is a collective term which includes a variety of teaching or learning approaches that use drama techniques to engage students in learning. Such approaches to facilitating learning and the development of targeted skills can be adopted in relation to both non-drama content (e.g., geometry, maths, science) and drama-specific content (Lee et al., 2015). In general terms, these approaches have been theorised in terms of providing an active and engaging instructional approach to improve achievement and improve adaptive student outcomes more effectively than traditional teaching approaches (Edmiston, 2013). Drama-based approaches may be effective because they imitate or create an environment in which basic psychological needs for self-sufficiency, capability, and understanding are recognised and supported; and which have been seen to facilitate students’ adaptive engagement and determination (Deci & Ryan, 2008). Studies relating to this understanding will be discussed in Chapter 2 in the literature review.

Throughout previous sections, I have highlighted the understanding that Sri Lankan students are found to be lacking in creative thinking and adaptive skills. I have also noted that the teaching of aesthetic studies is still dominated by the traditional lecture method. I wanted to explore a teaching approach that might develop students’ creative thinking and adaptability skills, to help them become reliable and flexible thinkers. I was interested to see if process drama could be an effective means of achieving these aims. The aim of my thesis, therefore, is to investigate this innovative approach to teaching in the Sri Lankan context. In the following section I examine which specific drama approaches/techniques might be suitable for working with junior secondary school students in Sri Lanka.

Suitable drama techniques for successful teaching and learning of creative thinking and adaptability skills in schools Previous research studies have shown that a process drama-based approach to teaching drama may be effective for the development of creative thinking and

16 Chapter 1: Introduction

adaptability skills. The literature identifies key components of psychological and social behavioural capabilities that can develop in dramatic arts through the use of this approach (Celume et al., 2019). There has been a significant increase in research work around the use of process drama in secondary education (Lin, 2012; Neelands & Goode, 2010; Neelands, 2009), especially in the area of creative thinking and adaptability skills development. Several studies (e.g., Catterall & Dumais, 2012; Mitchell & Gallaher, 2001; Toivanen, 2016) have shown that process drama holds good promise in relation to addressing educational issues confronting school systems. These studies are examined in depth in Chapter 2 in the literature review.

Process drama is a different kind of drama, in that it proceeds without a script, does not conclude in a final performance, and does not have an external audience. The teacher and students create a fantasy world, and are required to respond to challenges and events through dramatic improvisation (O’Farrell, Saebo, McCammon, & Heap, 2009). All participants (including the teacher) take on diverse roles and become involved in the creation of the story; they experience a whole new dramatic context for educational purposes (Bowell & Heap, 2017). They create a fantasy world, in which they have to respond to challenges or events through dramatic improvisation (O’Farrell et al., 2009). This approach requires flexibility, as students work in groups, have to make decisions, develop self-sufficiency and foster group harmony (Glass, Meyer, & Rose, 2013). When used across the curriculum these techniques encourage creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and openness to others’ ideas; and support the development of empathy and reflection (Corbett, 2019; Ewing, 2018; Piazzoli, 2012). Research findings (cf. Hui & Lau, 2006; Krueger et al., 2019; Lin, 2012; ; Martin 2013b ) suggest that process drama techniques provide opportunities for students to engage their creative, cognitive and affective domains simultaneously. Therefore, in this thesis, I explore process drama via existing literature and via my own investigation in order to shape an understanding of how specific techniques might support the enhancement of students’ creative thinking and adaptability skills. I now briefly present my research approach to this project.

AIM OF THE STUDY

I have previously highlighted both the excellence of the Sri Lankan general education system and the ways in which it is currently perceived to be failing in its response to challenges associated with rapid global change. My purpose is to investigate how

Chapter 1: Introduction 17 process drama-based approaches to teaching drama might influence students’ creative thinking and adaptability skills development. In the next subsections I discuss my research objective, research question, and research design.

Research objective The discussion above suggests the usefulness of research that focuses on the implementation of process drama techniques to determine their potential to increase creative thinking and adaptability skills in Grade 7 school students in Sri Lanka. The aim of this study, therefore, is to explore whether process drama techniques in teaching drama might assist Sri Lankan students in developing these skills.

Research question In order to meet this aim, the following research question was developed to guide this study: ‘Does including process drama techniques in the teaching-learning program in drama improve creative thinking and adaptability skills of junior secondary school students?’

Informed by this broad research question, I developed and evaluated an intervention program that used process drama techniques for the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills in children aged 11-12, who take drama as a subject in the Grade 7 school setting.

Research design To answer this research question, I used a non-randomised controlled trial (NRCT) design; data were collected to measure the effectiveness of a novel intervention developed for this study. Through the development and implementation of the intervention program, the success of the intervention was measured by comparing the intervention with two other groups, the active-control and control group, using two survey measures. Measurement of fidelity, acceptability and feasibility of the program was assessed through lesson observations and via teacher interviews and student focus group. This is explained in detail in Chapter 4.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH

I believe this study to be significant because it is the first non-randomised controlled trial of a teacher-delivered process drama intervention in a Sri Lankan school. It addresses the identified deficit discussed earlier by focusing on ways in which a

18 Chapter 1: Introduction

process drama approach to teaching drama can improve creative thinking and adaptability skills among adolescent students.

The study contributes to the increasing knowledge base in relation to drama education by identifying and recommending factors that should be considered in relation to aesthetic education policy and planning in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan education authorities believe that STEM subjects are more important than aesthetic subjects (cf. Abayasekara & Arunatilake, 2018; Aturupane, 2013; National Education Commission, 2014a). This belief is widespread (cf. National Advocates for Arts Education, 2017; Segarra et al., 2018) for which there is no evidence. By way of refuting this belief, this study presents the importance of developing creative thinking and adaptability skills through drama-based teaching approaches in junior secondary school students in Sri Lanka. It also presents possibilities for new drama teaching approaches for teachers use to enable and encourage creative thinking and adaptability skills in students, teaching them how to be open to new ideas and think outside the square. As such it may have important implications for in-service and pre-service teachers who are studying drama and theatre as components of Post Graduate Diploma in Education and Bachelor of Education (Drama and Theatre) degree program in the Open University of Sri Lanka.

Finally, if Western society and educational theory continues to influence Sri Lanka (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2016; Ireland Curriculum, 2007; The Arts in the New Zealand Curriculum, 2012), then the importance of creative thinking and adaptability skills becomes difficult to ignore. By introducing and supporting innovative school programs, carefully and methodically, we can help students to become more inquisitive, to influence each other to express feelings and thoughts, to innovate, and to reflect logically. I believe that this intervention program could make an excellent contribution to Sri Lankan drama education.

THESIS OUTLINE

This thesis consists of seven chapters and two additional sections at the end (References and Appendices).

Chapter 1: Introduction 19 Chapter 1 (Introduction to the Research Context and Overview of the Thesis) consists of seven sections. I firstly explain my motivation for this study, before explaining the background to the focus of the study and the rationale of the study context. I then discuss the importance of drama-based pedagogy for the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills; after which I explain my research objectives, research design, and the significance of the study in the Sri Lankan education context.

Chapter 2 (Literature Review) consists of seven sections. The first section I explore the place of drama education in Sri Lanka, comparing the aesthetic education curriculum with those of a few selected countries and then discuss the advantage of teaching drama differently. I then provide a review of general definitions of literature as it relates to creative thinking and adaptability skills. After that I describe the rationale for choosing the three techniques of process drama for the intervention; and review studies relevant to classifying and working with creative thinking and adaptability skills within schools, before discussing assessment processes’ relation to creative thinking and adaptability skills. I then finally discuss how I believe this thesis has bridged a gap.

Chapter 3 (Conceptual Framework) comprises two sections. First, I explore Vygotsky’s understandings on learning from sociocultural perspectives, and present evidence from a Vygotskian viewpoint to support the implementation of process drama techniques for the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills. Secondly, I introduce Anna Craft’s concept of possibility thinking for everyday creativity and discuss how it can be applied to process drama techniques for the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills.

Chapter 4 (Research Design) comprises three sections. I firstly discuss the research methodology adopted to achieve the research aim and objectives of this study. I then detail both the pilot and the main study, including both measures and procedures. After that, I describe ethical considerations and the fidelity, acceptability and feasibility aspects of the intervention.

20 Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 5 (Method) details the process of the current study. Firstly, I discuss my data collection procedure, including the pilot and the main study. I then describe my research procedure, including the pre-intervention workshop and intervention manual in detail. Finally, I present my approach to the data transcription and translation process in preparation for data analysis, present the analysis, and discuss interpretations.

Chapter 6 (Results) addresses the major findings of the intervention study. It begins with presentation of the quantitative results measures from the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) and the Adaptability Scale; then fidelity, acceptability and feasibility results obtained from teacher interviews, student focus groups and my classroom observations are discussed.

Chapter 7 (Discussion and Conclusion) I discuss the analysis of the data. Firstly, I analyse significant findings from the data, make connections with previous literature, and indicate how I believe this thesis contributes to current drama education research. I then address individual bodies separately whom I believe can benefit most from the findings of this study. I then present the strengths of my findings and identify specific limitations. I finally present recommendations for future research and concluding remarks on my thesis.

The thesis also includes the References and Appendices (A-F), which contain formal documents, such as participant information sheets and consent forms (pilot and main study); and the intervention manual which I prepared for intervention teachers (three lessons from the original version).

Chapter 1: Introduction 21 Literature Review

In the previous chapter I introduced my research project, my lens as a researcher, and the context of the research background. In particular sections I emphasised the main constraints of Sri Lanka’s educational approach in relation to equipping students with the skills demanded by the 21st-century labour market. I highlighted the nature of the traditional lecture method as dominant in Sri Lankan education, specifically the system’s focus on having students take notes for memorising facts to be reproduced in examinations. I then reviewed international practices to explore whether drama-based approaches may provide a suitable vehicle for offering students an opportunity to engage in creative thinking, and to develop positive attitudes in terms of self- sufficiency and suitability for adaptation skills. I then outlined my research aim and objectives. My research aim was delineated: this study aims to explore whether process drama techniques can be used to assist Sri Lankan students in developing creative thinking and adaptability skills. I then discussed the significance of my thesis in the Sri Lankan education context.

This chapter presents a critical review of existing literature relevant to this thesis. There are five sections, split across two main themes in the literature. The first theme relates to the advantages of teaching drama in schools, focusing on creative thinking and adaptability skills. The second theme deals specifically with process drama: with the techniques of the approach, particularly improvisation, storytelling and the hot-seat technique.

THE PLACE OF DRAMA EDUCATION IN SRI LANKA

As mentioned in the previous Chapter, researchers in Sri Lanka continue to show that the country is doing well in terms of ‘basic’ education, but that students need to be better prepared for life and for work in the 21-st century (Abayasekara & Arunatilake, 2018; Aturupane, 2013; Sedera, 2016; World Bank, 2017). In Sri Lanka, dancing, drama, music and art subjects are referenced under the one umbrella term, “Aesthetic studies/Aesthetic education”; and these aesthetic subjects are generally undervalued by the government, with students continuing to be pushed towards the higher competitive examination culture (Irugalbandara, 2011, 2019; The National

22 Chapter 2: Literature Review

Education Commission, 2014a, 2014b; World Bank, 2014). This review of current relevant literature examines how aesthetic subjects, more specifically how drama education might be central to providing students with 21-st century skills. My own research, however, investigates whether teaching drama in Sri Lanka differently might enhance students’ creative thinking and adaptability skills.

In Sri Lanka, aesthetic education is integrated at primary level as a compulsory component. At junior secondary level, students can select art, dancing, music or drama as an optional subject. The same trend continues at senior secondary level, when students need to specialise in subjects which provide openings for further study in tertiary education.

Significantly, aesthetic education has been part of the curriculum for nearly 50 years, its importance being first noted in 1972 (Ginige, 2002). At that time, changes were made to the education framework, according more weight to aesthetic education at both primary and secondary education levels, with creativity being identified as one of five basic objectives for all subjects at primary level. Identified elements of creativity included creative problem-solving in environmental studies and creative writing in language, as well as art and music. Aesthetic education was also established as a core subject at junior secondary level, in an attempt to encourage children's development both as producers and consumers of art. Since 1973 these provisions have been slightly revised to ensure aesthetic subjects can be accommodated within a broader range of subject options. In 1977 drama was included in the curriculum of a General Certificate of A/L. In response to recommendations by the NCE in 1992, drama was introduced to Grades 10 and 11, and in 2007 this was expanded to include Grade 6 (Ginige, 2002).

The general school curriculum in Sri Lanka is comprised of nine national goals, and each subject has subject-specific goals. The National Educational Goals are as follows:

1. The achievement of national cohesion, integrity and unity.

2. The establishment of a pervasive pattern of social service.

3. The evolution of a sustainable lifestyle and a pattern of living that is vital for the year 2000 and beyond. (For the first time in the history of mankind, even air and water cannot be taken for granted).

Chapter 2: Literature Review 23 4. The creation of work opportunities that are dignified, satisfying and self- fulfilling.

5. In the above framework, the institution of a variety of possibilities for all to participate in human resource development, leading to cumulative structures of growth for the nation.

6. Active partnership in nation-building activities to ensure the nurturing of a continuous sense of deep and abiding concern for one another.

7. In a rapidly changing world such as the one we live in today it is imperative to cultivate and evolve elements of adaptability to changing situations. This must be coupled with competencies to guide and change for the betterment of oneself and others.

8. The cultivation of a capacity to cope with the complex and the unforeseen, to achieve a sense of security and stability.

9. The development of the competencies linked to securing an honourable place in the international community. (Ministry of Education, 2013, p. 19) Subject Goals (These subject-specific goals have been taken from the Grade 7 Drama and Theatre syllabus):

Man is the only creature who has the power to acquire enjoyment through all the objects in the environment. Identifying the main and the different kinds of conflicts among men from a dramatical point of view and developing the ability to grasp them in an enjoyable way are expected.

Developing Creativity There are strong themes that lend themselves to creativity in enjoying dramatic situations. Developing the ability to create ideas, to express experience gained through the day-to-day activities and in association with other human beings creatively is another expectation.

Developing Practical Skills Planning situations in order to practically nurture one’s own actions in order to ensure success in day-to-day activities, and creating exercises through drama.

24 Chapter 2: Literature Review

Developing Critical Skills Developing the ability to logically and critically evaluate dramatic situations presented, literally, dramatically, as well as audio-visually through media, with understanding, is the main expectation. Identifying the Subject Integrated Local and Foreign Identities It is important to create an appropriate attitude in the students’ minds for the cultural heritage that reflects the subject of integrating local identities and the foreign heritages which nurture that knowledge. Creation of a humanitarian stance through the provision of the opportunity to experience the aesthetic significance of dramatic situations is one of the main objectives. Developing favourable or positive attitudes through the knowledge of the subject, integrated Drama and Theatre, is another objective of the syllabus

(National Institute of Education, 2016, p. v).

However, teachers have not consistently achieved either the national or the subject goals across all subjects (World Bank 2011a; 2017; Jayaweera & Gunawardena, 2007; MoE, 2016). They have given priority to subject content rather than to improving subject-specific skills (Athurupana, 2013). The World Bank report (2011a) specifically identified the fact that Sri Lankan teachers had not understood the importance of competencies of drama instruction as part of the secondary curriculum because “most of the time schools have given more priority to core subjects” (World Bank, 2011a, p. 15), illustrated by the fact that core subject area teachers, such as mathematics and science, take teaching time from the aesthetic subjects if they cannot cover the content in their allocated time (Irugalbandara, 2016). Also, not only is drama not valued as a ‘core subject’ (Irugalbandara, 2016), the teachers of aesthetic subjects themselves have approached their content in an exam-oriented fashion, giving minimal attention to the main objectives of aesthetic education (World Bank, 2011a). Moreover, when students enrol in private tuition in aesthetic subjects, especially music, dancing and drama, the focus is on practical skills development. The emphasis on creativity proposed by the 1972 reforms has failed to challenge Sri Lanka's exam driven culture; the consistent emphasis on summative examinations has led to an ‘examination syndrome’ among school students (National Committee for Formulation a New Education Act for General Education, 2008, p. xi).

Chapter 2: Literature Review 25 While the enhancement of quality and content in aesthetic subjects has been mentioned from time to time, implementation strategies have not been successful. One of the main reasons for this is that there is no firm policy on educational planning or resourcing in the country; it has been changed from time to time with the change of governments (Nawastheen, 2019). For example, the Ministry of Education prepared an annual work plan for aesthetic education, with a total budget of only 3.5 million Sri Lankan Rupees (30,000 AUD). At the same time, a larger budget was allocated for school beautification, entertainments and physical resources than for improvement in the quality of aesthetic education (MoE, 2013).

Another issue relates to the National Institution of Education (NIE), which is the pioneer institution for developing and distributing teachers’ instructional guides in Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, these instructional guides - including those for aesthetic subjects - do not align with current thinking and demands, such as support building self-confidence skills, encouraging creativity and critical thinking skills, engaging students in creative problem-solving or decision making skills, supporting development of emotional intelligence and empathy or supporting healthy minds and wellbeing. For example, drama syllabi do not include any new topics or technological elements for the modern drama classroom. It may be using digital technologies for dramatic works, such as in the staging, researching, and recording of drama performance and responses, voiceover or new software programs as a tool for reflection on the drama practices of self and others. Sri Lanka, also has a long history of folk drama, and this tradition has resulted in the drama syllabus focusing principally on folk drama rather than any other dramatic styles (Irugalbandara, 2011). Drama teachers devote considerable time to teaching the historical elements of folk drama and teaching students to perform this genre; and the traditional lecture method of instruction on history rather than an exploration of dramatic roles through practice continues to dominate practice. Classrooms are places where students take notes, improve content knowledge, and improve exam scores. They are not places for the creative performance of drama (Irugalbandara, 2016).

There is therefore a disjunction between what the subject of drama is purported to do in Sri Lanka and how it is taught, with lectures, note taking and memorising for examination. Drama teaching is adapted to the competitive examination system, and so students miss out on their right to be creative through drama classes (Irugalbandara,

26 Chapter 2: Literature Review

2019). For example, if they do have a chance to read a dramatic script, it is for the purpose of then being asked questions based on the script; they may intellectually understand the characters; they may have a chance to develop their analytical skills; but they do not have the chance to interpret it and so develop their creative thinking or expressive skills. If they do sometimes have the chance to participate actively in dramatic forms in the classroom, they then receive evaluation and feedback from their peers. The controlling context of teacher-centred learning in the classroom combine with an overloaded syllabus and an examination approach to minimise opportunities for students to activate their creative thoughts.

However, in relation to Arts education, universally accepted declarations of rights and conventions point the way to securing for every child and adult the right to education, and to opportunities that guarantee full and concordant improvement and engagement in social and creative life. For example, a UNESCO report stated:

The basic rationale for making Arts Education an important and, indeed, compulsory part of the educational programme in any country emerges from these rights. Culture and the arts are essential components of a comprehensive education leading to the full development of the individual. Therefore, Arts Education is a universal human right, for all learners, including those who are often excluded from education, such as immigrants, cultural minority groups, and people with disabilities. These assertions are reflected in the following statements about human rights and the rights of the child (UNESCO, 2006, p. 3).

Sri Lanka is a signatory of the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations, 1989). Article 31states:

1. State Parties recognize the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.

2. State Parties shall respect and promote the right of the child to participate fully in cultural and artistic life and shall encourage the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activity (United Nations, 1989, p. 9).

Chapter 2: Literature Review 27 Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights also states that: ‘Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits’ (United Nations, 1948, p. 51).

More recently, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has generated a shared vision for education, The Future of Education Skills: Education 2030. This learning framework commits to three areas of competence: knowledge, skills, and attitudes/values (OECD, 2018, p. 4). The OECD also provides a list of skills that “is not comprehensive, but constructs are selected that are closely related to the key concepts supporting the framework” (OECD, 2018, p. 17); which are: adaptability, flexibility, adjustment, conflict resolution, creativity, creative thinking, inventive thinking.

Evidence supports, therefore, the importance of aesthetic education and its relevance in relation to the skills development of school students. I argue, therefore, that aesthetic subjects should not be elective/optional subjects, an addition to the core curriculum (Ewing, 2018; Lucas, 2016). They need to be core to the curriculum, a human right, as charted by the United Nations; yet aesthetic subjects continue to occupy an under-valued position in the Sri Lankan curriculum. To date no national research has been conducted to examine the implementation of the aesthetic curriculum in Sri Lankan schools. In the next section, I discuss a selection of research findings which identify advantages of various approaches to teaching drama differently; approaches which can help in the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills.

THE ADVANTAGES OF TEACHING DRAMA DIFFERENTLY

Various researchers (e.g., Ewing, 2018; Lee et al., 2015; Lin, 2012) have identified benefits of following an approach to teaching drama that focuses on developing creative thinking and adaptability skills. Such research tends to fall into three main areas: studies that (a) emphasise the benefits of using drama for learning outcomes in the non-drama curriculum; (b) emphasise the benefits of using drama for learning outcomes in the drama curriculum; and (c) emphasise potential general psychological and social outcomes from using drama, such as improved classroom engagement, more positive attitudes, creativity development, prosocial attitudes and behaviour. The overall results over the three different areas of research have produced

28 Chapter 2: Literature Review

mixed results, with some finding that drama approaches do help to develop skills, others finding that they do not (e.g., Lawton & Brandon, 2005; Saunders, 2019; Sloman & Thompson, 2010). Some researchers (e.g., Bournot-Trites et al., 2007; Dicks & Le-Blanc, 2009; Fleming et al., 2004) have found that drama approaches enhance positive attitudes in students in relation to self-sufficiency, creative and critical thinking, motivation, engagement, social harmony, empathy, reflection, and flexibility.

Aprill, Burnaford, and Weiss (2001) suggest that drama approaches help to transform a class into a dynamic learning community; one in which students are more likely to think critically, to express themselves creatively, and to respect diverse opinions (April et al., 2001); a classroom which fosters students’ imaginations, creativity and adaptability (Ewing, 2018).

The growing use of drama for developing thinking and adaptability skills is now a worldwide trend. In Singapore, for example, drama teaching includes a focus on the development of 21st-century capabilities such as civic literacy, global consciousness and cross-cultural skills, critical and inventive thinking, and communication, collaboration and information skills (MoE, Singapore, 2018). Similarly, in Ireland the stated curriculum objective of drama studies includes a focus on the exploration of feelings, knowledge and ideas, leading to improved overall understanding; the aim being to help students understand and deal with potential life situations (Department of Education and Skills, 2017). In the United Kingdom, all aesthetic subjects include the objectives of producing creative work, exploring ideas and recording experiences, helping students to become proficient in analysis and design, and to better understand the historical and cultural development of their national art forms (The National Curriculum in England, 2013). In New Zealand, the drama curriculum encourages students to link their own imaginations, thoughts, and feelings with drama practice and history in ways that give voice to the cultural diversity of New Zealand (The Arts in the New Zealand Curriculum, 2012). In Australia, where this study was based, the drama curriculum is designed to connect students with creative, practical and cognitive processes that stimulate and support imagination and the exploration of beliefs, feelings, behaviours and relationships across many situations and contexts. Engaging in drama is understood to promote imagination, critical and creative thinking, problem- solving, cultural engagement and communication (Australian Curriculum, Assessment

Chapter 2: Literature Review 29 and Reporting Authority, 2016). The arts curriculum offers a variety of methods and learning experiences for students to express themselves in imaginative ways and to develop appreciation of their own work and that of others (ACARA, 2016).

In summary, the research studies and best practices from selected countries referenced above provide support for the proposition that using a drama-based approach to teaching and learning can support the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills. In the next subsection, I discuss what is meant by creative thinking skills.

CREATIVE THINKING

The development of creative thinking has been labelled as a Grand Challenge in creativity research (Cardoso, Veale, & Wiggins, 2009), because creativity is a complicated, multi-faceted concept associated with a variety of characteristics, skills, properties and behaviours (Jordanous & Keller, 2016). There is no one definition of a student’s creative thinking. For example, Plucker and Beghetto (2004) stated that,

Creativity is the interaction among aptitude, process, and environment by which an individual or group produces a perceptible product that is both novel and useful as defined within a social context. (Plucker & Begetto, 2004, p. 90).

According to Plucker & Begetto, 2004, there are six elements to creativity: (i) the interaction between skill and process; (ii) the environment in which the endeavour takes place; (iii) the development or generation of a noticeable product; (iv) the novelty of the product; (v) the usefulness of the product; and (vi) the relationship of the product to the social context in which it was created. Other researchers agree, suggesting that the two key characteristics are that the product is both innovative and suitable (Hennessey & Amabile, 2010). Robinson and Aronica (2015) also define creativity: “the process of having innovative ideas that have value…and imagination is the root of creativity […] creativity is tapping your imagination to work. It is applied imagination” (Robinson & Aronica, 2015, p. 118); while the Association of American Colleges and Universities (2009) state:

Creative thinking is both the capacity to combine or synthesise present ideas, images or expertise in novel ways - it is the experience of thinking, responding

30 Chapter 2: Literature Review

and working in an imaginary way that is characterised by a high degree of innovation, divergent thinking and risk-taking (AACU, 2009, p.11).

Concerning the above definitions, creative thinking, therefore, is a skill to think differently: to see a problem or situations from a new angle or viewpoint, simply, thinking outside the box. On the other hand, creative thinking inspires creativity when there is a problem to solve. The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA, 2012) Version 4, in the section titled Dimensions of the Australian Curriculum, provides a definition of four key elements of creative thinking: (1) inquiring by identifying, exploring, and organising information and ideas; (2) generating ideas, possibilities and actions; (3) reflecting on thinking and processes; (4) analysing, synthesising and evaluating reasoning and procedures (ACARA, 2012, p.17). Kampylis and Berki (2014) detail what they define as the four alignments of creative thinking:

i. Creativity is a skill

ii. that enables students to apply their imagination to generate ideas, questions and hypotheses;

iii. to experiment with alternatives; and

iv. to evaluate their own and their peers' ideas, final products and processes.

Based on this definition, the following characteristics of creative thinking can be noted:

(a) it is a requirement for creative processes, outputs and outcomes;

(b) it requires the energetic and intentional engagement of the person[s] who generate[s] the outputs and outcomes of the creative process; and

(c) it can be nurtured by suitable education through specific activities

that promote creative thinking in students.

Back in 1962, E. Paul Torrance, one of the pioneers in creativity research and the originator of the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT), defined creative thinking as:

A process of becoming understanding to problems, lacks, gaps in knowledge, missing essentials, conflicts, and so on; finding the difficulty; searching for answers, making guesses, or framing suggestions about the deficiencies;

Chapter 2: Literature Review 31 testing and retesting these hypotheses and possibly modifying and retesting them, and finally communicating the results. (Torrance, 1962, p. 16)

This definition stresses the teachers’ role in developing students’ creative thinking, as it categorises skills and procedures that can be taught, practised, and learned by students as the result of instructional arrangements in the classroom. Further to this definition, Torrance (1962, 1974) then identified what he termed four main elements of creative thinking; fluency, flexibility, elaboration, and originality. Fluency denotes the capability to produce many ideas or to substitute explanations when working on a problem; flexibility denotes the production of several ideas which must be dissimilar from each other; elaboration is the capability to apply additional facts to improve an idea; and originality is the ability to develop exclusive or unusual ideas, putting things or situations in a new or unfamiliar context.

In summary, based on the various definitions and explanations referenced above, creative thinking as proposed in this thesis inevitably involves students, classrooms and learning; and is understood to be the capability of students to solve problems or to devise ideas and products independently or via teamwork that are considered both novel and valuable by their teachers and their peers. This definition identifies a purposeful, everyday dimension to creative thinking, understanding it as a way of behaving towards particular tasks.

The question of how to assess creativity is challenging. Creative thinking has been commonly assessed by means of tests that measure divergent thinking capability (Runco & Jaeger, 2012; Silvia et al., 2008), tests designed initially by Guilford (1950, 1967) more than six decades ago through his studies on intelligence (Fleith, Bruno- Faria, & Alencar, 2014). The Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (Torrance, 1966, 1974) have been the most commonly used instruments for the assessment of creative thinking (Kim, Cramond, & Bandalos, 2006). They include verbal and figural components, both in two separate forms. In its original version the test was aimed at assessing the following dimensions of creativity: fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration and abstractness of titles and resistance to premature closure. In my investigation, the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT), Figural and Verbal Assessment is used to measure five dimensions of creative thinking skills.

Researchers such as Krumm, Lemos, and Filippetti (2014) believe that the above components can be assessed in four different categories: Person (curiosity, behaviour,

32 Chapter 2: Literature Review

attitude), Process (connotation, ideation, divergent thinking, problem-solving), Product (outcome or performance), and Press (environment). The researchers have also developed various measures for these different aspects; for the person and process characteristics, for example, cognitive and attitude measures (Torrance, 1966; Urban, 2005; Wallach & Kogan, 1965), creative problem-solving tasks (Mumford et al., 1997), creative attitude and personality inventories (Kirschenbaum, 1989), and creative products (Hennessey, 1994).

In light of the above literature, the above mentioned four aspects (person, process, product and press) may be more important in the nature of the drama subject. Concerning the drama subject, the person refers to the students and they are the main role in the teaching and learning context and the centre of any creative attempt in the classroom. The process refers to the procedure used by the students to develop a dramatic outcome. It is the way the students think when they are trying to solve a problem or create a new performance. Vygotsky (1978) suggested imagination is a higher mental function and as such is a consciously directed thought process and a thought process creating collective social interactions. This is connected with adaptability characteristics, which is a response to the novel situation and adjusts to the unpredicted outcome. Product is built by the students and is the result of the creative process. An example may be a new creative attempt at innovation. The press denotes the environment and the climate in which the students operates and functions in, to create the Product. It refers to situations conducive/prohibitive for creative thinking and adaptability skills. Moreover,

Therefore, I applied person, process, product, and press, analysing creative thinking and adaptability skills for my investigation. Thus, it is appropriate to investigate the identification of the creative person, process, press and product for creativity assessment. I next discuss the 4 Ps for further clarification.

Creative person Initially, creativity research focused on identifying people who had high creative potential. It was assumed that creativity was a fixed characteristic, and it was expected that its features could simply be measured so that talent could be developed from an early age in school students who showed potential both in and out of creative classes (Collard & Looney, 2014). This focus was strongly related to the big 'C' concept of creativity, conceptualised as meaning extraordinary creativity; little emphasis was

Chapter 2: Literature Review 33 accorded to the idea of teachers' roles in the development of everyday creativity, for all students, beyond gifted programmes or exceptional art classes. However, later researchers (e.g., Craft, Cremin, Burnard, & Chappell, 2007; Craft, 2008; Runco et al., 2011) have argued that personal traits or dispositions are associated with creativity, and affirm that everybody has creative capabilities, has the potential for the development of everyday creativity - what is termed little 'c' creativity, characterised by divergent thinking, the capacity to create new ideas or develop skills for creative problem solving over time (Amabile, 1990; Torrance, 1974, 1990). Studies such as those conducted by Amabile (1990) and Torrance (1974, 1990) have argued that teachers and parents have a vital role to play in the development and assessment of these creative dispositions, suggesting that characteristics of a creative person include: (a) fluency; (b) flexibility; (c) elaboration; (d) originality; (e) inquisitiveness; (f) self- esteem; (g) an open mind; (h) freedom; (i) confidence; (j) motivation; (k) imagination; and (l) persistence (Craft, 2000; Rudowicz, 2003; Rudowicz & Yue, 2000; Lim & Pluker, 2001). From this point of view, creative people pursue meaningful new connections by producing many unusual, original, and varied possibilities, as well as details that expand or improve possibilities. These findings have implications for teachers, who can incorporate new teaching techniques for the development of creative characteristics in a number of ways, in relation to both individual or group learning experiences; who can provide more activities related to specific subject areas with the potential to engage students in finding and solving real-life problems or challenges within the classroom, the school, or the community (Treffinger, 2007).

Creative process The creative process is defined as the arrangement of thoughts and actions that lead to an original product (Lubart, 2001; Lubart, Barbot, & Besancon, 2015). There is a starting point, a midpoint and an end point (Stojanova, 2010). However, Kleiman (2005) suggests thinking also in terms of themes for the creative process: (i) it involves a dynamic collaboration of purposeful investigation, creative idea generation, and logical evaluation; (ii) it includes both imagination and investigation, divergent and convergent thinking; and (iii) it involves a drive to action and the application of ideas. These ways of categorising and classifying suggest considerations of the creative process that impact on both teachers’ and students’ work. In considering this process in relation to my own investigation it can be established that the creative process is

34 Chapter 2: Literature Review

essential for the development of creative and adaptation skills. Preparation is the foundation of the creative process, which begins by identifying a problem or planning to prepare for a new idea or performance. This is both an internal process (thinking deeply to generate and engage with ideas) and an external process (going out into the group to gather the necessary resources and materials). Incubation is the second step in the creative process, which involves engaging students in different ideas in relation to finding new ways to solve problems. The period of incubation allows understandings to arise from the deeper layers of the mind, to break through to mindful awareness; and so the solution presents itself. In the evaluation and implementation stages, students are using their thinking and aesthetic judgment skills to improve and enhance their dramatic performances to and with their peers.

Creative products Studies concerning the creative product focus on the features that make a product creative. Different scholars have interpreted the concept of creative product differently. For example, O’Quin and Besemer (1999) argued that three main elements should be present in the creative product: (i) novelty; (ii) resolution; and (iii) elaboration/synthesis. Stenberg and Lubart (1996) suggested that creativity is the skill required to produce a product that is novel (original, unexpected, unique, surprising, new) and appropriate (useful, has value, purpose, meets need) (Stenberg & Lubart, 1996, p. 677-688). Unfortunately, due to a variety of reasons, comparatively little consideration has been given to the quality of creative products in schools (Collard & Looney, 2014); and so there is no widely accepted classification or definition of creative product in either education policy or school curricula (Cachia et al., 2010). There are consequently no clear reference guidelines for assessing the quality of students' creative products at different ages or developmental stages; moreover in the domain of creativity, teachers and other creative experts may oppose any approach that is similar to traditional forms of assessment of student achievement (Fryer, 1996; Lucas, Claxton, & Spencer, 2013).

To some extent, this reluctance may indicate teachers’ desire to avoid discouraging students’ self-expression; or, as research suggests (e.g., Fuller, McCrum, & Macfadyen, 2014), it may be that students receive limited guidance from teachers, who are unsure themselves how to progress this approach; and in addition, neither teachers nor students may fully understand what counts as high-quality creative work

Chapter 2: Literature Review 35 (Lucas et al., 2013). On the other hand, Lyons (2012) stated that teaching resources, skills of teaching and curriculum demands are beneficial for a quality learning outcome. Availability of teaching resources, therefore, may help to enhance the effectiveness of students’ performance. However, drama teachers in Sri Lanka receive only a teacher's guide with a general set of instructions. These teacher guides are also aimed at general teaching and learning in the classroom, thus, teachers may not know how to provide advice or guidance on adaptation to the different needs of students (In section 2.1., I have explained the problems in drama education and teachers guide in Sri Lanka). Therefore, I have developed a package of resources for teachers to help them to develop stronger creativity thinking and adaptability skills themselves through the use of dramatic techniques.

Creative environment The final component positions creativity within the context of the environment, suggesting that part of the creative process is to perceive the environment as needing some new production or reproduction in order to better function (Plucker, Makel, & Qian, 2019). This idea suggests the existence of individual and contextual factors which are vital to the creative environment or the place in which creativity is embedded (Amabile, 1996). Soliman (2005) has argued that the place must be seen as providing the connection between person and environment; and that it is important to consider environmental circumstances that either hinder or develop creativity. Several qualities associated with the environment can influence the development of creativity, such as accessibility of resources and expertise (Keller-Mathers, 2011). Torrance (1974) believed that the creative environment is vital to the development of creative thinking.

Social systems and conditions constitute elements of the environment, and encourage (or discourage) the creative process to operate within the classroom, the home, and more general social and cultural contexts; which all impact on creativity development (Vygotsky, 1978). An environment that encourages the development of creativity is intimately connected with the quality of connections and experiences people have in these various contexts. The school is obviously a key place in which to develop creative skills (Soliman, 2005). Teachers can assist students’ creativity development, and school policy and management environments can value, encourage, support and take related risks, encouraging students to develop and to experiment with their own creativity (Piscitelli & Penfold, 2015).

36 Chapter 2: Literature Review

According to Gallagher (2017), flexibility is a key element in a creative space and creative teaching. As such, whenever possible, adaptability demands students’ interests and ideas are central to the teaching and learning process, which also includes that the space is also adaptable to their needs). Gallagher’s (2017) work supports the idea that the context in which creativity exists and the strategy of the environment in that context includes collaboration for creativity and understanding the association between environment and behaviour enables teachers to manage and to prepare the classroom so that best learning is more likely to occur.

A consideration of the above four elements (person, process, product, and press) can be summarised as follows:

Table 1 4P’s of Creativity

4P’s Characteristics

Person Individual characters, e.g. hereditary factors, knowledge, skills

Process Behavioural factors, e.g. modes of thinking, engagement & behaviour

Product Assessment of outcomes, e.g. efficiency, level of invention, value to society

Press Environmental factors, e.g. degree of independence, access to resources

By applying the 4P’s to my investigation, it is clear that students use their inner creative skills through the creative process of innovative performance, and through working towards finding solutions, independently or collaboratively in the creative environment. The practical nature of the drama engages students in critical and creative thinking, including understanding interrelationships when challenged to problem-solve in unpredictable situations or scenarios. Craft (2004) believes that unless the individual can identify their idea as being external to the norm it is not essentially imaginative. . Imagination, then, is a prerequisite to an outcome, which might be an idea, a product or an action; it must affect in some medium other than thought (Craft et al., 2001). It is a part of the creative process that happens within individuals, permitting them to discover previously unrelated ideas and to assess their practicality for completing a task before executing them. As individuals develop their

Chapter 2: Literature Review 37 understanding and knowledge of a particular domain, they develop further their skill in connecting ideas (Craft et al., 2008). Craft (2000) assumes that this process involves both convergent and divergent thinking; firstly, by exploring many solutions, looking for new ways to proceed; secondly, by selecting the option that can be actioned and followed. In her later work, Craft used the term ‘intentional action’ to refer to the process of turning ideas into action (Craft, Cremin, Burnard, Dragovic & Chappell, 2013). .

In summary, creative thinking can be defined as the capability to react adaptively to the need for new approaches and outcomes. It is also a capability to create unorthodox thoughts, ideas and promptly resolve problematic situations. In order to apply the knowledge on the 4P’s of creativity in drama teaching and learning contexts, it is vital to understand their common relations and characterised by such qualities including originality, fluency, flexibility, and elaboration. Moreover, a creative approach suggests the methodological direction of the teaching-learning process on developing the need for novelty and flexibility solution of everyday problems, which allows motivating the learning and performance by activating creative abilities and behaviours. This approach is well suited to dramatic interactions, the activity of students during learning, solutions of cognitive problems, the creative abilities of students, and acquisition of experience are all elements of any dramatic interaction. Finally, the 4P’s creativity guided me as a researcher to learn more about how to foster creative thinking in different settings, e.g., to improve teaching for creativity, to facilitate enhance problem-solving skills in drama and to address different students’ interests.

ADAPTABILITY SKILLS

Adaptability is another significant skill identified as being necessary for students to be effective in future economic work contexts (Levin, 2015; Martin et al., 2013b; OECD, 2013; P21, 2009).

The literature offers different ideas on adaptation. One typical characteristic of adaptability skills is the readiness to be involved in an unfamiliar situation (Levin, 2015). This in a sense means working without boundaries, being open to trying new challenges or experimenting with different and unpredictable solutions to problems and challenges in the workplace. Adaptability involves the process of students

38 Chapter 2: Literature Review

adopting self-reinforcing roles, setting performance values and evaluating their own behaviours. On the other hand, adaptability is a soft skill, one which can be used to help facilitate unusual circumstances where there are no clear instructions (Jarboe & Olson, 2018). As a soft skill itself, it requires the involvement of other soft skills, such as collaboration, critical thinking, creative thinking, problem-solving, open- mindedness towards change and uncertainty (Jarboe & Olson, 2018). Soft skills are defined in different ways and are called by other names including transferable skills or 21st century skills (Abbot, 2014). According to Robles, soft skills are “character traits, attitudes, and behaviours - rather than technical aptitudes or knowledge.” (Robles, 2012, p. 457).

At the start of this thesis (section 1.3.1) I emphasised the highly competitive nature of the examination culture in Sri Lanka, which puts significant pressure on students and results in numerous psychological problems; because of this pressure students are at risk during transition periods, especially during the junior secondary school years. In this context, skills of adaptation are seen as important, as students have to respond to new and changing environments. For example, development of those soft skills characteristics would help students to adapt new targets, situations, develop fruitful relationships with their peers, and teachers, and take advantage of open to new experiences in life. Soft skills prepare students for success in their future labour endeavours. Preparation for success in the future labour force is one of the most important goals in education. This is why soft skills are also known as transferable skills, and I believe they are essential characteristics of students who use their education to become life-long learners after they are leaving school.

Therefore, school is one of the most important microsystems in students’ lives (Zhang, Cui, Zhou, Cai, & Liu, 2018), and it has deep and massive influence on their development. Thus, successful collaboration with the school environment and continuous adaptation in the classroom is vital for all students (Huang, 2011; Margetts, 2009). Adapting to a new learning stage or experience can be theorised as a complicated task, which can put substantial pressure on students (Valentine, DuBois, & Cooper, 2004). For adolescents, for example, the transition into high school has long been recognised as a difficult experience, during which they are faced with many new challenges and encounters, including coping with the academic, social-emotional, and behavioural demands of a new environment (Martin, Nejad, Colmar, & Liem, 2013a).

Chapter 2: Literature Review 39 Different scholars have provided different perspectives on and definitions of adaptability. McKeown (2012) stated that adaptability is key to achieving a rewarding and productive work life, noting that,

[…] adaptability is all in your head, we cannot just touch a switch, but we can build - and trigger - innate ability to adapt to new situations, … […] all failure is a failure to adjust; all success is a successful adaptation… (McKeown, 2012, p. 34).

VandenBos (2007) described adaptability as the ways an individual modifies their behaviour when confronted with undefined or novel situations or conditions; while Nelson, Zaccaro, and Herman (2010) offered this definition: “a practical change (cognitive, behavioural, and/or affective) in response to actual or correctly expected modifications in environmental possibilities” (Nelson et al., 2010, p. 132). According to Pearlman and Barney (2000), adaptability is a personal value that is important in handling uncertainty, dealing with ambiguity and stress, and in working outside traditional temporal and physical limitations.

The American Psychological Association (APA) defined it as ‘the capability to make appropriate responses to changed or changing conditions; the capability to modify or adjust one’s behaviour in meeting different circumstances or different people” (as cited in VandenBos, 2007, p. 18); and Martin and his colleagues (Martin et al., 2013b) extended the APA definition to include not only cognitive and behavioural adaptability, but also emotional adaptability in response to change, particularly to (1) novelty, (2) flexibility and (3) insecurity, which Martin (2013c) termed the ‘tripartite perspective’ on adaptability. The distinction is made between adaptability and self-regulation; with adaptability associated with a tripartite perspective involving the parameters of cognition, behaviour, and emotion, whereas self-regulation tends to be more behaviourally and cognitively focused (Cleary, Callan, & Zimmerman 2012).

In the tripartite perspective of the adaptability scale (Martin et al., 2013b), results found that positive personal wellbeing implications of adaptability and the positive link between adaptability, engagement, and achievement among school children (Collie, Holliman, & Martin, 2016). The study also identified the role of adaptability in moderating students’ failure dynamics (Martin, Nejad, Colmar, Liem, & Collie, 2015), and showed how important others’ positive opinions of children’s (Collie &

40 Chapter 2: Literature Review

Martin, 2017a). There is, therefore, a solid, evidence-base supporting the importance of adaptability for students’ personal wellbeing. Therefore, in this study, I used Martin et al.’s (2013b), tripartite perspective on behaviours and functioning in the context of school adaptation. (In sub-section 2.4.1, I will discuss each of the three important behaviours separately).

Regarding school students’ adaptation, Du (2009) indicated that school adaptability involves both individual feelings around having to overcome difficulties and the desire to achieve comparatively good academic performance. In other words, the concept of adaptability relates to study attitudes, study skills, study environment, physical and mental health, and other associated fields. Zhang, Cui, Zhou, Cai, and Liu (2018) similarly associate the idea of school adaptability to a student’s behaviour in the school environment, during study activities and learning processes. Adaptability involves study habits, attitudes and sense of purpose, academic performance, social behaviour and peer effect. These various explanations and definitions of adaptability indicate that it is a multidimensional and multilevel concept, which involves intention, attitude, and response to change, particularly in relation to novelty, flexibility and potentially insecure situations.

Recent research emphasizes the positive impact of adaptability on secondary school students (Burns, Martin, & Collie, 2016; Martin et al., 2012; Martin et al., 2013a; Martin, Nejad, Colmar, Liem, & Collie, 2015). Martin and his colleagues, for example, suggest that adaptability should be a central element in the school curriculum (Martin et al., 2013b). This research team studied 969 students from high schools in Australia and found that adaptability was associated with individual well-being and also with a sense of purpose. It was found that adaptable students were more impressive in terms of their future plans, more competent in keeping up with the fast pace and flexible nature of lessons, and more likely to experience positive learning outcomes; they were also less likely to give up. They concluded that adaptability skills enhance students’ motivation, class engagement, school enjoyment and involvement.

Martin and his colleagues also reported the finding that adaptability and self- regulation work together (Martin et al., 2015). Self-regulation is seen as significant in terms of effective progression and management of school experience, while adaptability is more particularly significant when the student faces new challenges or responsibilities. The researchers (Martin et al., 2015) found that secondary school

Chapter 2: Literature Review 41 students who exhibit adaptability are better able to accept disappointment, compared to students who lack adaptability. Adaptable students seem better able to work out their situation or challenges, and to use cognitive and emotional strategies to mitigate their disappointment, such as examining and reflecting on tension or vulnerability they may experience. The research into adaptability identifies key factors that are significant in the development of effective adaptability skills; (1) coping, (2) buoyancy, and (3) resilience (Nejad, 2014; Martin, 2017).

McKenzie and Frydenberg (2004) argued that coping is essential for effective adaptation; that it denotes the capability to draw on both cognition and emotion to deal with particular external and/or internal demands, such as stressful situations (Nejad, 2014). This means that coping skills would help to increase resilience. Resilience refers to how quickly a person is able to recover from a difficult incident, or in other words, how quickly and easily they bounce back after some difficult life situation. Students who have resilience skills can process difficult experiences by acknowledging their mistakes, learning from the situation, and moving on. Other researchers (e.g., Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000; VandenBos, 2007) also identify the importance of resilience in relation to adaptability; the process and outcome related to “positively adapting to problematic or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional and behavioural flexibility, and alteration to external and internal demands” (VandenBos, 2007, p. 792). Similarly, Luthar et al., (2000) argue that resilience is an active process which includes positive regulation and adaptation when responding to a difficult situation.

Nejad (2014) identifies academic buoyancy as another key element of adaptability skills. Martin and Marsh (2008a, 2008b, 2009) define academic buoyancy as students’ capacity to efficiently and positively manage academic hindrances and tasks that characterise ‘everyday’ sequences of school life (e.g., examination pressure, low test results, test demands and anxiety). This capacity is important for school students to build their self-confidence and encourage them to challenge unsatisfactory negative thinking about themselves or their condition. Academic buoyancy may also be helpful to encourage them to think more positively about what capabilities they have and how they might use these capabilities in the face of adversity.

The above review of literature and research study discussion indicates that adaptability is shaped by a number of factors that are in cooperate internal and external

42 Chapter 2: Literature Review

to individuals; and provides strong evidence that by learning and practising appropriate adaptive behaviours in the classroom students’ cognitive, behavioural and emotional flexibility is enhanced; that they become more adaptable, and in turn are able to help others to adapt. In the next section, I discuss the tripartite perspective on adaptability.

Tripartite perspective on adaptability In section 2.4, I referred to adaptability skills, and I established the definition of the term used for this thesis. I also noted that Martin and his colleagues (Martin et al., 2012, 2013b, 2015) further developed the concept of a tripartite perspective on adaptability (cognitive, behavioural, and emotional regulation), with a view to effect positive adjustment to situations of uncertainty or novelty. Wessel, Ryan, and Oswald (2008) discuss these perspectives, arguing that each one is required for maintaining a positive connection between an individual and his/her changing environment, both academically and non-academically. Various studies (e.g., Burns et al., 2016; Martin et al., 2012) have found positive links between adaptability and secondary school students’ engagement and academic achievement.

Cognitive adaptability Theoretically, cognitive adaptability affects the ability to obtain knowledge and to develop skills needed to exhibit performance (Zorzie, 2012). For Martin and his colleagues (Martin et al., 2012) cognitive adaptability represents the capacity to adjust decisions and ways of thinking to deal with new, varying, and undefined situations. They see it as thinking about a new or changeable situation in a different way (e.g., by encouraging students to think about new potential in the new situation), or regulating assumptions during times of transition (e.g., encouraging students to see the positives in modifications rather than seeing change as a ‘bad’ or annoying thing). The focus is on students’ responses to difficulty, such as coping mechanisms, resilience (Howard & Johnson, 2000), and buoyancy (Martin & Marsh, 2009; Putwain et al., 2012).

Behavioural adaptability Behavioural adaptability denotes the capacity to adjust the nature and level of response and action in order to move positively into undefined situations (Martin, 2013b). For example, it may involve seeking out new or additional information, finding assistance, or changing strategies to work through a new condition or activity (e.g., encouraging the student to ask the teacher for some extra reading material or

Chapter 2: Literature Review 43 resources for a new topic), or taking a different subject/topic to develop a new plan (e.g., showing the student how to prepare their after-school routine following notice of an unexpected test or assignment) (Martin, 2017).

Emotional adaptability Emotional adaptation is the next important element of adaptability. The common understanding is that having cognitive capability and beneficial personality traits underpins the development of adaptability, which then influences performance and emotional adjustment (Zorzie, 2012). Emotions are always part of the mix. According to Martin (2017), emotional regulation is important; for example, learning how to reduce disappointment, frustration, anxiety, or anger when situations change - such as when an enjoyable activity is cancelled; or minimising enthusiasm in some situations - such as encouraging the student to keep a ‘level head’ if they are in a really promising position in a task or event.

To summarise, the concept of adaptability denotes an appropriate adjustment in cognition, behaviour, and/or emotion in response to novel and/or uncertain situations and circumstances. Taking my lead from previous research work into adaptability, it can seem that there are two ways we can develop students adaptability skills: the first is at a general level where students are taught about the process of adaptability and how this helps their responses to different situations; the second is a granular, situational level, where students are taught how to adjust specific cognition, behaviour, and emotion in the face of change, novelty, unpredictability and uncertainty. Therefore, this thesis investigates and analyses the relevance of sets of linked concepts such as adaptation, coping, resilience, buoyancy, self-regulation, by assessing tripartite adaptability behaviour, which comprises adjustments in cognition, behaviour, and emotion. This thesis, therefore, is informed by the work of Martin and his colleagues in its investigation for the first time in Sri Lanka of the usefulness of a framework to facilitate the enhancement of students’ academic and non-academic outcomes in the Sri Lankan junior secondary education context. In this way I hope to contribute to helping school students to respond effectively to their ever-changing world.

44 Chapter 2: Literature Review

PROCESS DRAMA FOR SUCCESSFUL TEACHING AND LEARNING OF CREATIVE THINKING AND ADAPTABILITY SKILLS IN SCHOOLS

Throughout previous sub-sections I have highlighted the importance of creative thinking and adaptability skills in the school setting; and in section 1.4 I noted the suitability of drama-based approaches to helping students to develop creative thinking and adaptability skills for workplace success. In this section I examine whether the concept of process drama and its techniques offers productive and efficient ways of developing students’ creative and adaptability skills needed for effective engagement in the 21st-century.

One of the ways that creativity and adaptability can be taught in schools is through dramatic arts subjects (Bowell & Heap, 2017; Saunders, 2019); and the literature makes the case that a key component of creativity and adaptability teaching in dramatic arts can be through the use of techniques such as process drama (Bowell & Heap, 2017; Saunders, 2019). Process drama, first developed by Heathcote (Wagner, 1976), is a category within the broader category of drama in education (Bowell & Heap, 2011). Research interest in process drama in secondary education has grown significantly in recent decades (e.g., Lin, 2012; Neelands, 2009; Neelands & Goode, 2010), especially in the area of creative thinking and adaptability skills development. Several studies have shown that there are different ways that process drama can be implemented in respect to creativity and adaptability skill development (Catterall & Dumais, 2012; Mitchell & Gallaher, 2001; Toivanen, 2016). It can be used for more in-depth understanding by organising students to create new knowledge (Toivanen, 2016). For Toivanen (2016) the outcome of process drama is not an expectation of performance for an external audience; instead, it is a development of creative thinking, whereby teachers and students create and sustain a shared fiction for their own internal audience, finding solutions to complex problems (Bowell & Heap, 2017). The "absence of a script characterises the key structure of process drama, an episodic structure, an extended time frame, and an integral audience" (O'Neill, 1995, p. xvii). Researchers believe that process drama represents the concept of experiential and socio-constructive learning (e.g., Davis, 2017, Liu & Matthews, 2005).

Some studies (e.g., Duatepe, Asuman, & Ubuz, 2009; Fleming, Merrell, & Tymms, 2004) have shown that students have a tendency to remember more through this process, and can demonstrate deeper understanding. McNaughton (2004, 2010)

Chapter 2: Literature Review 45 demonstrates how process drama enables the examination of ideas, values and attitudes, both when students are in role and through reflective discussion afterwards. He also believes that process drama encourages students to become more socially responsible and active, positioning them well for future challenges. While students are participating in imaginary contexts, they use actual knowledge and actual skills (McNaughton, 2010). As Freire noted (2014), creativity is a crucial tool for imagining potential real futures.

The main structure of process drama is characterised by an “absence of a script, an episodic structure, an extended time frame, and an integral audience” (O’Neill, 1995, p. xvii). Process drama is therefore different to conventional drama forms. It invites the students, together with their teacher, to establish a dramatic cooperative; to involve themselves in drama in order to make meaning for themselves. It is inherently improvised in nature; and attitude, intention and emotions are of greater concern than pre-determined character (Bowell & Heap, 2017).

Moreover, process drama suggests novel learning frameworks, permitting both teachers and students to adopt different roles, express feelings and different viewpoints (Piazzoli, 2012). The teacher still manages the process up to a point, playing the lead role by providing the context, while being teacher-in-role; possibly moving in and out of roles, facilitating and guiding when necessary, but also co-creating the action or events.

As Saunders (2019) explains, both students and the teacher take on whatever roles are required for the investigation or exploration of a particular theme or subject. The teacher has the additional task of finding ways to connect students with content, to help them to develop a response through active engagement and reflection. Process drama is essentially a creative instructional method, providing a safe space for teaching and learning, so that students are able to create their own experience, tell their own story, rehearsing and performing within the thematic frame (Jurinović, 2016). While the teacher typically contributes from within and from outside the dramatic frame, it is important that they do not take over, and so endanger the creative role of the students (Bowell & Heap, 2017). The teacher needs to have a clear goal: the development and progression of the experience so that the learners achieve the intended outcomes (Jurinović, 2016); therefore the teacher needs to maintain a critical awareness of themselves and their intersecting roles of teacher, actor, play writer, and director. In

46 Chapter 2: Literature Review

essence the teacher and the students co-direct the work, working together to adapt and change in response to shifting moods or unexpected interactions.

In summary, process drama is a useful tool for many different kinds of learning; and I believe it can facilitate and focus on the multiple thinking skills that inform creative and adaptability skills development. This is the focus of my study. I now discuss the three process drama techniques which I selected for this project.

Improvisation The technique of improvisation lies at the heart of process drama (O'Neill, 1995). Improvisation helps students to query their environment when they take on imaginary roles. It is concerned with answering who, what, when, where and why questions around the imaginary world that their imaginary character inhabits. This approach is novel in the classroom because the characters' qualities, actions and explanations of their actions are not prearranged or managed by the teacher or known by reading a particular text. They are uniquely the product of the students' imaginations (Taylor & Warner, 2006). The characters created and explored in a process drama lesson are maintained by the students themselves; their lives can only develop in direct relationship to the experiences, ideas and feelings of the participants themselves.

Holdhus et al. (2016) found that improvisation helps to increase awareness of the student’s self (mind, body and voice); helps them to understand the perspectives of their peers (through collaboration and critical argument); to cultivate the interaction skills needed in everyday life; to improve clarity of argument and communication, and of verbal and nonverbal expression; and to strengthen their understanding of human behaviour, motivation and diversity in social situations. A recent study by Hainselin, Aubry, and Bourdin (2018) provides evidence that improvisation helps to develop students’ originality and flexibility skills. The study results suggested that improvisation could help to stimulate interactive experiences which require students to take initiatives, problem-solve, collaborate and share responsibility, and respond appropriately to each other’s input.

Storytelling Storytelling is a powerful and effective technique which stimulates the generation of ideas and leads to meaningful social interaction (Phillips, 2000). It helps students to develop verbal and cognitive skills, as well as to grow in confidence in terms of

Chapter 2: Literature Review 47 understanding socialisation and social standards (Phillips, 2000). There has been widespread research attention to the use of storytelling techniques to develop a whole range of skills, including problem-solving, creativity, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and social skills (Karwowski & Soszynski, 2008; Sarıca & Usluel, 2016).

Storytelling techniques also support students' confidence in expressing themselves appropriately, in telling their personal story to peers, in learning to respect the stories of their peers, and in the development of emotional intelligence (Rutland & Killen, 2015). When students engage in storytelling, they can freely include their own ideas, use mind mapping to organise their stories, and progress to creating their own short, dramatic scripts, individually or collaboratively, and finally sharing and refining their ideas through rehearsal and performance (Edmiston, 2000).

Hoffmann and Russ (2012) have evidenced that students who demonstrate strong imaginative capacity through drama storytelling are typically creative thinkers; and that cognitive processes associated with creativity in early pretend play often involve storytelling, which is early evidence of the importance of symbolism. Joronen, Häkämies, and Åstedt-Kurki (2011) found evidence in their research that storytelling enhances empathy and perspective, as well as improving creativity; while Holland (2009) reported that when students retell stories from different perspectives to different members of their group they are able to connect with different viewpoints. Storytelling encourages students to cultivate both perspective and balance, and tacit ways of reasoning, which helps them to negotiate, appreciate, and participate in complex or novel situations. These capacities are all elements of adaptability (Kovács, 2014).

Hot-Seat Hot-seat is a verbal drama technique which can be used for classroom simulations or short performance (Billikova & Kissova, 2013). This powerful and popular technique used in process drama to develop different thinking skills (Karwowski, & Soszynski, 2008). It provides an opportunity to question or interview a role player in character (Kathleen, 2007). The idea is to help students to gain deeper understanding of personalities they encounter in both fiction and non-fiction (Theodorou & Nind, 2010); to understand characters' motivations, context, moods, and to observe and reflect on characteristics of different personalities. Wile (2013) comments that hot-seat is as much about vocabulary enrichment as any other concept, as the activity stimulates thinking skills and lexical skills at a rapid rate.

48 Chapter 2: Literature Review

According to Elnada(2015), Hot-seat sharpens direct experience, amplifies disputes and polarities, and promotes free expression. It encourages students to focus on the now, the ever-shifting range of experience. It begins with ‘what’ (what is your augment?) and ‘how’ (how do you experience this?), avoiding ‘why’ questions, which require thinking, rationalising, and justifying. It is an effective process that involves self-regulation and encourages students’ awareness of their own inner thoughts and feelings (Elnada, 2015). Borich (2004) found that the technique encourages students’ critical thinking skills and helps them to express their thoughts or ideas creatively.

The above subheadings associated with the use of three process drama techniques, which supports the proposition of my thesis: innovations and adaptations are held to emerge from the collective actions of many individuals working together. As I mentioned in section 2.1, teaching drama in Sri Lanka is currently based on memorisation facts and repetition under traditional talk-and-chalk approach. Therefore, engaging students’ interest and supporting them to build their arguments and conversation through different approaches would increase their interaction, connectivity, and share their experiences with others. This experience is important rather than the telling students what to do, providing pre-determined inputs and then checking that they can do it/have learned it. Sharing experiences for group collaboration and inner elaboration aligned with Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory (1978).

Sociocultural theory focused on how individual creative involvements combine in group interaction processes. The theory allows one to imagine the complex relations between individual creative involvements on the one hand, and collective group processes on the other. Then, group creativity is possibly a multi-levelled process that involves creative mental processes (at the level of the individual) and creative collaborative processes (at the level of the group). Creative collaboration process promotes questioning, feedback and detailed explanations (Bruin, 2018). In this context, students engage in activities and interactions that allow them to adopt social and cultural inspirations and develop as individuals. As students grow a mastery of skills and processes, they also assert confidence in these abilities. An important part of the learning and teaching process is allowing the student to demonstrate their growing abilities as well as allowing space to articulate self-empowerment of everyday challenges (Craft, 2005). . Therefore, these three techniques may help students to

Chapter 2: Literature Review 49 develop the capabilities to adapt to tomorrow's changing world providing tools for lifelong learning and it potentially opens a new pathway, allowing new perceptions of teaching and learning through and of drama.

I now discuss selected intervention studies which have used process drama techniques in order to shape an understanding of how specific techniques support the enhancement of students’ creative thinking and adaptability skills. I will first examine intervention studies which have used process drama specifically to develop creative thinking skills in school students.

One study conducted in in Taipei (Taiwan), the focus was on fostering children's creative skills through a drama-based approach (Lin, 2012). A descriptive case study approach was adopted, and the intervention was undertaken over ten weeks, involving twenty drama lessons (2 sessions per week), with 67 children aged 11-12 years in two different primary schools (35 in one school and 32 in the second school). The researcher conducted all the intervention lessons, recruiting classroom teachers as non- participant observers. The main approaches included storytelling and role-play techniques, targeted at developing students' imaginations, possibility thinking, and the ability to innovate novel solutions. Each drama lesson involved a warm-up and a wrap- up section relevant to the issue under investigation and offered a playful context for learning. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews with the two teachers and via feedback from students. A qualitative approach was utilised, and the study found that students were able to develop a variety of creative abilities and capacities as a result of the intervention. Teacher interview data reported that students progressed in relation to imagination, independent thinking, risk-taking, and playfulness; and that they were more confident in expressing their own ideas, in problem-solving, and collaborating with others.

Lin's study (2012) provided me with a framework when considering how to conduct my study. She had found that process drama enhanced students' playfulness, innovation, flexibility, and in-depth learning. She described it as an active mode for enhancing students' possibility thinking. The connection between drama strategies and elements of creative pedagogy is highlighted in her student sample feedback on the ten-week learning experience. Her work reminded me that I needed to take considerable care in setting up and planning individual lessons as well as the overall intervention. In her study she was the main resource: the one who conducted the drama

50 Chapter 2: Literature Review

lessons. The profile of her research site and research participants appeared to be similar to that of my study; and storytelling and role-play were common strategies between our two interventions. However, her study did not ultimately provide a comprehensive picture of the students' creativity development as she focused primarily on the two teachers' experiences of creative development. Neither did she contribute her own reflections. If she had used her reflective notes and classroom observations the study might have provided more insight into the students' creativity development, evidence which would have been most useful to my study.

Another intervention study was conducted in Hong Kong; this time exploring the effects of drama on the creativity development of Grade 1 and 4 school students in 17 elementary schools over a period of 16 weeks (Hui & Lau, 2006). The researchers randomly selected ten schools as experimental and seven as control schools. They developed the intervention program, which included role-play, improvisation, storytelling and story creation. It was implemented with 126 students on a weekly rotation (Saturday/after school) as an aesthetic activity, while ball activities - as a non- aesthetic activity - were carried out with 69 students in the control groups. Expert subject teachers were selected for the intervention program. To measure students' creative skills, researchers used Form A of the Wallach-Kogan activity tests (WKCT), Tests for Creative Thinking-Drawing Production (TCT-DP) for pre/post-tests, and the indirect Story Telling Test (STT) for the duration of the intervention. The study used multiple methods to measure the outcomes, such as warm-up activities, improvisation, storytelling, making puppets and story creation. It was found that students in the drama project produced creative responses, were motivated to create drawings, and their creativity scores were significantly higher than those of the non-drama project students. Also, the Grade 1 students scored higher on creative fluency than the Grade 4 students. Conditions were not matched, and two different age groups, Grades 1 and 4 were involved; groups with different development characteristics. The study did not evidence comprehensive understanding of their creative development.

The study involved an intervention via process drama techniques over a period of sixteen weeks; and it produced evidence of the value students placed on creativity scores. Interestingly, Hui and Lau (2006) identified no gender differences in the students’ creative skills. Their findings provided me with further guidance and encouragement regarding the use of process drama techniques and drama pedagogy

Chapter 2: Literature Review 51 for confirming the positive benefits of a process drama approach at the junior secondary level. This study was an example of a high-quality curriculum plan and implementation for teacher professional development, which was incorporated into the present study. Hui and Lau’s (2006) study is relevant for my work because they integrated process drama performance-based approaches into an existing school curriculum, attempting to motivate students and increase their level of communication skills. In addition, the school context was similar to the schools in which my study was conducted, in a junior secondary school setting with two teachers.

Another study involved a one-year school-based intervention program implemented in Singapore, which focused on the development of students’ communication skills through teacher professional development (Stinson, 2009). The program included 10 hours of process drama workshops, with the aim of developing students' oral communication skills to achieve higher results in the nation-wide English examinations. Stinson’s selected research site was a Secondary 4 level school with 1400 students. The research team worked with eight English teachers (12 classes of up to 40 students in each class) to provide preliminary professional training and ongoing support. The starting point was a 4 ½ hour workshop for all English teachers in the school; and after-school time was chosen to conduct the workshops, working with a variety of drama techniques. The first series of workshops suggested that teachers wanted more workshop involvement in order to gain further confidence before applying the approaches in their own classrooms. A second round of workshops was held, after which teachers were more positive and confident about the potential advantages of including drama in their teaching. Teachers observed that when drama was integrated into lessons, students were more motivated to participate, and that even the students who were usually quiet, or had limited language proficiency, were more motivated to express themselves. However, teachers reported that being playful in the classroom context affected the noise level and led to a lack of control. This study also explored the application of process drama as an instructional technique, and reported finding it an ideal approach for developing empathy, cooperation, emotional intelligence and intercultural awareness. Overall, considering the whole study context, this case study provides support to the proposition that process drama techniques can help to develop students' skills. Unfortunately, however, the study did not detail which

52 Chapter 2: Literature Review

particular techniques were most helpful, or which group of students gained most benefit.

Another interesting intervention study was carried out in Scotland, focusing on enhancing students' creativity and adaptability skills using a collaborative method and specific teaching thinking skills (Burke & William, 2008). The intervention lasted for eight weeks and involved 178 school students aged between 11 and 12 years, from six different state-run schools in Central Scotland. The researcher used a random method to select students for three different cohorts: a control group, an individual learning activity group, and a collaborative learning activity group. To assess the credibility of the measures, the researcher taught the intervention lessons and gave the assessment measures to a pilot class of Grade 7 (n=30) students. Two and a half days of intervention training were provided to the four teachers in the experimental group. Twenty-four lesson plans were designed and implemented in both individual and collaborative learning groups weekly, for three lessons, across all curricular areas. The Thinking Skill Assessment Tests Version 1 and Version 2 were administered as pre/post-tests for the three intervention condition groups. Additionally, the Myself as a Learner Scale (MALS) and the Assessment of Learner Centred Principles (ALCP) intervention tests were used at the end of each week. Throughout the intervention lessons, the researcher supported learners to use multiple thinking skill techniques, such as comparing and contrasting, finding reasons and drawing conclusions, revising, decision-making and problem-solving. Teachers also used wall display materials and thinking dispositions prompt cards. At the beginning of each week, they displayed a "key thinking steps" poster connected with thinking words to the groups. The researcher observed each intervention lesson throughout the data collection period. The findings showed that the students in both experimental groups increased their fundamental thinking skills, such as understanding, creativity and critical thinking, decision making and problem-solving. Furthermore, the results indicated that students in the collaborative group performed significantly better than the individual group learning students in terms of critical thinking skills.

The above intervention study is relevant to my investigation as it involved Grade 7 students and three intervention condition groups. The context of the study had similarities with the schools in which my study was conducted in that all students were engaged in time-consuming, demanding, daily learning activities. Like me, the

Chapter 2: Literature Review 53 researchers implemented a pilot study to test their intervention, and provided training for teachers before the intervention, which I also did in my study. The pilot study consisted of thirty students from Grade 7 and four teachers of the classes involved in the investigation. They received 2.5 days of training, which included the essential elements of a practical thinking lesson approach. They also used two standardised tests and two special design tests for assessing their students' skills. They observed each intervention lesson over the eight weeks, which was similar to the process in my project. However, one weakness that I identified in this study was that there was no active control group in their investigation because active control groups help to measure and account for the effect of different expectations and demand characteristics.

Another intervention study, this time in Mississippi, focused on classes of Grade 3 (n=118) and Grade 4 (n=119) students in an elementary school in Lafayette Country School District (Freeman, Sullivan, & Fulton, 2003). The researchers used the Solomon four-group design for selecting treatment and control groups. They developed an 18-week intervention program of creative drama activities (roleplay, skits, and dance/movements methods), which they implemented with 120 students in two experimental groups weekly for a 40-minute lesson. Music lessons were carried out with the two control groups. The researchers used the Student Self Concept Scale (SSCS) to measure student self-concept and the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) to measure social skills and problem behaviour. Data were analysed using a 2 x 2 factorial analysis and results showed that the effect of creative drama experience on self-concept scores and problem behaviour was not statistically significant. The data did not support the use of creative drama techniques to improve self-concept, to reduce problem behaviour, or to improve social skills. The study used multiple measures – analyses, roles, and working cooperatively in a creative task, using meaningful actions and emotions to measure outcomes. In spite of the disappointing results, researchers did use certified drama and music instructors for the performing arts activities, which provided a model of best practice, using subject experts as facilitators to lead a series of creative activities to encourage students to develop their creativity skills. Although, this study did not measure creativity or adaptability skills, it is important for the variables studied..

54 Chapter 2: Literature Review

A quasi-experimental study was conducted in the Basque county of Northern Spain (Garaigordobil, 2006). Its intention was to examine the impact of a play program on Verbal and Graphic-Figural Creativity, with a group of 86 students aged 11-12 years in four groups from two schools. The researcher developed the one-year intervention program based on play, group activity, dramatic creativity, creativity- based discussion and feedback methods. The 86 students were put into the experimental group (54) or the control group (32), and were spread among 4 groups. Two experimental groups received weekly two-hour sessions, while the regular curriculum was continued with the two control groups (n-32), who had drama as usual. Torrance (verbal and figural) Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) were used for pre/post-testing of all groups. ANOVA and MANOVA were used for data analysis. The use of the Torrance Test of creativity was also used in my study. Findings revealed that the training significantly improved creative personality behaviours, as well as verbal fluency (e.g., fluency scores: F(1,84) = 39.99), graphic fluency (e.g., fluency scores: F(1,84) = 15.31), and creative thinking. There was also a demonstrated correlation between a positive environment and students’ creative thinking skills. The study also found that group activity, dramatic creativity, creativity-based discussion and interactive feedback methods were all effective in terms of developing creative expression and skills. The researcher used multiple methods, verbal and graphic- figural, constructive and the dramatic creativity test to strengthen the credibility of the findings.

Several elements of this study were incorporated into my study, including support for the development of creative thinking in different domains, such as graphic- figural creativity, flexibility, originality, elaboration, fluency, expressiveness, and fantasy; and the researcher used the most recognised TTCT test for measuring creativity skills. However, the study does not mention whether the intervention was conducted in or out of school time; and there was no active control group to control for experimental effect.

In summary, selected empirical studies discussed above generally support the proposition that process drama techniques may support the development of skills, including that of creative thinking. Interestingly, Nelson and his colleagues (2010) believe that adaptability skills can be developed with the support of suitable interventions. They identify interventions that involve experiential diversity, such as

Chapter 2: Literature Review 55 including variety into practice scenarios (drama-based approaches) or other training stimuli (process drama techniques) that require trainees (students) to adapt their present performance approach in a fundamental way to consider an entirely new strategy. The researchers stress the important role of the environment in the process of becoming adaptable for example, the school context, opportunities offered, degree of encouragement from teachers, friends or family.

In Australia, Martin, Mansour, Anderson, Gibson, Liem and Sudmalis (2013b) conducted a longitudinal mixed-methods study that involved 643 primary and secondary school students in a total of 15 schools over a three-year period (Martin et al., 2013b). The findings suggest that school- home-, and community-based drama participation factors improved both academic and non-academic outcomes. The researchers also found that those effects held after controlling for socio-demographic and prior attainment factors. While many of the factors were unique to Australia and to the particular contexts under investigation, their use of drama engagement activities for predicting academic and non-academic outcomes is nonetheless of interest to the present study.

There are some commonalities between findings of studies that have focused on drama-based learning in terms of motivation and engagement (Fleming et al., 2004; Mansour, 2013; Martin et al., 2013). Participants in an Australian Research Council (ARC) project on the Arts suggest engagement is improved when students become motivated and more involved in school through experience in the drama classroom; and that higher achievement is the end result (Martin et al., 2013a).

Similarly, an assessment provided by The Royal National Theatre in London over three years of drama programs for primary school students in the United Kingdom (UK) reported a positive impact of drama approaches in terms of student self-esteem and self-assurance, the ability to cooperate, improved enjoyment of school, changes in creativity, encouraging aspects of literacy development (Turner et al., 2004). The report concluded that “drama promotes and supports children’s agency and engagement in educational developments” (Turner et al., 2004, p. 57).

A study conducted in the USA of an improvisation technique designed to enhance non-academic outcomes such as self-esteem, life satisfaction, and self- awareness (Krueger, Murphy, & Bink, 2019) applied a novel intervention approach called GOT (Get-on-Track). The participants received a two-hour session on the

56 Chapter 2: Literature Review

improvisation technique that was to be implemented over eight weeks. In the first session, the researcher supported the participants in learning each other’s names and then introduced the intervention. In sessions 2–4 participants shared their homework results for the first 15 minutes of class, then the sessions followed the same format: the improvisation theme of the day was presented, exercises were described and demonstrated, then everyone participated in the exercise, either simultaneously or in turn depending on the nature of the exercise. After each turn, the researcher asked participants to share their feelings and thoughts, with a prompt such as, ‘‘Tell us what that was like for you.’’ Pre/post-intervention measures were administered in the first and last week. The results found that there were significant decreases in anxiety symptoms (t= 4.67, p < 0.001 and t = 3.78, p < 0.001), and significant increases in self- esteem after treatment (t = 3.31, p < 0.002).

The study described above found that improvisation techniques have the power to develop self-esteem. It also reported that improvisation-based interventions can be used for behavioural stimulation (behavioural adaptability) that focuses on external rather than internal factors to address symptoms of anxiety. However, this study does not mention the age range of participants in the sample. The only information supplied was that the study sample was engaged through a psychiatric clinic in a public health setting. This intervention is important for the present investigation, however, because it shares commonalities with Martin’s study, which essentially demonstrates that behavioural activation involves increasing engagement in pleasant activities.

The selected empirical studies discussed above have all demonstrated that creative development can be enhanced in a school environment through dramatic experience. Taking these encouraging results into account, and combining them with the theoretical framework that informs this study, I argue that socio-cultural environment influences creativity in schools, such environment including all the different elements, such as teaching approaches, peers, and the classroom environment itself. There is no current literature that explores the link between interventions using drama techniques and students' adaptability skills; and it is to address this issue that I have applied process drama techniques to develop creative thinking and adaptability skills, focusing my intervention on classes of Year 7 students during their second term drama period in Sri Lankan schools.

Chapter 2: Literature Review 57 ASSESSING CREATIVE THINKING AND ADAPTABILITY SKILLS IN DRAMA

Considering the suitability of assessment criteria for evaluating creative thinking and adaptability skills of junior secondary drama students, Earl (2003) highlighted the fact that ‘there is no solitary activity called “classroom assessment”’ (Earl, 2003, p. 3). According to Filer (2000), the term assessment covers a range of findings in relation to students’ performance: from formal to informal, and including ongoing, formative, and analytical assessments. If the objective of creativity is to be included, it follows that it must occupy an equivalent position in relation to assessment.

An EU investigation of the possibility of measuring creativity has argued that ‘the advancement of creativity and invention in education requires having measures that can offer evidence on the progress made over the years’ (Hingel, 2009, p. 421). There is an increasingly substantial evidence base in respect to the impact of drama activities on learning, particularly in the area of creative thinking skill development, but also in relation to social and pedagogical ‘strands of purpose’ (O’Toole, Stinson, & Moore, 2009, p. 4). The power of drama to assist emotional connection is evidenced through changed student responses to learning (Ewing, 2011); and there is increasing literature that now argues the benefits of assessment in aesthetic subjects, and suggests a variety of creative work that is capable of being assessed with a high degree of integrity (Colwell & O'Connor, 2003). Assessment in the arts includes, for example, the presentation of skills (Hanley, Iwata, & McCord, 2003) and the creation of original work that can ‘motivate us with some earlier unseen thing’ (Kleiman, 2005, p. 1).

Boyle (2003) argues that the first step in assessing creativity in the drama classroom is ensuring that the curriculum (what is taught), pedagogy (how it is taught), and assessment (how the content is assessed) are in alignment; while Clark (2002) argues that well-structured assessment criteria provide a means for student performances to be evaluated without negotiating the kinds of different characteristics of individual creative processes that arise from different student responses to drama assessment tasks. Pritchard (2004), in turn, states that students need to apply subject knowledge via creative skills to address a task. In a drama performance situation, such assessment can be seen, for example, in students’ willingness/unwillingness to further develop performance skills or in performance work that demonstrates repetition of past faults and no evidence of progress or change.

58 Chapter 2: Literature Review

In relation to the literature on assessment of creative thinking and adaptability skills it is suggested by some researchers that performance-based assessment is in fact suitable for junior secondary school students as a means of determining understanding and demonstrating competencies (e.g., Beghetto, 2005; Ferrara & McTighe, 1994; Plucker & Beghetto, 2004). It allows a student to respond, create a product or perform to demonstrate what they know and what they can do. It also contributes to the aim of integrating knowledge across the curriculum, as it facilitates lifelong learning skills such as decision making, collaboration and communication (Craft, 2008).

Schafer (2005) has provided a comprehensive understanding of the advantages of performance-based assessment for drama. He argues that drama - as an individual or collaborative performance - requires the creation of a role and participation in a play; that it encourages fundamental, logical or emotional understanding, and makes the learning process more relevant and real. Acting also improves confidence, due to the experience of performance itself and to the supportive response which it usually receives; and it is collaborative, interactive and supportive. Working within the frame of a play contextualises the dramatic process; and the process of creating a character builds awareness of attributes, challenges and qualities of people we come into contact with in our daily lives; an awareness that is vital in real-life communication and interaction (Schafer, 2005).

The remainder of this chapter explores literature relating to creativity assessment frameworks used to assess performance-based drama approaches. Assessment of creativity is problematic because of the breadth of its nature, formation, dimension, and applicability in diverse domains. To place the assessment of creative skills in a Sri Lankan education context, there is currently no assessment format for drama in Sri Lankan schools except for written examinations. It is therefore necessary to look at examples from other jurisdictions.

Questions around developing and assessing ‘21st-century skills’ (including creativity and adaptability) have by now engaged consideration by governments and organisations worldwide. In Australia the Authority of Assessment and Teaching of 21-st Century Skills (ATC21S) developed an assessment framework to record how students develop two particular skills: those of collaborative problem-solving and ICT literacy (as cited in Griffin, 2014). Four skills sets are identified: ‘ways of thinking’, ‘ways of working’, ‘tools for working’, and ‘living in the world’. Creativity is

Chapter 2: Literature Review 59 positioned within the ‘ways of thinking’ group of skills (Spence et al., 2012). Each of the skills, and the creativity involved, is divided into a sequence of measurable descriptions based around a framework of Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes, Values, and Ethics (Spence et al., 2012).

Saltelli and Villalba (2008) recognised the difficulties inherent in measuring creativity.They suggested evaluating the association between product market regulation and efficiency, or between increases in the ‘creative class’ and financial development. They also looked at the cultural measurement of creativity, which is itself a multifactorial concept. They established five ‘pillars’ of indicators which approach creativity through a context-dependent, cooperative lens. These included: ‘human capital’, ‘technology’, ‘the institutional environment’, ‘the social environment’, and ‘openness and diversity’ (Saltelli & Villalba, 2008, p.20). Based on Saltelli and Villalba’s model, Kern and Runge (2008) concluded that ‘it is better to build a creativity index that concentrates on the social and economic factors that inspire creativity in general’ (Kern & Runge, 2008, p. 193). The focus on developing creativity in the educational context should be on developing a student’s ordinary creativity, the creativity that allows them to recognise who they are, to adapt and change, and to imagine and deliver a better tomorrow (Creativity, Culture & Education, 2013). It is further suggested that every school student has creativity within them, and that this potential is central to their capability to prosper in the 21st-century (CCE, 2013). Other researchers and theorists, however, focus on differentiation. Csikszentmihalyi (1996), for example, categorised difference between creative people and their less creative peers as lying in the 'complexity' of their movements of thought and action; a position that suggests that not all students have the capacity for - and therefore cannot be taught - creativity. I do not align with Csikszentmihalyi’s theory. I support the view that creativity is both teachable and learnable.

I did find three significant school-based literature reviews on the assessment of creativity that concur with my study, by Treffinger et al. (2002), Beattie (2000), and Harlen and Deakin Crick (2003). Treffinger et al.’s (2002) creativity assessment findings suggest that self-report data have the benefit of the comparative comfort of direction and scoring. They proposed a four-split approach to the assessment of creativity in schools, using a matrix joining behaviour or performance data, self-report data, rankings scales, and tests. However, it was observed that - standing alone - each

60 Chapter 2: Literature Review

element has more limitations than advantages. Beattie’s (2002) creativity assessment addresses questions concerning the opportunity for assessing creativity in a school curriculum, the features that might be possible to assess, and how and when the assessment might take place. She mentions a systems approach to interpreting the cultural context that identifies and “regulates what one must do in a domain and in a culture to be identified as creative” (Beattie, 2000, p. 181). However, Beattie’s approach to the assessment of creativity is inconsistent with Vygotsky (1978) and Craft’s (2008) idea of creativity development. Vygotsky’s (1978) work on the development of imagination in adolescents and on the extent to which young children can be creative and engage in imaginary play, for example, advised that even in an imaginary context, for the child ‘there is little of the imaginary’ (1978, p.103). Similarly, Craft (2008) supports a substitute ‘Possibility Thinking’ view, that ‘whilst the appearance of creativity is varied according to the domain of application the at- heart (creative) instinct is the same (across domains)’ (Craft, 2008, p.7). Harlen and Deakin Crick’s (2003) creativity assessment and provided evidence that computer software can assist teachers with formative assessment by recording data about how students understand new resources, and also by providing feedback to students, permitting the teacher to focus attention elsewhere. I found, however, some limitations in respect to applying this framework to the Sri Lankan situation, in that there was a lack of sufficient resources in the classroom.

I found a creativity assessment framework which was introduced by Bill Lucas in 2016. It is based on five Creative Habits of Mind, and has proved to be helpful for teachers considering possible openings for creative development in their students’ learning (Lucas, 2016). This model suggests assessment activities for students who are in the 5-14 age range, and is informed by Vygotsky’s socio-constructivist approach to thinking about learning (1978) and by Craft’s (2008) understanding of possibility thinking. Five dimensions of a creative disposition model have been developed that incorporate direct interaction with practitioners, the creative development of literature reviews, and national and international school-based research studies outcomes. During the project, researchers used a constructivist approach to designing the assessment tool, questioning residual summative approaches, and taking account of design challenges raised by Villalba (2008). The strength of this model is that each student’s profile is mapped frequently by measuring the sub-dispositions of the five

Chapter 2: Literature Review 61 habits and recording achievement, naming concrete behaviours according to the teacher´s observations. The tool also acts as a prompt to teachers to maintain focus and as a formative assessment tool to track student creativity. Two main benefits of assessing progress in the development of creativity were recognised by Thayer (2018): (i) teachers could be more detailed and confident in developing student’s creativity, and (ii) students gain an understanding of what it is to be creative. For this reason, this model was considered the most appropriate observation format for the assessing of creativity development in drama students in a cohort of students between 10-11 years of age. More comprehensive information is included in Chapter 4.

CHAPTER SUMMARY

This chapter began by describing the place of drama in the Sri Lankan curriculum. I then discussed the important potential of drama teaching to enhance creative thinking and adaptability development. I defined the meaning of creative thinking and adaptability skills according to my preparatory review of the literature in this investigation, and defined, described and discussed process drama and its suitability in this investigation. Finally, I discussed how to assess creative thinking and adaptability skills in the school context.

The literature review has several implications for this thesis. Before summing up, I should highlight the limitations of extant research on the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills in Sri Lankan students; as became evident in the writing of this chapter, not a single study was found. It is therefore hypothesised that my intervention will bridge this gap. The literature review has also identified the importance of the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills in students who are in junior secondary schooling. I believe that my research will go some way to contributing to the filling of this gap, and to providing a contribution to the experience of junior secondary school students, by providing a clear description of these particular drama teaching approaches. This study represents the first non-randomised control trial study designed for process drama to be conducted in Sri Lanka. It is intended to contribute detailed in-depth understanding of process drama, designed to be experienced in a socio-cultural context.

The following chapter outlines the theoretical framework used for this study on creativity, performance, and adaptation within the drama education context.

62 Chapter 2: Literature Review

Conceptual Framework

In the previous chapter I reviewed recent relevant research pertinent to my own interest in creative thinking and adaptability skills within the educational teaching and learning context. The literature reviewed is associated with the concepts of creativity and adaptability, and with how the terms “creative thinking” and “adaptability” are used, practiced, and prioritised; by whom and in what contexts. The literature provides strong evidence of the importance of creativity in education, of the belief that it is a core element of education policy frameworks and official programs, and that it is included in efforts to improve educational outcomes. In particular, it outlines understandings of selected creativity theories that have been linked to features and elements of the process drama approach (Lin, 2012), the intervention explored in this study

Creativity has come to be seen as playing a vital role in education for the 21-st Century. However, increased research interest in creativity has occurred without specific reference to theoretical frameworks (Craft, 2006). This chapter discusses important concepts of creativity in the education context, and outlines a possible framework for developing creativity in a way which identifies it as a foundational element of pedagogy: a conceptual framework in the field of creativity development.

This framework was used in the intervention study of this thesis in two of the evaluation tasks: observations of lessons and interviews with teachers and discussions with students to ascertain the effect of process drama on student creative thinking and adaptability skills. It is constructed via a combination of conceptual elements, designed to facilitate analysis of everyday creativity involved in student learning via the experience of process drama in the classroom. This chapter presents an orientation to the principles and processes underlying the two selected perspectives on learning and development.

The chapter is organised into two main sections. Section 3.1 provides an introduction to sociocultural perspectives on learning and development. I discuss Vygotsky’s main concepts which inform this thesis, and make connections between these and the implementation of process drama techniques for the development of

Chapter 3: Conceptual Framework 63 creative thinking and adaptability skills. Section 3.2 introduces Craft’s concept of possibility thinking and creativity, identified as essential elements of modern education, and I discuss the relevance of possibility thinking to the creative process in classrooms in line with definitions of everyday creativity. Craft (2000) argued that creativity can be described as an interconnection between people, processes, and domains. This perspective is helpful when exploring the developing creative thinking and adaptability skills of school students. These two lenses enable me to reconcile the difficulty in combining the ontological and epistemological mechanisms which are central to my research.

VYGOTSKY’S SOCIOCULTURAL PERSPECTIVES

In the early twentieth century, Lev Semenovich Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist who lived during the Russian Revolution (1896 –1934) developed a theory of development known as sociocultural theory; a theory that later gained worldwide recognition. The basic premise of sociocultural theory in relation to learning is that learning always takes place within a wider social system and should be observed and understood in this context. A theorist informed by this theory sees thinking and learning as socially and culturally combined and constructed activities (Ku, Phillipson, & Phillipson, 2015).

Many theorists today believe, as Vygotsky argued 85 years ago, that education should be concerned with the function of imagination and behaviour, informed by a vision for the future, enabling learners to act in and on the present (Daniels & Downes 2015; Davis et al., 2013; Davis, 2010); and much educational research, including in the field of drama, concerns itself with the intersection of experience (social interaction), learning, knowing and understanding. Drama inspires curiosity, develops flexibility, and the ability to improvise and problem-solve that leads to learning, imitation, and adaptation (Garaigordobil, 2006). Teaching by process drama is informed by Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory, particularly on the role of social and affective factors, which are important elements of drama, creativity and adaptation.

Vygotsky’s theory of learning, therefore, defines it primarily as a social process, one that shaped the beginning of human intelligence in society and culture. This understanding is foundational when considering student learning. A Vygotskian approach involves initial observation of students’ cognition within a sociocultural plane, and then mediation and the process of internalisation, which take place between

64 Chapter 3: Conceptual Framework

the social environment and the individual. Vygotsky (1978) viewed students' cognitive development as existing on two planes: ‘among the people’, or the individual, or ‘inside the child’. The ‘among the people’, or inter-psychological plane, is the catalyst for the development of students' higher mental functioning. The inter-psychological plane is the platform for the development of mental functions through social interactions which take place between students and other people who are more capable, including teachers, parents and friends (Ku et al., 2015). The ways in which a student learns and matures are regulated by mediation between the student's psychological self and his or her social or cultural environment.

Vygotsky (1978) identified mediation as central to the achievement and development of students' higher mental functions; the process which happens initially between the student and the social plane, before being internalised within the student's intrapersonal self. Vygotsky understood the processes of mediation and internalisation as leading students to ‘mature cultural forms of behaviour’ that relate the external and internal planes in a ‘genetic’ connection. This means that different resources - including parents, teachers, and peers who have more understanding and practice of sociocultural situations - become filters for students’ learning and cognitive development. With assistance and with direction from more skilled others, students can then engage with and internalise information and thinking tools provided to them at different levels and in different ways. Typically, this principle has been demonstrated by studying interactions between individuals with different knowledge levels; for example, students and their teachers. However, Vygotsky was not only concerned with what the more experienced participant brought to the interaction but also with what the students themselves brought, and with how the broader cultural and historical setting influenced the interaction (Tudge & Scrimsher, 2003). From this point of view, students participate collaboratively in joint activities; they work together to master new approaches and to build knowledge of the world and culture.

As well as believing that learning is a social process, to which participants bring their own knowledge and experience, Vygotsky considered children to be capable of solving problems beyond their actual developmental level, and of engaging in higher- order thinking when cooperating with a teacher or parent (1966). He saw self- motivated activity as a searching process, one that is constructed on an experiential assumption that the opening and the end levels of a learning task are better recalled -

Chapter 3: Conceptual Framework 65 and learned - than the ones in the middle; and that there is a need for careful structuring and scaffolding, hinting and probing, when a student fails at one level of a learning task, which continues until the student has understood and internalised enough of the learning to reach the next level, or to achieve their full capability.

As Vygotsky (1930/2004) argued, environmental factors work more on influencing behaviour through self-conceptualising rather than by directing outcomes. Self-regulation is a key concept in sociocultural theory, operating as a function of self- reinforcement, signifying a person’s propensity to either self-approve or self-criticise in relation to their own behaviours. The control device of self-concept is vital, since it can give students better control of their own behaviour. Self-concept is constantly influenced by environment. For example, students’ perceptions of their friends’ behaviours can influence their own academic self-regulation, which in turn can influence their outcomes in subject performance (Jones, Audley-Piotrowski, & Kiefer, 2012). The social and cultural nature of interaction and shared classroom learning experiences is an important factor in terms of the complexity of school adaptation. When students enter a new environment, they bring their learning from elsewhere to inform their understanding of the new context; to work out what behaviour is appropriate. In order to adjust, and to decide adaptation behaviours, they observe, gain feedback from teachers or other students. Behaviour, therefore, is affected both by external input, such as feedback, but also by internal self -regulation, whereby students judge their own behaviour and make self-evaluations according to their internal standards. This is an important component of the process of transitioning into a new learning environment. It is also a key aspect of a student’s progress in terms of motivation and academic achievement in the long term. Next, I discuss an important concept in Vygotskian theory, the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD).

Zone of Proximal Development The concept of ZPD has not only been influential in developing understanding of the learning process but also of the evaluation of that process in practice. According to Vygotsky, testing should not be based only on the current level of a student’s achievement but also (and mainly) on the student’s possible development (Vygotsky, 1978). He claimed that the actual level of development (level of individual performance) does not adequately define development; it rather reflects what is already developed or achieved; it is a “yesterday of development”. It is the level of assisted

66 Chapter 3: Conceptual Framework

performance that shows what a student can achieve in the near future; what is developing in the “tomorrow of development”; what a person “can be” (Verenikina, 2003, p. 3). The ZPD, therefore, is the all-important difference between what a student can achieve independently and what a student can achieve with guidance and inspiration from a more skilled person (Vygotsky, 1978). The term proximal (nearby) indicates that the support provided reaches just beyond the student’s current capability, complementing and building upon their current capabilities (Cole & Cole, 2001).

The concept of instructional scaffolding is strongly associated with the concept of ZPD (Pollie, Allman, Casto, & Norwood, 2018). Scaffolding refers to the set of tools or activities that support a student to accomplish a task effectively within the ZPD. In scaffolding both the student and the one offering the scaffold shape each other; they each adapt their behaviour as they cooperate (Verenikina, 2003). The form and scope of support offered in a particular learning experience is based on performance, and the scaffold is progressively phased out (Pollie et al., 2018). The expert encourages and directs the student by giving just enough support, by demonstrating, and emphasising essential elements of the task, as well as by frequently evaluating, assessing and adjusting support as needed (Pollie et al., 2018).

The basic idea of the ZPD and of the process of scaffolding is that the teacher facilitates learning rather than being a source of knowledge; deliverer of knowledge. Similarly, the student progressively takes on more tasks, such as deciding on their learning objectives, becoming a source of knowledge for others, and energetically cooperating in the learning process (Grabinger, Aplin, & Brenner, 2007). This modification in roles encourages customised, differentiated, and student-centred forms of teaching, and when combined with effective educational practices, it creates situations in which different people develop in-depth knowledge of subjects (Watson & Reigeluth, 2008). Other researchers have developed the idea of the ZPD in different ways. Rogoff (1990), for example, established a technique based on the concept of ZPD which is named guided participation. This includes collaboration and shared understanding of routine problem-solving actions. Adults support students in their development by directing their contribution to relevant activities, helping them to adjust their understanding to include new concepts and assisting them in their problem- solving attempts (Rogoff, 1990).

Chapter 3: Conceptual Framework 67 Just as Vygotsky (1978) argued that learning (cognitive development and/or change) is a social matter, informed by cognitive and behavioural regulation through social experience and achieved through the zone of proximal development and the processes of preparation and mediation (Ghefaili, 2003), he also theorised that beginner learners might learn more efficiently if they are placed with a more knowledgeable and experienced person when the task is within or just ahead of their developmental stage, and if the task represents a challenge.

This thesis is concerned with drama as a subject in Sri Lankan schools, and the ability of the drama curriculum to teach creative thinking and adaptability. Vygotsky’s work on the arts offers a useful lens through which to shape this exploration. Vygotsky examined the nature of learning in different areas of the arts and specifically discussed both the nature of dramatic creativity and the unique qualities of improvised drama created by children. In the next section, I discuss Vygotsky's theoretical understanding in relation to drama and creativity development.

Vygotsky on drama and creativity development Vygotsky appears to have been a fan of theatre. He wrote at length about drama and its relationship to children’s play and to creativity and imagination (Vygotsky, 1930/2004). His early academic work involved both the Psychology of Art (Vygotsky, 1971) and Aesthetic Education (Vygotsky, 1926/1992; 2003), both of which are essential to any consideration of drama education. He argued that drama is an important vehicle for the development of creativity, describing how it allows for varied types of creative engagement, when “the children themselves compose, improvise, or prepare the play, improvise the roles or sometimes dramatize some existing piece of literature” (Vygotsky, 1930/2004, p. 71). He noted the importance of engaging children in dramatic work that is age appropriate; and that process (exercise) is necessary for creative imagination (Vygotsky, 1930/2004). The influence of culture and drama is evident throughout Vygotsky’s work, which is possibly why his theorising of learning is so influential in arts and drama education. As John-Steiner (2015) remarks:

Drama is an exceptional lens through which to view Vygotsky’s theories of learning, development, language and creativity. His first publication, The Psychology of Art (1925), deals widely with Hamlet within the context of a broader theory about the transformative value of art. Central to this theory,

68 Chapter 3: Conceptual Framework

first developed in this early work, was his consideration of drama, film, painting and writing as deeply social processes (John-Steiner, 2015, p. XV).

Vygotsky believed that creative opportunities represent open doors to express ideas and emotions: “Art is the effort of the mind and extraordinary emotional thinking” (Vygotsky, 1971, p. 48). He believed that shape, content, ideas and tools are essential for emotional response: “In a work of art, it is the emotional reaction it generates that is important” (Vygotsky, 1971, p. 206). Vygotsky, however, notably defined how the expression of this emotion draws on social situations and on the capabilities of both the creator and the audience; and he argued that the expression of ideas and emotions through art is essential for everyone: “Art is the social practice of emotion, a tool of society which creates the most personal and intimate aspects of our being into the circle of social life” (Vygotsky, 1971, p. 249). This explanation connects directly with the process drama approach, described in section 2.3.1. Process drama is an open arena in which students can play, explore, represent, reflect, and investigate a story deeply. In this sense, as students engage in collaborative, self-generating activities they learn new approaches to experience and gain knowledge of the world and of culture. They generally create their story according to their own sociocultural context; and Vygotsky was not only concerned with what the more experienced participant(s) bring to the interaction, but also with what the students themselves bring; as well as with how the broader cultural and historical setting influences the interaction (Tudge & Scrimsher, 2003).

Vygotsky (1930/2004) emphasised the importance of creativity in terms of productive human development; and highlighted the important role of drama in helping children to develop creativity and imagination. He commented:

Any human act that gives rise to something new is referred to as a creative act, regardless of whether what is created is a physical object or some mental or emotional construct that lives within the person who created it and is known only to him (Vygotsky, 1930/2004, p. 7).

He believed that imagination is the basis for all creativity, hypothesizing the role of imagination as a cycle. According to Vygotsky: ‘… the dramatic form expresses with greatest clarity the full cycle of imagination […] Here the image that the

Chapter 3: Conceptual Framework 69 imagination has created from real elements of reality is embodied and realized again in reality …’ (Vygotsky, 1930/2004, p. 70). Vygotsky (1998) further added,

Imagination does not develop all at once, but very slowly and gradually evolves from more elementary and simpler forms into more complex ones. At each stage of development, it has its own expression; each stage of childhood has its own characteristic form of creation. Furthermore, it does not occupy a separate place in human behaviour, but depends directly on other forms of human activity, especially accrual of experience (Vygotsky, 1998, p154).

Daniels and Downes’ (2015) interpretation of Vygotsky’s work has argued that drama can help students' personal development, and that the active promotion of creativity should be a central function of schooling. Further, Vygotsky saw a link between onstage (or in-class) drama and the drama of everyday life (Smagorinsky, 2011), such as situations where dramatic tensions exist, affect motivation and emotional experiences, and define thinking and learning. Teachers can create learning environments that maximise students' ability to interact with their peers through discussion, collaboration, and feedback; this is the social constructivist model of knowledge as a product of social interaction mediated by activities and communication (Vygotsky, 1978).

Vygotsky’s theory applies well to the framework I am constructing for the investigation of learning processes and practices capable of nurturing creative thinking and adaptability skills. According to Vygotsky (1978), tools, signs, mediated activity, and the zone of proximal development are dominant in navigating human activity. The combination of these concepts, within a sociocultural framework, have consequences for creative action in terms of what is considered creative thinking within a sociocultural situation. Vygotsky says there is a connection between emotion, thought, and the role of imagination in creative thought (Lindqvist, 2003). When engaging in drama, creative thought, improvised actions, or other creative activities happens frequently. As such, allowing the actor to think and say things on a whim or more creatively given their individual perspective, which is related to original notions of creativity coincides with freedom of thought and expression. It may be that the sociocultural perspective provide an open arena for individuals or groups to be exposed to new experiences, think of novel ideas, and help drive economic demands. Teaching

70 Chapter 3: Conceptual Framework

for creativity, therefore, involves the student moving from outside experience to internal knowing through to external creative representation: participating in a process.

The application of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory to the present study Informed by understandings of creativity, performance, and adaptation within the drama education context, Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory will suit the activities which I have created for classroom lessons and explain how the various interactions work. As I noted in my literature section (2.2.1), creative thinking is a multifaceted process that can be understood as a collaborative arrangement in which there is an association between (a) person, (b) process, (c) products, and (d) social and cultural setting. Also, importantly, Vygotsky (1978) believed that knowledge always begins with social interactions. He argued that when students are participating in teamwork with their peers a collective idea is formed by the interaction which is qualitatively dissimilar to the concept produced by the individual; and this collective thinking process offers the chance to be engaged in combined decision-making processes which are essentially sociocultural.

Vygotsky’s work highlights the significance of different types of interactions, including those between the student and more scholarly others (including teachers and peers), and tools and interactions in the development of creative skills. In considering the types of learning that may occur through process drama techniques, Vygotsky’s work on the psychology of art and aesthetic learning offers some useful insights. Creative and adaptability skills development is not just about learning particular concepts; it involves collaboration on the development of ideas and emotions through the work of the imagination, which is then represented in material shape as signs, symbols and artefacts. “The relation between thinking and words is a living process; thought is born through words" (Vygotsky, 1986, p. 255).

As noted previously, Vygotsky's theory concerning the development of higher mental functions informs work with students’ conceptual development and guides teachers’ instructional approach and teaching of concepts. During the young adolescent stage, development includes the ongoing expansion of brain functions that allow for planning, reasoning, sustaining attention, and decision making (Caskey & Ruben, 2007). This cognitive development provides young adolescents with an increased ability to understand and to reason (Stevenson, 2002). At this stage they prefer active to passive learning involvement, and are most engaged in learning when

Chapter 3: Conceptual Framework 71 they are allowed to cooperate with their peers during learning activities (Kellough & Kellough, 2008). Process drama includes dramatic tension and ‘pre-text’ activities, to invite students to investigate, hypothesise and problem solve. These activities require active engagement, with students constructing the dramatic action, investigating, problem-solving, creating dramatic encounters, and expanding their own learning and understanding.

Finally, Vygotsky’s theory emphasises the facilitating role of the socio-cultural environment in presenting cultural rules, values and purposes through social interaction. His concept of creativity suggests new parameters for drama which may serve to develop creative thinking and adaptability skills in individual students. Drama teaching and learning always happens within a social group environment, in which students will have different ZPDs and different objectives. The socio-cultural context of learning means that interaction impacts significantly on the divergent thinking of students. Interactions in which students’ express ideas, enquire, question, consider the ideas or views of others, discuss possible solutions, and maintain these attitudes long- term support the development and enhancement of creative thinking and adaptability skills. For example, process drama techniques include the technique of ‘hot-seat’, where the leader or teacher often acts in-role alongside their students, managing and extending the process both in-role and out within the drama domain. Improvisation and storytelling allow students to discuss and reflect upon their learning and to manage situations occurring in their everyday lives. There is a significant focus on process, but the drama is also intrinsically bound up with action; and with creative expression and reflection, elements that need to be actively scaffolded, exercised, rehearsed and refined with someone more expert than the students (the drama teacher).

However, there are some limitations to the relationship between the process drama approach and sociocultural theory (Pollie et al., 2018; Rogoff, 1990). The main limitation is that Vygotsky’s theories remained incomplete because of his premature death (he died when he was 37). His work was mostly anonymous due to political and translation issues. The second limitation concerns the vagueness of the ZPD concept. For example, there is little known about whether a student’s zone is the same across different learning domains, with different personalities, or whether the size of the zone changes over time. Rogoff (1990) made the point that Vygotsky’s theories may not be as applicable to all cultures as initially thought. She provides an example of scaffolding

72 Chapter 3: Conceptual Framework

being deeply reliant on oral instruction and thus not similarly useful in all cultures for all types of learning. In the next section, I discuss possibility thinking, which I also identify in this thesis as applicable to the enhancement of students’ creative thinking and adaptability skills.

POSSIBILITY THINKING

Within existing work in the area of creativity research one main focus is that of identifying characteristics of ‘possibility thinking’ as potential support for creativity development in school students. ‘Possibility thinking’, as noted earlier, is the second creativity lens in my conceptual framework for incorporating everyday creativity into the school setting. It is important to investigate the application of developing conceptualisations of ‘possibility thinking’ in terms of their suitability to be applied in multimodal methods of dramatic enquiry. In this section, therefore, I argue the case for new approaches to developing school students’ everyday creativity skills, drawing on Craft’s (2000) concept of “little c” creativity.

The term possibility thinking (PT) was initially created by Craft in 2000 to characterise a process which may be understood to be widespread across creativity experience in different areas of enquiry and life, from ‘little-c’ to ‘big-c’ creativity (Beghetto & Kaufman, 2007; Craft, Cremin, Burnard, Dragovic, & Chappell, 2013). Kaufman and Beghetto (2009) described four categories: Big C creativity, Pro-c creativity, little c and mini c creativity.

The Big C category, sometimes termed ‘high’ creativity, denotes extraordinary, permanent and established creative gifts, often in a particular domain. This form of creativity is considered to be innovative and revolutionary, even if it not recognised at the time. For instance, theories such as Einstein’s theory of relativity or Darwin’s theory of evolution, and works of art such as Picasso’s Guernica, Jane Austen’s novel Emma, or Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor are examples of big- C creativity. Big-C creativity is out of the reach of most people, and big-C creators are themselves often as extraordinary as their creations (Chandler, 2012; Craft, 2003; Csikszentmihalyi, 2013; Gardner, 2011; Kaufman & Beghetto, 2009; Nickerson, 2004).

Pro-c creativity is described as needing time (up to 10 years or more) and energy to develop. A professional actor, for example, who dreams in childhood of becoming

Chapter 3: Conceptual Framework 73 an actor and trains up to degree level and finally reaches the stage of giving a classical performance could be classified as demonstrating Pro-c creativity. A senior professor who is teaching successfully at a university and undertaking important academic research could also be classified as a Pro-c creator (Kaufman & Beghetto, 2009).

Little-c creativity refers to the kinds of creative activity that enable an individual to solve everyday problems in unique ways. It is about ‘acting with flexibility, intelligence and novelty in the everyday’ (Craft, 2005, p. 43); which results in creating something new that has ‘originality and meaningfulness’ (Richards, 2007, p. 5). This everyday kind of creativity can be developed in school if students are engaged in purposeful practice in their discipline (Craft, 2003; 2005; 2007).

Mini-c creativity is defined as the ‘novel and personally meaningful interpretation of experiences, actions, and events’ (Kaufman & Beghetto, 2007, p. 73). This is the kind of creativity that can be cultivated by teachers and parents. ‘Mini-c happens when a person demonstrates “flexibility, intelligence and novelty” in their thinking’ (Craft, 2005, p. 19). It is regularly applied, and certainly not limited to children’s creativity. Mini-c creativity could comprise making a new connection between present knowledge and new information, which allows for fuller comprehension of something. The creativity which is the main focus of this thesis is this little-c creativity, sometimes referred to as “everyday creativity.”

Little -c creativity is in evidence when individuals solve problems in ways that are novel to that individual but do not add to the overall development of human knowledge (Craft, 2003). It is therefore something that can be supported and taught in the classroom setting, unlike Big C creativity, which is necessarily limited and difficult to learn or teach (Chandler, 2012; Hong & Kang, 2010), but occurs in socially structured systems and is potentially paradigm-shifting creativity (Craft, 2003; Craft, 2007; Haigh, 2007). Researchers have argued that having a broader understanding of creativity can help recognise the potential of the smaller (Mini-c and Little-c) levels of creativity in the classroom (Beghetto & Kaufman, 2014). Craft (2007; 2008) identified three integrated elements of Little- c creativity: agents, process and domains. I now briefly explain these three components.

Agents: An agent is defined as the individual involved in creative activity. Little- c creativity highlights the uniqueness of each person who has ‘the freedom to solve problems in a self-regulated manner’ (Haigh, 2007, p. 23). For example, students make

74 Chapter 3: Conceptual Framework

choices which they believe to be the best solutions for a particular problem. These choices will imitate similar choices in the larger world around them, allowing them to solve problems in a self-determining manner (Craft, 2007; Newton, 2010). The approach and action of the agent or individual is a vital characteristic of little-c creativity.

Process: The process of little-c creativity involves both independence and disappointment. Through the process the agent takes risks and applies effort in seeking novel solutions to a specific problem (Craft, 2007; Newton, 2010). The underlying responses for little-c creativity can be either rational or intuitive. Some students may provide logical reasons for their actions; others may not be able to explain their reasoning; they have an intuitive sense of how something will work. Both sets of circumstances involve the application of imagination and elements of risk-taking (Craft, 2007).

Domain: Little-c creativity is associated with lifelong learning. This form of creativity extends across domains, drawing on skills that are developed through the creative process itself, not necessarily in relation to specific creations or knowledge, and not limited to particular subjects. Lessons learned while developing and applying little-c creativity can be applied to infinite conditions both in and out of the classroom setting (Craft, 2007).

Possibility thinking is defined (Craft, 2001) as lying at the core of little ‘c’ creativity. Craft worked to identify what characterises possibility thinking in relation to creative learning, developing a model for identifying and documenting what forms it takes in the learning experience of young children, and how teachers might nurture it as an aspect of creativity (Burnard, Craft, & Grainger, 2006). It involves both problem-finding and problem-solving; and the conceptual difference has been explored and validated through experimental work in primary classrooms (Jeffrey & Craft, 2004).

According to Craft (2001), PT can be identified through the three-way perspective of people/agents, processes and domains. Through observation and data analysis from her own research studies she identified ten elements, with corresponding sets of concepts (Burnard et al., 2006; Craft et al., 2007; Craft et al., 2013; Jeffery & Craft, 2004):

Chapter 3: Conceptual Framework 75 o Question-posing - investigative behaviour, verbal and non-verbal o Question-responding - behaviour responding to investigations by self and others, both verbal and non-verbal o Self-determination - self-directed actions, self-chosen o Intentional action - activity/behaviour having a clear goal o Development - thinking moving forwards o Being imaginative - ‘as if’ thinking o Play/playfulness - being in an ‘as if’ space, improvising o Immersion - concentration, absorption, orientation (engagement) o Innovation - original /unique outcome/behaviour o Risk-taking - danger, failure, fear, ‘going to the edge.’

For Craft question-posing and question responding are essential elements of both possibility thinking and Little c creativity, because it is impossible to find original solutions without being open to possibilities (Craft, 2000; Craft et al., 2001). She argues that a feature shared by possibility thinkers is that of inquisitiveness; a quality that she maintains comes innately to children, and which she associates with imagination, which she identifies as playing a crucial role in being creative (Craft, 2004). Imagination offers a means of innovation for the individual, allowing them to visualise new possibilities, new challenges, “going beyond the obvious … seeing more than is initially apparent” (Craft, 2000, p. 4). Craft also sees play as an important component of possibility thinking, closely associated with imagination (2000, Craft et al., 2001; Craft et al., 2008); the two concepts are frequently linked together with ideas for generating new possibilities. Play grows an individual’s knowledge and understanding in different domains, and Craft describes it as a key element of both problem-solving and social interaction skills development, in relation to both private and public dimensions of the creative process.

Craft and her colleagues (Craft et al., 2007) also identify a connection between paly and innovation in the creative process. They found in their research evidence that students make strong and playful connections between ideas and understandings when offered well-chosen provocations to inspire the connection-making. Drama provides such provocations. Active performance and engagement which involves individual response and also collaborative meaning-making provides a sense of being “in the moment” (Craft, 2000, p. 44) which appeals to the student’s body, imagination and

76 Chapter 3: Conceptual Framework

sensory abilities. Craft agrees with Gardner (1994) in relation to the possibilities offered to teachers by using these techniques to support the development of students’ inner creativity, by engaging them in life experiences and interactions through role play. These dramatic activities help to build knowledge and understanding, logically, aesthetically and physically, in a safe and stimulating environment.

Craft (2008) also identified the importance of immersion in relation to possibility thinking and Little c creativity, allowing students to become deeply engaged or absorbed within a safe classroom environment. She talks about the importance of each classroom offering love and support in a positive environment to encourage the growth of everyday creativity; and identifies self-determination and risk-taking as essential elements of possibility thinking and Little c creativity, both essential for change (Craft, 1997). Risk-taking is important in terms of learning, adaptability and development (Hargreaves, 1994, p. 254). It allows the individual to regulate the level of their personal engagement, and to evaluate the degree of advantage they might gain in choosing an idea or action; to estimate the possibility of failure. Risk taking permits students to develop new skills, which they can incorporate into their creative practice to further develop their creative identity.

In considering ways in which teachers can nurture ‘possibility thinking’ as an element of creativity in their classrooms, Craft emphasises the importance of posing the question ‘what if?’ in various ways and situations, together with adopting the perspective of ‘as if’ thinking (Craft, 2000, 2001, 2002). Possibility thinking, therefore, can be viewed as moving from “what is this, and what does it do?” to “what can I or we do with this?” (Craft et al., 2013, p.34).

Most of the research studies from the UK (e.g. Jeffrey, 2006; Jeffrey & Craft, 2004; Jeffrey & Woods, 2009) have explored connections between teaching strategies and creativity. The researchers mentioned above have made the obvious connection between creative teaching and student creativity; but as Craft (2005) comments, this is not a simple equation; it depends in part on the degree to which the implemented pedagogy is inclusive and co-participative. Craft (2005) recognises teachers as powerful role models, who can encourage students with their own demonstrated creativity; and she recommends that in fully co-participative classrooms teachers and students investigate issues, create questions, recognise problems and opportunities together, reflecting upon their thinking and their learning throughout the process

Chapter 3: Conceptual Framework 77 (Jeffrey & Craft, 2006). A critical feature of such an inclusive approach to teaching and learning is that control is given back to the student.

I contend that the characteristics of possibility thinking would be applied to drama to inspect the association between creativity and classroom learning and the development of higher forms of creative expression. Such an approach will support teachers in encouraging and nurturing everyday creativity that can lead on to further creative pursuits, in effect to encourage a lifetime of creative learning and expression. I believe that possibility thinking is a strong potential element of such a framework to enhance both pedagogical approaches and the development of that creativity (Little-c creativity) and adaptation capacity.

Possibility thinking and process drama techniques The main focus of this thesis is to explore ways in which process drama techniques can help to develop creative thinking and adaptability skills. The choice of these terms is important; and the focus is clearly on drama learning. This is not about recognising and nurturing skills that some students may have while others do not; nor is it about development of talented (gifted) students. An element of this inquiry is the nature of creative practice through using process drama techniques and drama pedagogy. Formulated in these terms, this thesis explores the nature and potential of possibility thinking in relation to creativity and process drama teaching techniques. The design of the enquiry is believed to assist in verifying the real experience of ‘possibility thinking’ in the actions and behaviours observed in students’ engagement in the teaching and learning process.

Drama ideally presents an energetic and safe learning environment that nurtures possibility thinking qualities and experience (Lin, 2012). Developing students’ possibility thinking can be seen as creating strength in self-confidence, and as increasing capabilities as confidence increases (Craft, 2008). Process drama requires regular body movement as well as emotional and cognitive engagement to explore ideas, thoughts and feelings through dramatic communication (Heinig, 2003). Students’ dramatic expressions are often inspired to imagine and to engage in situations and conditions that allow them to observe and critically reflect on someone else’s experience (Bowell & Heap, 2017). This study is also designed to explore how process drama techniques, combined with possibility thinking perspectives, might help to develop students’ adaptation skills. For example, the hot-seat technique helps them

78 Chapter 3: Conceptual Framework

to think, as an alternative to being taught. Story-telling techniques create a safe environment which creates opportunities for playfulness and engagement. Improvisation techniques open the door to the free expression of students’ ideas and exploration of alternatives and variations (Kovács, 2014).

Interestingly, process drama has been linked with the practice of the “as if” approach which is part of possibility thinking (Kovács, 2014). For example, the three approaches selected as focus in this study connect easily with possibility thinking, helping to develop creative thinking and to prepare students to be adaptable when facing real-life situations; to gain emotional balance and stability, creative thinking capacity and self-knowledge (Celume et al., 2019). The United Kingdom National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education (NACCCE) recommends that everyday creativity and innovation should be included in the classroom (Jeffery & Craft, 2007); that creative approaches be adopted to make learning more interesting and effective (Jeffrey & Craft, 2004, p.81). As detailed in the above discussion, drama approaches are shaped by creative and innovative techniques designed to make the learning content alive and vivid (Heinig, 2003); the teacher’s role as a facilitator of creativity is often to stand back, to create space for possibility thinking, to encourage students’ self-direction and creative engagement in learning (Cremin, Burnard, & Craft, 2006). As Davis (2017) explains, drama teachers work to foster students’ agency; to be prepared to purposely withhold their skills or knowledge at times, even if it means long uncomfortable pauses while the group - or individual - figure out what to say or do for themselves; it must be the students’ work.

My focus in this chapter has been to move beyond an evidence-based analysis of PT; to explore in more detail how PT drives creativity in the drama classroom by considering the process drama techniques of improvisation, storytelling and hot-seat, included by many practitioners of process drama. Dramatic performance lies at the heart of drama; it is the inventive resource that gives pleasure and extends the imagination (Dickinson & Neelands, 2006). No matter the form - fairy tale, a historical event, or social scenario that needs to be developed, there is always tension; and it is this tension that allows drama teachers to engage students’ interest to react, to feel, to investigate problems and search imaginatively for solutions. If ‘story’ and ‘situation’ are the triggers for stimulating spontaneous inquiry, then process drama techniques can be understood as a medium or vehicle for carrying this experience and developing

Chapter 3: Conceptual Framework 79 dramatic contexts. By taking on different roles and experiencing different situations, students are invited to not only face challenges but also to make sense of what is happening and what they are doing; of the issues that they are investigating that might otherwise remain abstract and unengaging (Ewing, 2018).

In a process drama context, students’ interest and their active engagement are awakened; and as they experience the satisfaction of creating a new story (storytelling), face new conversations and interactions (improvisation), or construct arguments in social scenarios (hot-seat), they also have the opportunity to understand tensions in themselves, to solve problems, or discover gaps or spaces in their characterisation (Billikova & Kissova, 2013; Sarıca & Usluel, 2016; Taylor & Warner, 2006). Students not only survive challenges and increase their understanding by taking on different roles, they also learn to ask questions, to inquire, to take risks, and to be playful in the invention of new ideas. Also, importantly, the social learning environment of process drama provides the sustenance for possibility thinking (Davis, 2015).

In summary, I believe that process drama offers an energising and safe learning context in which there are no spectators, therefore no sense of judgement or self- consciousness around behaviour that they might feel in the real world. It offers space in which students can experiment with innovation, can play, explore in depth, develop and self-determine (Celume et al., 2019). Learning in the drama is intentionally active; while in role, students move in and out between the real and the imagined dramatic world, experiencing other imagined lives, walking in others’ shoes; then moving out of role to observe and to critically reflect.

These positive and energising situations do not occur in the drama classrooms in Sri Lanka (Irugalbandara & Campbell, 2020). Traditional drama teaching consists of sitting, listening, and taking notes; it does not offer opportunities for the development of students’ possibility thinking or imaginative experience. Students’ own capabilities for action or expression are not encouraged. It is my intention in this project to invite students to be motivated to make their own decisions and judgments, to engage in and to contribute to their own active and creative learning, instead of continuing to experience “learning by authority”. It is my hope that process drama techniques may facilitate possibility thinking, imagination and innovation; and that teachers experience the potential of teaching for creativity and adaptability development.

80 Chapter 3: Conceptual Framework

CHAPTER SUMMARY

In this Chapter I have analysed and justified the use of process drama techniques in terms of the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills of school students with the combined support of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and Craft’s possibility thinking. As demonstrated, both perspectives suggest that teaching techniques, teacher behaviour, and social relationships in schools all impact on the development of creative thinking and adaptive skills.

The discussion of creative thinking (section 2.3) and adaptability skills (section 2.4) has indicated that both skill sets have similar characteristics; both involve adjusting to novel situations, developing products/performances that respond to new scenarios or changed conditions, and creating original thoughts which are suitable for the situations or social contexts in which they are represented. Adaptive and creative thinkers create original ideas that fit existing paradigms but also challenge them (Kim & Pierce, 2013). Adaptability is a vital element of problem-solving (Nelson, Zaccaro, & Herman, 2010, Pulakos, Arad, Donovan, & Plamondon, 2010); as is creative thinking (Sacramento, Fay, & West, 2013). Research evidence offered by Nelson et al., (2010) and Pulakos et al., (2010) also supports these ideas; and Craft (2008), Holtkamp (2014), and Runco (2014) emphasise the fact that key elements of both creative thinking and adaptability skills are teachable/learnable.

While creativity has often been associated with adaptability skills, it is noted that the two concepts do not denote the same thing (Holtkamp, 2014). Interestingly, Runco (2004) suggests a different relationship: that creativity enables and enhances problem solving, adaptability, and self-expression. This thesis aligns with Runco’s position: that creative thinking and adaptability skills facilitate problem-solving skills. A student who is adaptable is expected to be more effective in a novel, challenging situation than a student who is not (Nelson et al., 2010; Pulakos et al., 2000); a student who is creative in using skills to generate novel ideas to solve problems will perform better (Hoever et al., 2012; Lord & Hall, 2005; Sacramento et al., 2013). These understandings inform effective teaching for effective learning.

The brief summary of sociocultural theory I have provided explains how interactions between a person and a specific sociocultural context provide the stimulus for the development of creativity and adaptability characteristics; and discussion of possibility thinking, as reflected in creativity literature, suggests that the kinds of

Chapter 3: Conceptual Framework 81 pedagogical practices which foster creativity in students guide teachers’ planning for and assessment of students’ everyday creativity skills. Both theoretical models support teaching for creativity, and take into account that students are aware of the social norms of the group, and tend to adapt and alter their behaviours to blend with the group (adaptability).

The major argument of this thesis is that the Sri Lankan school curriculum does not support the development of students’ creative thinking and adaptability skills, the skills they need to participate effectively in the world of work; and that there is a need for a conceptual model that acknowledges and differentiates between cognitive, affective and behavioural characteristics of the individual, and interactions between people. I believe that the two interconnected theoretical frames identified above provide appropriate support for the design and analysis of this project.

82 Chapter 3: Conceptual Framework

Research Design

In the previous chapter I have outlined the theoretical framework to this study, which is informed by Vygotsky and Craft’s (Vygotsky, 1931/1998; Craft, 2000, 2008) respective understandings of everyday creativity, creative thinking and adaptability skills, and by their insights to the teaching and learning of drama. For example, Vygotsky understands learning as a socio-cultural activity that involves all combinations of signs, symbols and objects; while Craft’s focus on the development of everyday creativity advocates creative teaching approaches that enhance students’ own decision-making, engagement, and contributions to their own learning.

In Chapter1 I stated that the purpose of this thesis was to investigate the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills of Sri Lankan secondary school students through the adoption of process drama techniques. The following research question was developed to guide the study:

‘Does including process drama techniques in the teaching-learning program in drama improve creative thinking and adaptability skills of junior secondary school students?’

To respond to this broad research question, I developed, implemented and evaluated an intervention program that used process drama techniques for the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills in children aged 11-12 who are taking Drama as a subject in Grade 7.

This chapter is concerned with the research methodological framework designed and implemented to achieve the research aim and objectives. It offers an overview of my research design.

In section 4.1, I present a detailed rationale for the methodology and research design of this thesis, justifying the design and its capacity to answer the research question framed through Vygotsky’s (1978) and Craft’s (2008) conceptual lenses. Additionally, I outline how the study was conducted to address the research question with accuracy and integrity. In sections 4.4 and 4.5, I further illustrate the detail of both measures and procedures; and in the final section, 4.6, I discuss the fidelity, acceptability and feasibility of the intervention.

Chapter 4: Research Design 83 METHODOLOGY

The research design is focussed on determining the effectiveness of process drama techniques to enhance creative thinking and adaptability skills in Sri Lankan secondary school students. It is noted that the research was not concerned with either teacher creativity or particular imaginative settings/contexts. Teacher creativity was not examined as my focus was on how the intervention program impacted the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills in children aged 11-12. Hence the significance was in part the school sites, as well as the practices, pedagogies and perspectives adopted by teachers in those school sites. My focus was with “strong and enduring” approaches to the drama context (Davis, 2010), on the effect on the students. In what follows, I outline the non-randomised controlled trial (NRCT) methodology I adopted.

A Non- Randomised Controlled Trial (NRCT) Design The final objective of evaluation of any intervention is to generate effective judgment about the usefulness of the intervention in terms of both internal and external validity (Deeks et al., 2003). Internal validity involves the extent to which the outcomes of a study can be dependably credited to the intervention under evaluation (Gliner, Morgan, & Harmon, 2003). External validity includes the extent to which the results of a study can be generalised beyond the given context (Laupacis, 2002). Therefore, a randomised controlled trial (RCT) is widely used as the design for assessing the effectiveness of educational interventions (Torgerson & Torgerson, 2001); and RCTs are accepted as the gold standard.

The main advantage of the RCT is the use of a randomisation process that, when appropriately applied, guarantees that the allocation of any member to one treatment or another cannot be predicted (Deeks et al., 2003). “Randomised controlled trials are the most rigorous way of determining whether a cause-effect relative exists between treatment and outcome and for assessing the treatment” (McConnell et al., 2012, p. 1). The randomisation process makes the groups equivalent to both known and unknown predictive issues at baseline, separate from any chance bias (D’Agostino, 1998). However, the gold standard is not always the best solution for interventions, nor is it always feasible (Tanaka et al., 2016). Black (1996) suggests that randomisation is not possible in intact school classes because it may be unnecessary, unsuitable, unfeasible or insufficient (Black, 1996). As Deeks et al. (2003) note, the difference in outcomes

84 Chapter 4: Research Design

between randomised and non-randomised (NRCT) trials is the risk of selection bias, whereby “differences in comparison groups arise at baseline; when participants were chosen for one intervention have different characteristics from those allocated to the alternative intervention” (Deeks et al., 2003, p. 3). The main feature of non– randomised control trials is the researcher’s power to control and group participants, without randomisation. Further, there is a acceptance that NRCT studies are suitable for the assessment of effectiveness and can be supported to generalise results (Deeks et al., 2003).

The study’s design for this thesis was based on a NRCT approach for the overall evaluation of the intervention program for drama students in Grade 7 in Sri Lanka. This method was chosen because the classes were intact, and neither the classes nor the schools could be randomly assigned because of the need to select willing and experienced drama teachers. In addition, because the goal of my intervention was to explore how the intervention strategies affected students’ creative thinking and adaptability skills, a NRCT seemed appropriate (Fraser, 2004). An excellent study design involves minimising all possible sources of bias (Smith & Noble, 2014). Therefore, to avoid all potential bias and reduce common pitfalls in relation to bias, prior to the intervention the whole process was evaluated by the QUT Faculty ethics committee. After that, to avoid selection bias, a non- randomised method was used to establish three groups to compare the intervention. Group1 was named as an intervention group (treatment group), and consisted of two classes in two different schools. Group 2 was named as an active control group (who received a different intervention), and consisted of a different two classes in another two different schools. Group 3, named as the control group (who were taught as usual) consisted of another two classes in another two different schools. The groupings are explained in more detail in 5.1.2 sub-section. To avoid data collection bias, a well-designed research protocol was implemented. The intervention manual and the measures used were piloted in a class in Brisbane. Inter-rater reliability was used for marking the quantitative data and back translation for the other data. A full discussion of the back translation used in this study is undertaken in Section 5.3. The study involved quantitative data, in the form of pre- and post-survey instruments, but the study also included a method for collecting other qualitative data in order to determine the intervention’s fidelity, acceptability, and feasibility.

Chapter 4: Research Design 85 To identify the fidelity of implementation of the program, and the acceptability and the feasibility of the program, data were collected in the form of interviews, discussions and observations. Bonoma (1985) has argued that collecting different types of data through different methods and from different sources may offer a fuller picture of the problem under study than would have been otherwise obtained. My research process was based on the sociocultural lens incorporating everyday creativity into the school setting (Please refer to section 3.1). The conceptual framework proposed that mental constructions of reality are based on people’s experiences and views (sociocultural theory); real experience in the actions and behaviours could be observed in students’ engagement in the teaching and learning process (possibility thinking). The process of the study was, therefore, actually a process that facilitated a high level of interaction between students and their teacher. The interviews conducted signified social interaction, for example, due to the large number of student participants (six classes of students), pre/post-tests were considered more appropriate to determine the effect of the intervention than interviews. However, to gather in-depth data on the experiences of this cohort, interview and focus groups were conducted with teachers and students for the intervention group only. According to Vygotsky (1978), human learning and development are mediated by tools or signs - semiotics. In this study, therefore, tools were used in varied situations in a learning and development environment. For example, as Cohen, Manion and Morrison (2000) note, lesson observations were suitable to examine the intervention as it was conducted.

Table 1 illustrates my data collection plan. The specific data collection method is listed in the first column, followed by an approach and how it was incorporated into the study, as well as its relevance to the particular research question indicated in the last column.

Table 2 Data collection plan in this thesis

Data Research Relationship to the research generating Data collected approach question approach

Quantitative Pre and Post- Students’ creative thinking Does including process drama tests surveys and adaptability skills, techniques in the teaching- before and after the learning drama program intervention improve creative thinking and

86 Chapter 4: Research Design

Data Research Relationship to the research generating Data collected approach question approach

adaptability skills of junior secondary school students?

Qualitative data Teacher Teachers’ responses to Did teachers implement the interviews open-ended questions about intervention faithfully and was the acceptability and it acceptable to them? feasibility of the intervention, and the fidelity of implementation

Classroom Observations of teachers’ Did the teachers maintain observations use of the intervention fidelity to the intervention? manual for the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills

Student focus Students’ responses to How acceptable was this group open-ended questions about method of teaching to discussions their perceptions of the students? drama teaching techniques

DATA COLLECTION

The quantitative phase was the initial stage of the project, which I explain in this section. Quantitative research methods involve dealing with numbers, systematic measurability and the investigation of phenomena and the relationships between them (Creswell, 2012, 2014). Quantitative data are collected using several tools, but they are analysed using statistical techniques to produce evidence of the movement or convictions of a particular population (Creswell, 2014). Research methods literature suggests that a major role in quantitative research is to recognise the main issues in the research questions investigated in the study (Creswell, 2014). The quantitative phase of this investigation addressed the following research question:

“Does including process drama techniques in the teaching-learning program in drama improve creative thinking and adaptability skills of junior secondary school students?” (see Table 2)

Chapter 4: Research Design 87 The literature review in Chapter 2 indicated that creativity is teachable and can be developed by anyone at any age. The use of process drama techniques across the curriculum can encourage the development of creative and critical thinking, social harmony, adaptability and empathy and reflection. Asking the ‘what if’ questions increases creativity because that question creates the opening to step inside and inhabit stories, and to try out possibilities outside ourselves in other contexts (Freeman, Sullivan, & Fulton, 2003; Hui & Lau, 2006; Lin, 2012; Stinson, 2009). These concepts have been discussed and framed in relation to Craft’s (2008) possibility thinking in Chapter 3. A non-randomized control group pre/post-test was conducted in the quantitative phase because, as Dimitrove and Rumrill (2003) note, it has practical advantages with whole groups as it does not disturb the setting, in the case of this study, the classes in which the students were enrolled.

All participating students were measured on their creativity and adaptability skills pre/post-intervention. The contrast between their pre/post-test responses suggested the effect of the intervention on their learning. The main focus of a pre/post- test design is on variations that can be linked directly to students’ experience in an instructional intervention (Hébert, Cramond, Neumeister, Millar, & Silvian, 2011). It is a tool frequently used in educational research (Dimitrove & Rumrill, 2003) to compare groups and measure changes resulting from an intervention, such as the one implemented in this study. In what follows, I outline the quantitative measures used on this occasion.

Measures Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) To evaluate the intervention effects an adapted sample version of Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) was administered for measuring students’ creativity skills. The TTCT is “the most frequently used test of divergent thinking” (Plucker & Renzulli, 1999, p. 39). It is freely available on the website, and is available in more than 35 languages (Millar, 2002). It is “still extremely popular” (Runco & Acar, 2012, p. 67), and is used by many researchers exploring psychometric characteristics and focusing on the development of creativity (e.g., Clapham, 2004; Kim, 2006a; Kim, 2006b; Kim, Cramond, & Bandalos, 2006; Runco, 2014).

88 Chapter 4: Research Design

It was originally developed in 1966 (n-3,150) and has been revised six times (Bart, Hokanson, & Can, 2017): In 1974 (n-19,111), 1984 (n-37,814), 1990 (n-88, 350), 1998 (n-54,151), and in 2008 (n-70,018). It has been translated into 64 languages (Kim, 2011). Some changes have been made. The re-norming process influenced the scoring methods; however, the content of the TTCT did not go through any variation (Kim, 2006a, 2006b, 2011). The initial two versions of the TTCT measured fluency, originality, elaboration, and flexibility. In 1984, the abstractness of titles and resistance to premature closure were incorporated in the tests (Hiebert et al., 2002). The TTCT battery has two separate forms: the TTCT Figural and Verbal, each come up with two similar forms (Torrance, 1974, 1990). “With both measures, the guidelines are created to encourage the respondents to give extraordinary, complete responses” (Cramond et al., 2005, p. 284). The TTCT has a broad range of application, for example ranging from measuring creative thinking in very young kindergarten children to adults.

I used the TTCT- Verbal and Figural tests because they were freely available, because I did not require a specialised qualification to access the tests, and also because they could be easily implemented in the Sri Lankan school setting. The Verbal test comprised three activities: one on product improvement, one a ‘just suppose’ component, and the final one an ‘unusual uses’ question. These three activities were scored on three indicators: (1) fluency (2) flexibility and (3) originality. The TTCT- Figural test comprised two activities, one focused on picture completion and the other involved repeated figures of diamonds. These two activities allowed evaluation of several aspects of creative thinking, five of which were measured in this test: (1) fluency (2) originality (3) elaboration (4) the abstractness of titles, and (5) resistance to premature closure.

According to the TTCT-Figural manual of 1990, the inter-rater reliability was above .90 (Torrance, 1990). According to the TTCT-Figural manual of 1966 and 1974, the test-retest reliability coefficients were varied and not high (around .50), but Torrance indicated that motivational conditions affect reliability (Torrance, 1963, 1974, 1990). Therefore, given the complexity of creative thinking, the TTCT- Verbal/Figural tests are seen to have reasonable reliability (Treffinger, 2002).

The main focus of my thesis is the development of creative thinking skills in students by changing the approach to the teaching of drama in Sri Lanka; therefore, the TTCT- verbal/ figural test was used to measure creativity. The test paper was

Chapter 4: Research Design 89 translated from English to the Sinhalese language, but for reference, the original English version is presented below.

1. Question one - Activity 01

Try to improve this stuffed toy so that it will be more fun to play with.

You have 5 minutes

Question two - Activity 02

Just suppose that you are magician. What might be something that would happen as a result? You have 5 minutes

90 Chapter 4: Research Design

Question three - Activity 03

What are the maximum number of unusual uses of your pencil?

You have 5 minutes

Question four - Activity 04

Add lines to the incomplete figures below to make pictures out of them. Try to tell a complete story with your pictures. Give titles to your pictures. You have 5 minutes

5. Question five - Activity 05

Chapter 4: Research Design 91

Add details to the shape below to make pictures out of it. Make the diamond a part of any picture you make. Try to think of pictures no one else will think of. Add details to tell complete picture stories with your pictures. Give titles to your pictures.

You have 5 minutes

The Adaptability Scale In addition to the adapted Torrance Creativity Tests, I selected an evaluation tool to measure students’ adaptation skills before and after the intervention. The adaptability scale has been developed (Martin et al., 2013b) to measure the hypothesised adaptability concept and its relevant factors (Nejad, 2014). In this study I used Martin’s general adaptability scale because it offers an economical and useful measure of the concept (Martin et al., 2012) and it refers to a student’s capability to adjust his or her thinking, behaviour, affect, and emotions in response to novel, indeterminate, or changing circumstances (Martin et al., 2012; VandenBos, 2007).

Three factors of adaptability behaviours are evaluated in the present study: cognitive, behavioural, and emotional. Each factor included three items, producing a 9-item scale. Students were asked to indicate the degree to which they agreed with statements that characterised on a seven-point agreement scale with extreme response types fixed with a phrase (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree). For example,

92 Chapter 4: Research Design

cognitive (e.g., ‘I am able to adjust my thinking or expectations to assist me in a new situation if necessary’); behavioural (e.g., ‘To assist me in a new situation, I am able to change the way I do things if necessary’); and emotional (e.g., ‘To help me through new or difficult situations, I am able to draw on positive feelings and emotions). As suggested from - and as informed by - the explanation of adaptability (section 2.4), the adaptability items were required to reflect four criteria (Nejad, 2014): (i) response to novelty, change, variability and/or uncertainty; (ii) cognitive, behavioural, or emotional functions; (iii) regulation, modification, fine-tuning, reconsideration, or a new way to access these three regulatory functions; (iv) a positive purpose and/or an adaptive result (Nejad, 2014, p.71).

Researchers (e.g., Marsh & Lawrence, 1997; Scherer, 2015) have highlighted the need for both improved and validated instruments within a constructed framework. The adaptability scale was validated via empirical techniques such as exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and reliability analysis by the author of the test (Martin et al., 2012). It was validated on students in the United States, the United Kingdom, and China (Martin, 2017). Recently the scale was expanded to include schoolteachers, and it was found that self-regulation and a positive work environment accompanied higher levels of teacher adaptability. Moreover, adaptability was found to be related both to teachers’ well-being and students’ educational achievement (Collie & Martin, 2017a, 2017b). The Adaptability Scale identified positive individual well-being results and the relation between flexibility, commitment, and accomplishment (Collie & Martin, 2017c). Therefore, it would appear that this measure might tap into some of the skills that the intervention was intended to enhance, as it is identified as a scale to measure adaptability skills (Martin, 2017). The scale was shown to have a single factor (Martin et al., 2012; 2013a). Other research projects involving diverse populations have confirmed evidence of the reliability and validity of the scale (Martin et al., 2012; Martin et al., 2013b; Martin et al., 2015).

Chapter 4: Research Design 93 Table 3 Adaptability scale

The Adaptability Scale

Strongly Some Disagree Neutral Agree Some Strongly agree extent extent disagree agree disagree

I am able to think through a number of possible options to assist me in a new situation I am able to revise the way I think about a new situation to help me through it I am able to adjust my thinking or expectations to assist me in a new situation if necessary I am able to seek out new information, helpful people, or useful resources to effectively deal with new situations In uncertain situations, I am able to develop new ways of going about things (e.g. a different way of asking questions or finding information) to help me through To assist me in a new situation, I am able to change the way I do things if necessary I am able to reduce negative emotions (e.g. fear) to help me deal with uncertain situations When uncertainty arises, I am able to minimize frustration or irritation so I can deal with it best To help me through new situations, I am able to draw on positive feelings and emotions (e.g. enjoyment, satisfaction)

94 Chapter 4: Research Design

Data collected for establishing acceptability, fidelity, and feasibility. Qualitative methods were used to assess the acceptability, fidelity, and feasibility of the intervention (Gearing et al., 2011). I now discuss how I gathered the evidence to evaluate these criteria. Acceptability has become a main consideration in the design, evaluation and implementation of educational interventions (Sekhon, Cartwright, & Francis, 2017). The term denotes determining how well an intervention will be accepted by the target population and the extent to which it - or its mechanisms - might meet the needs of the target population and administrative setting (Steckler & Linnan, 2002). There are many standard methods for assessing the acceptability of an intervention for the target sample and setting in a qualitative study, such as focus groups and interviews (Ayala & Elder, 2011). For this intervention, I used teacher interviews and student focus groups to measure the acceptability of the intervention. First, I discuss how I designed and conducted a focus group in order to establish the degree of identified students’ acceptability of the intervention.

The usefulness of focus group discussions to gather data in qualitative studies is well recognised (Atkinson & Silverman, 1997; Cresswell, 2014; Merriam, 2016). In this study focus group discussion centred on students’ perceptions and experiences in relation to the use of process drama techniques in their drama classroom. I wanted to hear their thoughts, and see any changes in their ideas about learning to be creative and adaptable. According to Merriam (2016), a focus group is “a discussion on a topic with a group of people who know about the topic” (Merriam, 2016, p. 93); and Cresswell (2014) states that the ideal size for a focus group discussion is a maximum of six to eight participants. I therefore organised groups of eight students from each intervention class from each school, and asked the teachers to select students. Saracutu and his research colleagues (2018) conducted similar evaluation of their research project, and they reported that data collected via focus group discussion produced good insight to how students felt about their intervention, the extent to which they understood it and how it works, and the nature of their perceptions about the pros and cons of the experience. For this study students and parents were sent a letter informing them that their child had been selected to participate in a focus group and parents completed a consent form. No incentives were given.

Chapter 4: Research Design 95 I also used semi-structured interviews with teachers to address the issues of acceptability, fidelity and feasibility of the intervention program. Harrison, State, Evans, and Schamberg (2016) identified three areas relating to the construct of acceptability in terms of teacher awareness: (a) suitability (favourable qualities of the intervention), (b) supposed advantage (efficiency of the intervention), and (c) convenience (cost and resources, and discomfort experienced by the student).

The semi-structured interviews, comprised of open-ended questions designed to elicit detailed information on the phenomenon under investigation (DiCicco, Bloom, & Crabtree, 2006), allowed for open and flexible discussion, so that teachers could reflect on and explore their individual practice in more detail, which in turn facilitated evaluation across examples (Cohen et al., 2007). One of the downsides of semi- structured interviews is the volume of data they produce, and the work required in transcribing the data and analysing the transcripts (Bloch, Phellas, & Seale, 2012).

Interviews can be conducted either face-to-face or by phone (Lavrakas, 2008). I conducted four face-to-face interviews and seven Skype interviews with teachers. According to Sedgwick and Spiers (2009) video conferencing is an effective method of interviewing when the research population is geographically spread; and although there are downsides to using conferencing technology – such as the challenge of mastering the technology and the potential embarrassment of seeing yourself on the screen (Bulman, Lathlean, & Mary 2011), I managed to overcome these issues and successfully conducted the Skype interviews. I found that the teachers were more relaxed and less worried about time as they were already at home; they were in a relaxed environment with a cup of tea or coffee. This relaxation allowed them to be more open, they were not in school where someone might hear their comments or judge their experiences, so they were better able to explain their feelings. Also, we chatted before starting the interview, briefly sharing personal experiences to ease into our discussion which further relaxed them and encouraged them to be open with me in their dicussions. We already knew each other as I had trained them in the workshop and already conducted face to face interviews with them (details of the intervention workshop are provided in subsection 5.2.2.

Fidelity is also an essential consideration in my intervention. Researchers suggest that high levels of fidelity are linked with improved student responses to interventions (Benner, Nelson, Stage, & Ralston, 2011; Flower, McKenna, Muething,

96 Chapter 4: Research Design

Bryant, & Bryant, 2014). Maintaining a strong level of fidelity, fidelity to structure and fidelity to processes are two main considerations in school-based interventions (Mowbray, Holter, Teagure, & Bybee, 2003). Fidelity to structure refers to the extent teachers follow the core components of an intervention, such as practices, procedures, and materials necessary for positive student outcomes (Piasta, Justice, McGinty, Mashburn, & Slocum, 2015). Fidelity to processes refers to the specific practice in the intervention or quality of instruction (Furtak et al., 2008). In this sense, fidelity is important to student access to directed interventions as well as decision making related to the intervention. Fidelity includes a variety of strategies (McKenna & Parenti, 2017), I used classroom observations as a direct method for assessing intervention fidelity.

However, observation is a productive tool for gathering data in natural conditions, but it has some limitations. According to Lui and Maitlis (2010), for example, the presence of the researcher may impact on the actions of participants. Richards and Farrell (2011) comment that “…. the presence of an observer in the classroom sometimes motivates or demotivates the nature of the lesson” (Richards & Farrell, 2011, p. 91). However, Lui and Maitlis (2010) qualify this point by noting that an extended period of observation may decrease this effect, though it may persist as a possible issue. I mitigated this potential limitation by organising observations of the intervention classes for ten consecutive weeks throughout the second term. I conducted the observations myself for the first two weeks, and university colleagues did for the remaining eight weeks, guided by my observation schedules. Another limitation of observation is that it clearly cannot capture everything that is occurring in the classroom (Lui & Maitlis, 2010; Richards & Farrell, 2010). As Richards and Farrell (2010) note, teaching is a multifaceted and dynamic activity; it is not possible to observe everything. In the first weeks, I worked closely with each school to ensure that delivery of the intervention was well coordinated and that teachers received constructive feedback after each lesson, to enhance the quality and fidelity of the process.

The concept of feasibility is important when evaluating whether a research study is likely to be conducted effectively, taking into account the practical features associated with management of the project (Lancaster, Dodd, & Williamson, 2004). Feasibility refers to the steadiness of measurement, meaning that each time the

Chapter 4: Research Design 97 measurement is utilised, it is expected to get similar results (Nardi, 2003; Siniscalco & Auriat, 2005). It is well documented that intervention efficiency can be enhanced if careful feasibility and pilot studies are conducted before RCTs (Orsmond & Cohn, 2015); therefore I assessed feasibility by conducting a pilot study prior to the main study, with the aim of discovering any practical difficulties, such as deciding process time - how much time to take for each activity and any potential obstacles; establishing capability – were the lessons designed appropriately for the students’ levels of creativity and adaptability. The feasibility of the intervention was also assessed by lesson observations, interviews and focus group discussions, all of which provided information and identified challenges faced by both teachers and students. The interviews gauged the nature of teachers’ experience and lesson observations enabled observation in situ of the experience reported on in the interviews and discussions. Ethical considerations

Research in an educational context can be both challenging and complicated as the competing demands of research, teaching and learning raise significant ethical issues (Konza, 2012). Students constitute a potentially vulnerable population, who need care and attention when they are involved in research; and teachers too bring their own individual issues, perceptions and anxieties to research conducted in schools (Konza, 2012; Spiggs & Gillam, 2008). As a researcher, I consider ethical considerations to be an intrinsic part of safeguarding the integrity and credibility of any intervention programme. Although my study was considered to be low risk in relation to students and the teachers and the nature of the intervention and data collection procedures, a number of ethical issues were addressed. The ethical process is discussed on page 101.

The nature and associated requirements of the topic meant that I applied for low- risk ethics clearance from an Australian University Human Research Ethics Committee, the Office of Research Ethics and Integrity at QUT in order to fulfil all relevant policy, practice and monitoring requirements. My proposed ethical concerns were scrutinised by the QUT ethics clearance process, which designed my pilot study, ethics approval - 1700001046 (see Appendix A); and all participants, including principal, teacher, students, and parents in the pilot study completed a written consent form before my pilot study was conducted (see Appendix A1 to A8), after which I was granted ethics approval - 1800000245 (see Appendix C). After official approval had

98 Chapter 4: Research Design

been gained from QUT, the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Sri Lanka issued a letter to the relevant school authorities during my visit to the country (see appendix B). After I had obtained all ethical clearance, participants in the main study completed a written consent form before data collection (see Appendix C1 to C6, D1 -D6, and E1 – E6). As the students were minors, there also was a need for their consent forms to be countersigned by parents or guardians (see Appendix C7 - C8, D7 - D8, and E7 - E8); as a researcher, I understood that any intervention with students has to meet the ethical and legal requirements of gaining approval not just from the students themselves but also from a legally recognised replacement decision-maker (Felzmann, 2009). Students volunteered to be focus group participants, and throughout discussions, they were relaxed and open. Finally, it was guaranteed that all participants' identities in both the pilot and the main study would be kept confidential by the use of pseudonyms during reporting and publications; and their contribution as participants of the research would be acknowledged in every publication.

CHAPTER SUMMARY

This chapter has outlined the methodological framework and the research design chosen for this thesis. It has detailed the methods of data collection, the processes to be adopted and the steps taken to ensure the fidelity, acceptability and feasibility of the intervention. In the next chapter, the procedure of the study is discussed in more detail.

Chapter 4: Research Design 99 Method

In the previous chapter I presented and justified the research methodology used to conduct this study and provided a detailed rationale of the research design, developed to answer the research question framed through the theoretical lenses of Vygotsky (Vygotsky, 1931/1998) and Craft (2000, 2008).

In this chapter I detail how the current study was conducted. In section 5.1, I discuss data collection procedures, including the pilot and the main study. In section 5.2, I discuss in detail research procedure, including the pre-intervention workshop and the intervention manual. Section 5.3 describes the main study, and section 5.4 discusses data transcription and translation in preparation for data analysis. Section 5.4, presents analysis, discussion and interpretation.

DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES

Data collection took five months, from March to July 2018. The first month was used for the pilot study and the balance of four months for the main study. The data collection procedure is explained in detail in the following two sub-sections (5.1.1 and 5.1.2).

Pilot study In the previous chapter I noted that the fidelity, acceptability and feasibility of the intervention needed to be trialled in the pilot study: a ‘small scale version[s], or trial run[s], done in groundwork for the major study” (Polit, Beck, & Hungler, 2001, p. 467), which allows the researcher to ‘try out’ a particular research instrument (Baker 1994. p. 183) and to identify possible practical problems associated with the research procedure (Teijlingen, Rennie, Hundley, & Graham, 2001). A pilot study has numerous advantages, including the opportunity to create research instruments, to evaluate the feasibility of an investigation, and to plan research protocol. Traditionally, feasibility and pilot studies are based on small sample sizes of inadequate significance for statistical hypothesis testing (Orsmond & Cohn, 2015). As Thabane and his colleagues state, “the main goal of pilot studies is to assess feasibility” (Thabane et al., 2010. p. 1).

100 Chapter 5: Method

The pilot study was designed primarily to try out the data-collection tools in the field and to verify their applicability. More precisely, it allowed me to: (a) test the timing and requirements for all instruments used; (b) check the appropriateness of the intervention lesson, including process drama techniques; (c) validate the clarity of directions given in each survey; (d) confirm the reliability of the teacher/student interview questions; (e) reach a stronger understanding of lesson planning in terms of the appropriateness of the content and timing; and, lastly, (g) test the quality of the audio recordings.

The pilot study was conducted in Queensland, Australia. In Queensland schools, drama provides opportunities for students to create and explore opinions, feelings, behaviours and interactions across many situations and contexts in everyday life (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2012, p. 3). Australia was one of the first countries to explore the process drama approach and to implement it successfully in schools (Bowell & Heap, 2017). Drama teachers are therefore familiar with process drama techniques. It was also helpful for me to work with a class in Australia to test the fidelity, acceptability, and feasibility of the intervention lessons and to identify any potential problems before returning to Sri Lanka to conduct the main study.

The pilot study was conducted in an inner Brisbane city Catholic school. Prior to the pilot, I discussed its context, aims and projected outcomes with the school principal and the drama teacher. The pilot was carried out with twelve students of the same grade level (Grade 7) as the students that were to be in the main study. All lessons were taught voluntarily by a registered female drama teacher of 10 years’ experience. The research design related closely to the design of the main study but on a reduced scale. The pilot study was conducted for three weeks, trialling four lessons from the teaching.

To determine the feasibility of the test instruments I had allocated the first and last weeks to completing the pre- and post-test surveys, but unfortunately, this was unable to be achieved; unpredictable school situations restricting the availability of time. To determine the acceptability, I was able to conduct one interview with a teacher and one focus group discussion with five students. To determine the feasibility of the intervention lessons, I observed two drama lessons as a non-participant observer.

Chapter 5: Method 101 Modifications and improvements after the pilot study In my classroom observation I noticed that the drama teacher followed child- centred principles that are central to current teaching and learning approaches in Australia (Saunders, 2019). Most of the time, she used appropriate social interactions, closed group observation and collaboration, role demonstrating, displaying a positive attitude to dramatic expression, and flexible teaching approaches suitable for meeting my intervention lesson requirements. From my observation it became evident that the intervention lesson suited students’ needs; but I observed some scenarios and group activities that were too easy for these students, who needed less time to complete them than I had expected. There was also a time duration difference between lessons in Sri Lanka and Queensland which I needed to take into consideration. In Sri Lanka, drama lessons go for eighty minutes whereas in Queensland schools the lessons are only for 50 minutes.

The drama teacher’s interview confirmed my conclusion that the lesson format and its approach and activities were more suited for Grade six students and not sufficiently challenging for Australian Grade 7 students. She was also concerned about the time allocated for each activity. This was her reaction from her perspective, whereas as an experienced teacher from the Sri Lankan context I was aware of differences between cultural and teaching perspectives on learning in Australia and Sri Lanka. What was clear from the pilot experience for me was that Australian drama education had progressed much further than Sri Lankan drama education. For example, when using story-telling or hot-seat techniques, I noticed students easily creating their own interpretations of stories rather than reproducing given situations in the lesson. Sometimes, for example, they would suggest combining groupings of voices to provide vocal colour in a situation. This initially surprised and shocked me: I never expected students to come up with these kinds of ideas. I realised that students were already familiar with process drama techniques and approaches. I decided not to alter the lesson format or approach/activities for the Sri Lankan students. A student-focused group discussion was conducted to identify the perceived pros and cons of the activities; and the overall response was positive. The students said that the lessons were productive and enjoyable. Finally, the pilot study provided the opportunity to find out how much information was needed for students to refine the activity processes for each lesson. During this phase, the scoring approach established a minimum

102 Chapter 5: Method

criterion for evaluating dramatic performance was revised. It reinforced the provide the opportunity to correct these problems before commencing with the main study. In the next section I describe the main study.

Main Study After making appropriate modifications from the pilot study, the main study was conducted with 151 students (Grade 7, age 11-12 years old) and 6 drama teachers from government schools in the Western province in Sri Lanka. The study was focused on evaluating the intervention program that used process drama techniques for the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills in students taking drama as a subject in the Grade 7 school setting. To evaluate the effectiveness of the program pre/post-test surveys were conducted; to address the fidelity, acceptability, and feasibility of the program, teacher interviews, student discussions and classroom observations were conducted.

Choice of study conditions was purposely selected. The descriptor of purposeful conditions is broadly used in educational research with reference to the most effective use of limited resources for the classification and collection of information-rich data (Patton, 2002). This includes classifying and choosing individuals or groups of individuals who are familiar or experienced with a phenomenon of interest (Creswell & Clark, 2011). Bernard (2002) added accessibility and readiness to participate to the elements of knowledge and experience, and the capability to convey practices and thoughts in a transparent, open and reflective manner. The schools were purposely selected from three districts in the Western province: Colombo, Gampaha, and Kalutara, based on a non-randomised sampling method. These three districts have similar socio-economic backgrounds and school environments. The geographical distance in these districts is Colombo to Gampha -39 km; Colombo to Kalutara – 60km; and Gampha to Kalutara – 78km. The schools were far enough apart geographically for there to be no communication between the teachers in the different conditions, so avoiding the danger of data contamination. Two schools from each district were selected for the study, including one Grade 7 class from each school, totalling six classes. Access to these six schools among the 199 schools in the Western province was gained with the help of the Director of Drama Education in the Sri Lankan Ministry of Education. He provided assistance in accessing the schools and approaching the principals, drama teachers, and Grade 7 students. Out of the six

Chapter 5: Method 103 schools, two were selected for the intervention group, and inclusion criteria applied for the selection process. The inclusion criteria reflected the main characteristics of the target population that I drew from to answer the research question (Hulley, Cummings, Browner, Grady, & Newman, 2007). There were not a sufficient number of teachers in Sri Lanka trained in Drama and Theatre teaching available to participate in the study who were geographically close enough to visit for data collection. The following inclusion criteria applied for the intervention group selection:

i. at least one class of Grade 7 drama students;

ii. an average class size of at least 25 students;

iii. availability of professionally qualified drama teachers (Bachelor’s degree in Drama or Post Graduate Diploma in Education in Drama and more than five years’ teaching experience).

In addition, two classes in two schools were selected as the control group with teachers who taught drama using the traditional lecture method. Another two classes in two schools were chosen as the active control group, where teachers taught drama by the traditional lecture method and also made props for a traditional performance. The essential characteristics of each group are presented in section 5.2. The following table summarises participant involvement in the whole intervention program.

Table 4 Summary of participant involvement in the intervention

Pre- Interviews/ Post- Participants Classroom Focus group intervention Skype intervention observation discussion test interviews test Teachers from - √ √ - - intervention schools

Teachers from - - - - control schools

Teachers from - - - - - active control schools

Students from √ √ - √ √ intervention schools

Students from √ - √ control schools

104 Chapter 5: Method

Pre- Interviews/ Post- Participants Classroom Focus group intervention Skype intervention observation discussion test interviews test Students from √ √ - √ active control schools

The above table indicates the overall organisation of the intervention program. The groups of students were involved in the pre- and post-intervention test surveys, classroom observations and focus group discussions. Teachers also participated in interviews and their teaching was observed. The active control students were involved in pre- and post-intervention test surveys, and in order to compare the experimental effect both groups of students in the active control group were observed but their behaviours not recorded. The control students were only involved in pre- and post- intervention test surveys. In the next section, I discuss my research procedure.

PROCEDURE

The intervention began at the beginning of the second term, on 23rd April 2018, in Sri Lanka. According to the Sri Lankan 2018 school calendar there are fourteen weeks in second term and twelve weeks allocated to teaching. My intervention took place during the twelve consecutive teaching weeks block, and consisted of a weekly two-hour process drama lesson across ten weeks, so a total of twenty hours. In the first and last weeks of term, the pre and post-tests were conducted. I conducted the pre-tests at the six schools and my colleagues who had observed the lessons conducted the post- tests in the same six schools. The following table (no. 5) illustrates in detail the process of the whole intervention program.

Table 5 The whole process of intervention

Active control Week Phases Intervention group Control group group 1 Pre-test Visited two schools and Visited two schools Visited two (23rd April explained what the research is and explained what schools and 2018) about and how it was to be an the research was distributed integrated drama subject. about and how it information and Distributed information and was to be an consent sheets. consent sheets and pre- integrated drama Pre-intervention intervention test was subject. test conducted. conducted. 2 30th April Two intervention lessons One classroom - 2018 completed. Two classroom observation Intervention observations and two audio- completed. started recorded teacher semi-

Chapter 5: Method 105 Active control Week Phases Intervention group Control group group structured interviews completed.

3 7th May Four intervention lessons Two classroom - 2018 completed. Four classroom observations observations and third audio- completed. recorded teachers’ semi- structured interview completed. 4 14th May Six intervention lessons and Three classroom - 2018 six classroom observations observations completed. Fourth audio completed. recorded teacher semi- structured interview completed. 5 21st May Eight intervention lessons and Four classroom - 2018 eight classroom observations observations completed. Fifth audio completed. recorded teacher semi- structured interview started via skype technology. 6 28th May The government closed all schools due to massive floods in Western 2018 Province 7 4th June Ten intervention lessons and Five classroom - 2018 ten classroom observations observations completed. Sixth audio completed. recorded teacher semi- structured interview completed via skype technology. 8 11th June Twelve intervention lessons Six classroom - 2018 and twelve classroom observations observations completed. completed. Seventh audio recorded teacher semi-structured interview completed via skype technology. 9 18th June Fourteen intervention lessons Seven classroom - 2018 and fourteen classroom observations observations completed. completed. Eighth audio recorded teacher semi-structured interview completed via skype technology. 10 25th June Sixteen intervention lessons Eight classroom - 2018 and sixteen classroom observations observations completed. Ninth completed. audio recorded teacher semi- structured interview completed via skype technology. 11 2nd July Eighteen intervention lessons Nine classroom - 2018 and eighteen classroom observations observations completed. Tenth completed. audio recorded teacher semi- structured interview

106 Chapter 5: Method

Active control Week Phases Intervention group Control group group completed via skype technology. 12 9th July Post-intervention test Post-intervention Post-intervention 2018 conducted. test conducted test conducted I now describe the operative procedures that I initiated in the intervention.

Pre-intervention Workshop Prior to the main study, I organised a pre-intervention workshop for six teachers from different groups to ensure their understanding of the research. The literature suggests that pre-training interventions have the potential to enhance learning from training and to make suggestions to participants concerning their usefulness (e.g., Cannon-Bowers, Rhodenizer, Salas, & Bowers, 1998). Some research findings (e.g., Magnus & Viswesvaran, 2010) report that trainees obtaining advice prior to practice perform considerably better on measures of learning both during and after the practice.

My pre-intervention workshop included providing information and attentional advice about my whole study (Cannon et al., 1998). The workshop was conducted on April 21st 2018 at the Faculty of Education in the Open University of Sri Lanka. The choice of a Saturday had been suggested by participants as they were available to participate. The six teachers attended in different time blocks. The first-time block, 10 am to 2pm, was scheduled for two intervention school teachers; 2 pm to 3.30 pm was scheduled for the active control teachers; and the last 30 minutes were scheduled for the control school teachers. I also invited six students who had completed the Bachelor of Education (Drama and Theatre) to attend and to assist me in carrying out the intervention workshop.

I first spent four hours with the two intervention teachers, introducing the structure of the intervention and the strategies designed to achieve the intended learning outcomes. I conducted a short introductory session on process drama with the support of a PowerPoint presentation. The teachers were invited to consider the application of process drama techniques to their regular drama teaching and learning programme. After that, I demonstrated selected process drama microteaching techniques with the help of the graduate students. When it came to activities time I began with very simple approaches, such as the hot-seat, recognising that they were being introduced to something very different and new. I spent three hours on this hands-on session, as it was important to clearly identify and for them to understand

Chapter 5: Method 107 some first techniques. The teachers used the lesson plans and engaged in creating and performing situations according to the allocated activity cards. I then finished by giving both teachers my intervention manual, and they had 30 minutes to identify any issues they encountered in it. Neither teacher identified any problems; they both appeared satisfied, and then left.

The control group and the active control group teachers (n x 2 = n4) then attended the pre-intervention workshop at the end of the day for one hour, with the Bachelor of Education (Drama and Theatre) students. Their part in the study was explained, as was the keeping of records and the fact that myself and my colleagues were to test the students in the first and last weeks of term. The control group teachers then left, and the active control group stayed for another hour to discuss how they would continue to teach as usual and make props in the practical part of their lessons. Both teachers were worried about the cost involved in making different props, and I suggested that they use recycled products. I am the Coordinator of the Bachelor of Education (Drama and Theatre) degree program in the Open University, and we have a particular resource room dedicated to drama props, all made by B.Ed students from recycled items; so I gave them some samples to observe and study. In the next section, I discuss the intervention manual which I prepared for the intervention teachers to use during their teaching throughout second term.

Intervention manual I had some major tasks to do before the main study. The first was the intervention lesson manual, which I needed to use in my intervention. I developed a collection of lessons designed to enhance everyday creative thinking and adaptability skills. The manual was informed by the literature which I have referred to in subsections 2.3 to 2.5. I was also guided by some PhD studies on process drama (e.g., Bora, 2017; Corbett, 2019; Hogan, 2008; Jacobs, 2014; Wu, 2014). However, I had to face a major challenge, as all lesson topics had to be taken from the Sri Lankan teachers’ guide for the second term of drama teaching. I eventually managed to respond to the challenge and developed a series of twenty lessons (See Appendix F for examples of four of the lessons). As a teacher in the Sri Lankan education system, I have a good sense of both teachers’ and students’ needs. I could not ignore the selected content knowledge which is the focus of the drama curriculum; but I also accorded considerable space to the more creative processes of imagining, expressing,

108 Chapter 5: Method

responding and performing. My content was rather different to what teachers think of as content. Traditionally drama teachers in Sri Lanka think of content as the notes provided for students to learn. I did include content, but the content knowledge about the art of theatre was learned through activities, not by note-taking. The structure and content of the lessons is detailed in the table below.

Table 6 Formation of the intervention manual

Processes

Creating/Performing Responding

Creating and performing lies at the heart When observing, investigating, of drama and is part and parcel with the creative interpreting, and evaluating works in each process. When students engage in creating and process drama activity, students: performing process drama techniques, they: describe and analyse artistic preferences use the elements of drama to make in their own work and communicate values with meaning; relevance to the drama

create scripts and scenarios – for this describe and compare features and shapes process they need to create characters, a story, of the performance and place work in context dramatic actions, and conversations; (personal, social, and cultural)

create strategies and technical choices to evaluate and critique peers’ performance communicate location and mood for dramatic effect;

as part of acting they need to portray emotions and create a series of actions for a character;

understand the drama created in texts and manage time and people in planning and rehearsing improvised and scripted scenes.

Content

Knowledge Skills

Apply content knowledge of drama; its In drama subject students need different cultural, social, and personal contexts, shapes and skills for different dramatic activities, e.g. for formations, how it creates and is created through creating a text, playing, performing, planning, the elements of drama. and communicating a response. The ability to create, perform, and to respond in process drama

Chapter 5: Method 109 involves the application of both knowledge and skills concurrently.

The processes represented above combined with collaborative skills and students were asked to work together in small groups (usually four to six students), although some tasks required individual work. Teachers were asked to observe how well they did the tasks. My intention throughout was to support students in developing flexibility, to be able to respond effectively to problems and changes in the contemporary world and in their personal lives. I emphasised in every lesson the theme of ‘creativity for everyday life’; I wanted to encourage creativity as a means of social and personal empowerment and appropriate adaptation. In line with this approach, I created my intervention manual artistically. It was different from their usual handbooks. I have attached four sample lessons from the manual in Appendix I to give an overall impression of them as the manual is in the Sinhala language. In the next section I describe how I conducted the pre-test.

Pre-intervention survey The data collection started during the second term in the 2018 academic year, from the 23rd April to 3rd August 2018, as all schools have sports meets and other extra-curricular activities such as zonal events and divisional events in the first term, and the implementation of any intervention is not feasible in third term because most of the students are preparing for exams and covering the syllabus. I therefore selected second term for data collection.

My primary task was to organise the pre-intervention test in each school at the beginning of the term. As noted earlier (section 4.1.1), I used the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) and the Adaptability Scale. I administered both tests in six schools on three different dates. First, I covered the two Colombo district schools on the same day, then the Kalutara district and finally, the Gampaha district. Before administering the test, I explained the purpose of the visit and my aim in working with students in the selected classes. Students were then instructed how to complete the test and to code their names. I used a coding system to make sure the pre/post-intervention tests could be matched (McGloin, Holcomb, & Main, 1996) and for reliability (Lippe, Johnson, & Carter, 2019). I instructed them to create their code, using two questions:

110 Chapter 5: Method

‘which day of the month is your birthday?’ and ‘the first three letters of your mother’s first name’. They had then each created a unique code for their paper.

After that I distributed the test booklets (designed to include all instructions and substantial space for answers). The students had twenty-five minutes to complete the test, which took place in their regular drama class. The paper and instructions were translated by myself into the Sinhalese language and back-translated by an officially certified Sinhalese -English professional translator (Sinhalese) in Australia. I used a stop-watch to calculate the time. When students finished the TTCT task they had a 5- minute break. The adaptability scale was then distributed, with a time allocation of twenty-five minutes. When students had completed the task, I collected all the test papers, separating them into TTCT and Adaptability Scale. They were placed into large separate envelopes and labelled with school and district names. The students sat the pre-test one-week before starting the intervention, and the post-test was arranged for the last date of the intervention phase at the end of second term. I now detail the basic characteristics of each group.

Intervention group Two Grade 7 classes in the Colombo district were selected as the intervention group. These were single-sex classes, with one class of 25 girls and one class of 37 boys. Each class was taught process drama techniques with their teachers following the intervention manual I had provided in the workshop. It contained 20 drama lessons, including improvisation, hot-seat and storytelling techniques, each lesson to be implemented in the regular drama periods in each school. It is important to note that the lessons were process-oriented; they were not preparing for a final product or theatre performance. The aim was to teach the process of creative learning through an expressive activity. There was no focus on student actors producing faithful or excellent performances. A faultless, sophisticated performance was not the goal of the class.

Following the manual’s approach, all lessons started with warm-up exercises to connect to the pre-text. These exercises were essential to ensuring that students felt comfortable and safe in the environment; to help them to establish physical and mental readiness to learn and to connect with their peers (Bowell & Heap, 2017). The lessons were intended to keep teacher intervention at a minimum and to encourage high levels of student discussion and performance.

Chapter 5: Method 111 The intervention program and my classroom observation started in the same week of April 2018. Before beginning observation, I explained to the teachers that they were not to assess or evaluate during my observation process. I visited the two intervention schools each week. Each class had two periods of drama per week, totalling two hours per class per week. I was expecting to observe the classes as a non- participant observer for periods in each week in each intervention school. Classes were audio-recorded, and I collected a total of thirty-eight hours of recording across both classes. I observed for four weeks (eight lessons), and my trained senior colleagues observed for eight weeks (twelve lessons).

Photograph 1 – Classroom context - Pre-intervention phase (Intervention group A and B)

Photograph 2 – Classroom context during the intervention phase (Intervention group A and B)

Active-control group To ensure the intervention’s effect was measured appropriately, I had an active control group, to control for anything that was novel or experimental which could cause students’ creative thinking and adaptability skills scores to rise outside of the process drama techniques of the intervention. An experimental effect that incorporates

112 Chapter 5: Method

an active control group is said to provide strong evidence of the effectiveness of the new approach and may minimise bias while maximising accuracy and trustworthiness (Temple & Ellenberg, 2000). Two Grade 7 classes in the Kalutara district were selected as the active-control group. These were single-sex classes, with one class of 12 girls and one class of 24 boys. Both classes received a combination of traditional teacher-centred teaching and making props linked to their lessons. Their final designs were presented to show their understanding of their learning and considerations. The active control groups, like the intervention groups, had two drama lessons per week lasting for two hours each lesson. I observed eighty minutes of lessons each week - four lessons - and my senior colleagues observed eight weeks. Ten visits were made, although no data were recorded on these visits as they were to maintain fidelity for the teacher, to make sure that the props and sets were made, and for the active-control groups to be observed similarly to the intervention groups.

Photograph 3 – Classroom context during the intervention phase (Active control group A and B)

Control group Two Grade 7 classes in the Gampaha district were selected as the control group. There was one class of 20 girls and one class of 27 boys. As with the other groups, these students were in Year 7and were also studying drama. These students were exposed to a traditional teacher-centred approach in their regular drama lessons, and no change was made to their teachers’ programs. I visited the control schools to conduct the pre-intervention test, and my trained senior colleagues visited to conduct the post-intervention tests only.

Chapter 5: Method 113 The process of classroom observation To ensure fidelity and feasibility of the intervention program, I conducted classroom observations during teaching times. Before I begin discussion of the data and the analysis, it is important to consider the context of the observations as it is relevant to the data collected. As previously noted, the observations were carried out in two intervention groups in second term (23rd April to 3rd August 2018) in Sri Lanka. According to the 2018 school calendar in Sri Lanka, the second term consisted of twelve teaching weeks. To ensure proper implementation within the constraints of the school timetable, I conducted a pre-test in the first week and a post-test in the twelfth week. Intervention lessons in the remaining ten weeks were taught by two drama teachers. Twenty drama lessons for each class (two sessions per week) were allocated for each group during these ten weeks. The time allocation was eighty minutes (double period) and forty minutes (single period) per week. Each class was observed for approximately one hour each week, resulting in a total of forty observational sessions. However, due to the unavoidable circumstances referred to earlier (heavy rain and floods causing the closure of all Western province schools for two weeks), there were sixteen lessons taught by each teacher, and so my observations were confined to six weeks (23rd April to 31st May 2018).

There were two observers, myself and a colleague attached to the Department of Secondary and Tertiary Education at the Faculty of Education in the Open University of Sri Lanka. I undertook the first eight observations, and my colleague undertook the rest. In order to ensure consistency between observations, we discussed in detail how and what we would observe. With a view to consistency I chose a colleague who was as like me as possible. We both held Bachelor of Arts and Master of Education degrees; both had more than three years teaching experience in the Bachelor of Education (Drama and Theatre) degree and more than twelve years teaching experience in Post Graduate Diploma in Education programmes. It was essential that a skilled observer be with both groups throughout the ten weeks, but the sessions took longer than the month I was allocated for data collection in my PhD studies. I needed help to examine the effect of the intervention for a longer period of time.

The classroom observation schedule was designed from Lucas’s five creative dispositions model (Lucas, 2016), discussed in Chapter 4. To recap briefly, the Lucas’ five creative dispositions model is an observation schedule consisting of five creative

114 Chapter 5: Method

dispositions: inquisitiveness, persistence, imagination, collaboration and discipline. This schedule was helpful in ensuring consistency in observations; it formed the main component of the observation framework we used to ensure we were both looking for fidelity of the intervention.

In order to make the learning applicable to students’ everyday lives, and to foster creative thinking and adaptability skills, the content and the themes of the lessons were adapted from the local syllabus. The main approaches were improvisation, hot-seat and storytelling, as noted in Chapter 2; offering opportunities to create, discover possibilities, try out solutions and adaptations.

The physical context of the two observation classrooms Intervention group A School Intervention group A was one of the leading boys’ schools in the Western province of Sri Lanka. Approximately 2200 students were studying in this school which has classes from Grades 1 to13. Grade 7 of the school was situated on the second floor of the three-story building by the main open theatre. There were 37 students from the parallel grades (7A, 7B, and 7C). In Sri Lanka, aesthetic subjects (art, dancing, music and drama) start from Grade 6 and are taught in the same period with students studying separately according to the subjects they select. Intervention group A school did not have a separate room for drama, and what usually happened in the drama period was that the class leader went to the drama teacher and asked where drama would be, then he went back to the second floor to inform his peers and then they all gathered in the relevant classroom.

The layout of the usual classroom for drama was unsuitable. It was organised with desks and chairs in rows, suitable for listening and taking notes. Maybe it was the arrangement of the classroom which created a barrier to organising practical performances; in any case, the drama teacher was principally using a lecture and note- taking lesson format; and the classroom was inappropriate for the implementation of the intervention. I suggested to the teacher that he find a different and more appropriate space. Eventually the open-air theatre was selected; and all the students and the teacher managed to come to the nominated place on time. I conducted the observation using a desk and a chair that was brought from somewhere else, as there was no furniture in the open-air theatre. I felt a sense of novel freedom and freshness among the students,

Chapter 5: Method 115 learning outside and not in a typical classroom. The images presented in sub-section 5.2.3 show the usual classroom environment in intervention school A.

Intervention group B School Intervention school B was one of the leading girls’ schools in the Western province of Sri Lanka. Approximately 3000 students were studying in this school which has classes from Grades 1 to13. There were six parallel classes for Grade 7and two of them came together for the drama period. Grades 7A and 7B parallel classes were selected by the drama teacher for the intervention study. There were 25 students gathered for the drama period, and they had a separate room. Unlike my experience at the boys’ school, the arrangement of the class was more appropriate for a process drama class; but the room was still arranged for note-taking, with desks and chairs in a big circle. There were two blackboards and one whiteboard in the room. The observation was carried out from the corner of the classroom. The images I have included in sub-section 5.2.3 show the usual classroom environment in intervention school B and changes made during the intervention period.

The process of focus group discussion To understand students’ perceptions of the teaching techniques of the process drama lesson, and the level of acceptability, I conducted two focus group discussions. These took place at two of the schools in the Western province - Colombo district, Sri Lanka. One session lasted sixty minutes, involving eight students from each group reflecting on their experiences of the intervention lessons. The students were categorised into Intervention School A-boys and B-girls respectively. All students were named 1A to 8A and 1B to 8B accordingly; and all participants’ ages ranged between 11-12 years. Altogether sixteen students participated in the focus group discussion.

In the session I used face to face conversation with open-ended questions relating to ‘How do students understand the teaching techniques of the drama, and how acceptable was this method of teaching to them?’ To elicit their responses I structured the discussion around description of the room, the things they liked best that they had done, techniques and activities they had used, what opportunities they had found to be creative, and which situations or activities had not helped them to be creative. To

116 Chapter 5: Method

record the conversation, I used two recording devices: a Zoom mini recorder and a mobile phone.

The process of interviews I wanted to collect the teachers’ thoughts on the fidelity of the delivery of the intervention and on any issues that they felt may have influenced acceptability and feasibility; so, I conducted semi-structured interviews with each group’s drama teacher. I used a semi-structured format to answer my research question, ‘Did teachers implement the intervention faithfully?’ The first part of the interviews was focused on gaining general understanding of their attitude towards teaching and their knowledge of drama. The second part focused on discussing their experience of teaching the lesson; their observations, what they saw to be the pros and cons of the process drama approach, and any advantages or difficulties they encountered.

The male teacher from School A was 35 years old and had graduated from one of the national universities in Sri Lanka in 2000. He had specialised in drama and theatre for his Bachelor’s degree and completed his professional qualification, a Post Graduate Diploma in Education, in 2012. He was appointed as a teacher in 2005 and had been teaching for 13 years. The female teacher from School B was 32 years old and had graduated from one of the national universities in Sri Lanka in 2008. She had specialised in drama and theatre for her Bachelor’s degree. She was appointed as a teacher in 2009 and has been teaching for nine years following completion of a Post Graduate Diploma in Education course. She is also working as a tele-drama and stage drama artist.

A total of 20 interviews were conducted. The two drama teachers from the intervention schools were interviewed for ten consecutive weeks. Each interview consisted of around 30-40 minutes, with a total of ten interviews conducted with each teacher. I conducted four of the interviews face to face while I was in Sri Lanka, and the rest were conducted by Skype after I had returned to Australia. All interviews were audio-taped and transcribed with the consent of participants.

After the data collection was completed, the next step was transcription, which is detailed in the next subsection.

Chapter 5: Method 117 DATA TRANSCRIPTION AND TRANSLATION

Transcription and translation constitute a process of ‘double rendering’ that adds yet another layer of complexity to the data collection process (Nikander, 2008). It is a comprehensive, time-consuming activity, especially when done well (Lorenza, 2007). One major challenge for me that is not frequently faced in the PhD process was that of language; the data that were to be transcribed were in my native language; however, I have to submit the thesis in English. This meant I had to translate my transcribed data, post transcription, into English from Sinhala. Agustian and his colleagues suggest that the competence of the translation can affect the research, particularly in relation to trustworthiness (Agustian, Nga, & Donna, 2014). Lincoln and Guba (1989) identify trustworthiness as an important issue in qualitative studies. In cross-language studies trustworthiness not only relates to the research progress and results but also to the translation upon which the final research findings are based (Agustian et al., 2014). In light of the complicated issues noted above, this thesis employed specific translation procedures which keep the original cultural context (Sri Lanka) but can be understood in the targeted cultural context (Australia).

Three common translation practices are used in qualitative studies: single translation, parallel translation, and back-translation (Liamputtong, 2010; Neuman, 2011). Single translation is the most common translation practice, where data are translated from the foundation language to the target language (Neuman, 2011). Parallel translation is done by connecting more than two translators to translate from the base to the target language independently (Douglas & Craig, 2007; Lopez, Figueroa, Connor, & Maliski, 2008). Back-translation is used to compare the translated document with the original for accuracy and quality (Son, 2018), and is broadly used in social science research because of its ability to reduce mistakes in the translation (Liamputtong, 2010; Lopez et al., 2008). The comparison between the back-translation form and the original form is intended to identify translation correctness (Douglas & Craig, 2007). Compared to single translation, back-translation offers more opportunities for clarifying translation mistakes as there is more than one translator involved. Another benefit is that the researcher does not have to be fluent to take part in investigating the translation correctness (Chen & Boore, 2009; Jones et al., 2011). There is not always word-to-word correspondence between two languages, and testing theoretical sameness between texts can be demanding. In this case, in order to maintain

118 Chapter 5: Method

the trustworthiness and clearness of this cross-language research, back-translation was used, comparing the translation with the original version in the source language. All the interview questions and the resulting data were initially translated by me, the researcher, as I have language capability in both Sinhalese and English.

In the literature on cross-language research methods, Squires (2009) identifies standards that can be used to assess the trustworthiness of cross-language qualitative studies. These standards comprise conceptual similarity and several characteristics of the translator’s role and identifications, such as language proficiency in both languages. Squires (2009) recommends an explanation of both the language expertise of the researcher and the qualification of the translator. Therefore, in my case, data collected from all twenty interview transcripts were back-translated by an officially certified Sinhalese-English professional translator (Sinhalese) in Australia.

Squires (2009) recommended that analysis should start in the participants’ language. However, I did not follow this process for two main reasons. First, my supervising team were English speakers. They would not have possessed the capacity to give feedback on data analysis if the data had been in Sinhalese. As a beginner researcher, I faced problems identifying important themes and significant ideas and needed the direction of my supervisors. The data were therefore presented and examined in English – the target language. Maintaining the reliability of the language in the research process was the second issue that decided the choice of translating all interviews into the target language before examining the data. I therefore decided to first translate the interviews from Sinhalese into English and then to look at the data, which is discussed in the next section.

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Quantitative data analysis The quantitative data obtained through the pre/post-intervention surveys were analysed using the analytic techniques of the Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17.0. In addition, due to the descriptive statistics utilised in the data collection, A 2x2 mixed-design ANOVA analysis was used to check if there were any statistically significant differences of interest between pre/post-intervention surveys in relation to creative thinking and adaptability skills in the three conditions.

Chapter 5: Method 119 In this section I explain the scoring of the Torrance Test of Creativity Test (TTCT), including TTCT-Verbal criteria and TTCT-Figural criteria.

Analysis of the Torrance test of creativity test (TTCT) The adapted TTCT measure included two forms, the TTCT- Figural and the TTCT- Verbal, as described in Chapter 4, sub-section 4.4.1. The answers on the TTCT-F and the TTCT-V are expressed in two separate modalities. The answers on the TTCT-F are drawn, and those on the TTCT - V are written. The TTCT-V test comprised three activities: product improvement, just suppose and unusual uses. These three activities were scored on three scoring components: (1) fluency (2) flexibility (3) originality. The TTCT- F test comprised two activities, picture completion and repeated figures of diamonds. These two items were also scored on five scoring components: (1) fluency (2) originality (3) elaboration (4) the abstractness of titles, and (5) resistance to premature closure.

Considering pre/post-test scoring, as the TTCT is analysed as quantitative data to receive a numerical score, a rubric was constructed to ensure fidelity. One of my supervisors, a specialist in creativity tests, reviewed the rubric and made some corrections. Tables 7 and 8 show the rubric which was used for scoring. To maintain reliability, a senior colleague checked the tests I had scored to ascertain interrater agreement. To maintain the reliability of the scores, a senior colleague also checked the scores allocated by myself. We utilised the marker agreement of personal expertise and task demands, in line with Suto and Nádas (2008). My scoring was focused on two factors: (i) personal expertise (subject and cultural awareness) and (ii) the task demands in the paper. The senior colleague’s scores were oriented to task demands, and she considered the rubric while I translated what students had written. My colleague randomly selected five papers from each pre/post-test data set, 60 papers in total. We compared her scores for each question with the scores I had given each student’s paper to check the agreement of the scores awarded. In most cases around 90% of the time marker agreement was found in all three rubrics in verbal as well as figural. We reached consensus on those where we differed. The point to be taken into consideration here is that I referred to research journal articles (cf. Kim, 2006; 2011; Mouchiroud & Lubart, 2001) and a freely available interpretive manual on the web which can be found at this URL

120 Chapter 5: Method

(https://www.ststesting.com/gift/TTCT_InterpMOD.2018.pdf) for scoring of the TTCT- Verbal and TTCT- Figural separately.

TTCT- Verbal criteria The TTCT-Verbal test comprised three activities, and was assessed by three dimensions: (1) fluency (2) flexibility, and (3) originality. Each activity had a rubric for scoring from a total of 6 points. Item scores of 0-2 were awarded for each and then totalled. The following table demonstrates the scoring criteria for each activity.

Table 7 Scoring rubric for verbal creativity indexes

Creativity Scoring criteria Score awarded indexes

Fluency Refers to the ability to produce 0 - Nothing mentioned new ideas with words 1 - 1-2 ideas make a suggestion The total number or applicable 2 - Makes three or more suggestions relevant to answers and number of relevant the stimulus ideas

Originality Refers to the ability to produce 0 - Nothing mentioned uncommon, exclusive or highly 1 - 1-2 ideas make a suggestion relevant to the personal ideas stimulus

2 - Makes three or more suggestions relevant to the stimulus

Flexibility The total number or applicable 0 - Nothing mentioned answers and number of relevant 1 - Produces 1-2 different category of ideas ideas relevant to the stimulus

2 – Makes three or more different categories of ideas relevant to the stimulus

The fluency score was attained by counting the total number of related ideas depending on the nature of the activity. The originality scores were like fluency scores (originality scoring the same for the verbal and figural). The flexibility score for each item was attained by counting the number of categories given in the answer. The total

Chapter 5: Method 121 possible score is 18 for these three verbal activities. The total mean is used to place students into the following categories: 13 and above, a high level of verbal creativity; from 7 to 12, a moderate level; and less than 7, a low level of verbal creativity.

TTCT- Figural criteria TTCT- Figural comprised two items (1) picture completion, and (2) repeated figures of diamonds. These two activities were assessed by five dimensions: (1) fluency (2) originality (3) elaboration (4) the abstractness of titles, and (5) resistance to premature closure. Table 9 illustrates the scoring criteria used for evaluating the two items for the TTCT Figural.

Table 8 illustrates the scoring criteria used for evaluating the two items for the TTCT Figural.

Table 8 Scoring rubric for figural creativity indexes

Creativity Scoring criteria Score awarded indexes Fluency Refers to the ability to produce figural 0 - No answer at all images 1-3 - Ideas (unfinished /unrelated The total number of applicable answers or similar idea) and number of relevant ideas 2 - More than 4 different ideas

Refers to the ability to produce 0 - Common ideas uncommon, exclusive or highly personal 1 - unusual ideas ideas The unusualness or uncommonness of the responses

Elaboration The ability to develop and expand on ideas 0 - No answer at all Enabling the viewer to see a more detailed 1 - Elaboration either inside or picture outside figure 2 - Elaboration inside and outside figure

Abstractness A title for the figure moves beyond 0 - No answer at all of titles concrete labelling/responses to a stimulus 1 - Literal as well as the imagination and use of detail 2 - Abstract in a response

Resistance to Reflect long enough to create a design that 0 - Repeated and not connected premature connects all the given shapes with one idea images / no story attempted closure 1 - Some images connected, no real story 2 - Well thought out idea that connects all the shapes

The fluency score was based on the number of applicable ideas produced by a student. The originality was scored based on the number of statistically rare ideas.

122 Chapter 5: Method

Elaboration was considered on the number of elaborated ideas, and details added to ideas, either within the figure or outside the figure (or a minimal combination of inside and outside). The abstractness of titles was scored by evaluating the titles beyond literal or imaginative detail in each student response. Finally, the resistance to premature closure was scored by considering a connection of ability to delay decisions that allows for original ideas to form, taking into account all available evidence. The total possible score was 18 for those two figural activities. The total mean was used to place students into the following categories: 13 and above, a high level of figural creativity; from 7 to 12, a moderate level; and less than 7, a low level of figural creativity.

Adaptability Scale Adaptability is projected as individuals’ capacity to positively regulate psycho- behavioural functions in response to new, changing, and/or uncertain situations and conditions (Martin et la., 2013b). The Adaptability Scale comprised 9 items and three factors of adaptability are evaluated in the present thesis: cognitive (e.g. ‘I am able to adjust my thinking or expectations to assist me in a new situation if necessary’); behavioural (e.g. ‘To assist me in a new situation, I am able to change the way I do things if necessary’); and emotional (e.g. ‘To help me through new or difficult situations, I am able to draw on positive feelings and emotions (e.g., enjoyment, satisfaction’). Each factor has three items, producing 9-items, and the English item wordings are shown in Table 3. Students were asked to indicate the degree to which they agreed with statements that were characterised on a seven-point agreement scale with extreme response types fixed with a phrase (1 = strongly disagree) to (7 = strongly agree). All answer scripts in Time 1 and Time 2 were marked manually.

I collected the data through classrooms observations, teacher interviews, and students’ focus group discussion for assessing the fidelity, acceptability and feasibility of the intervention, using a modified version of content analysis. These data were not ‘collected’ or analysed in the sense that they were supporting data and were collected for follow up and to ensure my work was appropriate in ensuring that the non- randomised control trial’s results were reliable as the intervention was faithfully done and for ensuring some degree of generalisability for the intervention to be acceptable and feasible.. Content analysis is a research technique for making replicable and effective implications from texts (Krippendorff, 2004); it provides a methodical and

Chapter 5: Method 123 objective means to make valid implications from verbal, visual, or written data in order to define and measure exact phenomena (White & Marsh, 2006). This method did not seek to analyse the data but to sort the data into categories, answering the questions relating to the fidelity, acceptability and feasibility of the intervention.

CHAPTER SUMMARY

In this chapter I have explained the processes adopted when collecting the data required to obtain answers to my main research question. I first explained the pilot study which I conducted in an inner-city Brisbane school to try out my selected data-collection tools in the field. I then detailed the approach to my main study, which focused on evaluating the intervention program that used process drama techniques for the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills. I then discussed how I responded to challenges encountered in the data transcription and translation processes. Finally, I described the scoring criteria for the two tests I used. In the next chapter, I present the results derived from these analyses and procedures.

124 Chapter 5: Method

Results

In the previous chapter I discussed data collection procedures, including the pilot and the main study. I then described the overall process of research procedures, and how I did my data transcription and translation process as preparation for data analysis. This chapter presents the results of the study.

The chapter comprises three stages of data analysis. The first stage conducts analyses of the Torrance Test of Creativity Test (TTCT) Verbal and Figural results separately. The second stage consists of an examination of the properties of all stages in the Adaptability Scale. These analyses are based on Time 1 and Time 2 data. The third stage of analysis examines measurement properties of the total fidelity, acceptability and feasibility results.

To evaluate the effect of the drama-based intervention on students’ creative thinking and adaptability scores a mixed-design ANOVA analysis was conducted. This evaluation was carried out over ten weeks, and the surveys were conducted twice, the pre-test in the first week (prior to the intervention) and the post-test in the last week of the intervention. Table 09 shows the number of male and female student participants in the pre/post-tests which were administered in the intervention, the control and the active control classes. All students were 11 and 12 years of age.

Table 09 Gender of participants

Intervention Active control Gender Control group group Group

Pre Post Pre Post Pre Post

Male 39 28 27 24 22 19

Female 25 25 17 12 22 20

Total 64 53 44 36 44 39

The above table shows that 150 students completed the pre-test before the intervention, and 128 students completed the post-test. Some students were absent for either the pre- or post-tests, and so 22 students’ results were discarded.

Chapter 6: Results 125 RESULTS FOR CREATIVITY

Verbal creativity total score To measure the effect of the program on verbal creativity, the variations in the scores obtained in the three tasks of the TTCT -V total test scores were analysed by a 2 x 3 x 2 mixed-design ANOVA method, within time (pre- and post-) as a within- subject factor, condition (intervention, active-control, and control) as a between- subject factor, and gender (male and female) as a between-subject factor.

Verbal test scores were generally distributed at both time points, assessed visually using histograms, and by skewness and kurtosis values (which were within ± 2). According to Levene’s test, there was a breach to the homogeneity of variances assumption (p < .05), suggesting error variances were not evenly distributed across the different groups at pre- and post-intervention test scores (see Table 10 below). To control for this, the alpha level for determining statistical significance was reduced (p < .025).

Table 10 Levene’s test for homogeneity of variances – verbal test scores at each time point

F df p

Verbal (pre) 3.16 5, 122 .010

Verbal (post) 3.54 5, 122 .005

The first stage of the analysis found there was a significant main effect of time, group, and gender, and a significant interaction between time and group (see Table 10). The main effect of gender showed that male verbal creativity was higher than female verbal creativity (see Figure 2). There were no other main effects or interactions.

126 Chapter 6: Results

Figure 2 Main effect of Gender on Verbal Creativity Scores.

Error bars represent ± 1 SE.

Table 11 The total score of pre- and post-verbal creativity

Wilks’ Lambda F Df p

Time .698 52.66 1,122 <.001*

Group 5.84 2,122 .004*

Gender 14.33 1,122 <.001*

Group * Time .545 50.90 2,122 <.001*

Time* ender 1 .04 1,122 .835

Group * Gender 1.7 2,122 .187

Group*Time* Gender .96 2.54 2,122 .083

*Significant at < .025

As shown by Figure 3, to follow up the interaction between time and group, the simple effect of time was investigated (within each group), which showed a significant increase in pre- to post- total verbal creativity for the intervention group (Wilks’ Lambda = .4, F(1,122) = 182.63, p < .001), and no increase for the active control group (Wilks’ Lambda = .98, F (2, 122) = 2.26, p = .136) or the control group (Wilks’ Lambda = 1, F (1, 122) = .62, p = .432), suggesting a positive impact of the program on verbal creativity development. This increase was apparent in three verbal tasks,

Chapter 6: Results 127 expressing questions about a situation, guessing the consequences of that situation, and improving a toy (see Table 11).

Figure 3 Pre- and post-verbal creativity total score

The simple effect of Group within each time point showed that groups varied significantly at pre-testing, F (2, 122) = 7.93, p = .001, as well as at post-testing, F (2, 122) = 28.58, p < .001. Follow-up comparisons for the pre-test time point show that the control group was higher than the intervention group (p < .001) and the active control group at pre-test (p = .046).

Figural creativity total score To measure the effect of the program on figural creativity, the variations in the scores obtained in the two tasks of the TTCT - F total test scores were analysed by a 2 x 3 x 2 mixed-design ANOVA method, within time (pre- and post-) as a within-subject factor, condition (intervention, active-control, and control) as a between-subject factor, and gender (male and female) as a between-subject factor. Scores were usually distributed (assessed again using histograms), with no evidence of skewness or kurtosis (all values within ± 2); but again there was a minor breach to homogeneity (p < .05) at both time points (see Table 12), hence a significance level of p < .025 was also used as a cut-off to determine figural creativity between the included factors in the analysis.

128 Chapter 6: Results

Table 12 Levene’s test for homogeneity of variances - figural test scores at each time point

F df p

Figural (pre) 0.79 5, 122 .560

Figural (post) 2.92 5, 122 .016

There was a significant main effect of time, group and gender, a significant interaction between time and group, and significant interaction between group and gender was found. There were no other main effects or interactions (see Table 13).

Table 13 The total score of pre and post-figural creativity

Wilks’ F df p Lambda

Time .873 17.76 1,122 <.001*

Group 5.21 2,122 .007*

Gender 5.08 1,122 .026

Group * Time .684 28.24 2,122 <.001*

Time * Gender .987 1.63 1,122 .204

Group * Gender 6.46 2,122 .002*

Group * Time * Gender .962 2.41 2,122 .094

*Significant at < .025 As shown by Figure 4, to follow up the interaction between time and group the simple effect of time was investigated (within each group), which showed a significant increase in pre- to post- total figural creativity for the intervention group (Wilks’ Lambda = .646, F(1,122) = 66.78, p < .001.); an active control group also increased (Wilks’ Lambda = .939, F(1,122) = 7.93, p = .006, suggesting a strong impact of the drama-based intervention program on figural creativity development for both groups of students. These results suggested that the drama-based activities had a positive effect on figural creativity, with increases in indicators such as (a) resistance to

Chapter 6: Results 129 premature closure of figures; (b) originality, or aptitude for presenting novel, uncommon ideas; for bringing ideas or solutions that are far from obvious, common, or established; and (c) elaboration, or the aptitude for developing, extending, or embellishing ideas with details.

Figure 4 Pre/post figural creativity total score

The simple effect of Group at the pre-test time point showed that groups varied significantly at pre-testing, F (2, 122) = 10.2, p < .001. Follow-up comparisons showed that the control group was higher than both the active-control (p < .001) and the intervention group (p = .001) at pre-test. There were no other significant differences (p > .1).

Follow up of the Group by Gender interaction investigated the simple effect of a group within each gender. Significant differences emerged in figural scores (combined across time points) among the different groups, but only for females, F (2,122) = 8.86, p < .001. Follow-up comparisons indicated that females in the active control group were lower than those in the intervention group (p = .001) and the controlled group (p < .001).

The overall results of the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) Combining both the TTCT -V and TTCT -F found there was a significant main effect of time and group. There was a significant interaction between time and group and group and gender. There were no other main effects or interactions (see Table 14).

130 Chapter 6: Results

Table 14 An overall analysis of the TTCT Pre/post total score

Wilks’ Lambda F df p

Time .612 77.41 1,122 <.001*

Group 6.98 2,122 .001*

Gender .6 1,122 .442

Group * Time .414 86.38 2,122 <.001*

Time * Gender .996 .54 1,122 .465

Group * Gender 4.03 2,122 .020*

Group * Time * .44 2,122 .648 Gender

*Significant at < .025

As shown by figure 5, the follow up of the Group by Time interaction, the simple effect of time at each group, was investigated. There was an increase for the intervention group (Wilks’ Lambda = .307, F(1,122) = 276.03, p < .001) and active control group (Wilks’ Lambda = .923, F(1,122) = 10.18, p = .002), confirming the strong impact of the drama based intervention program for verbal and figural creativity development.

Chapter 6: Results 131

Figure 5 Pre/post TTCT total score

The simple effect of Group at the pre-test time point showed that groups varied significantly at pre-testing, F (2, 122) = 13.51, p < .001. As can be seen in figure 8, the pre-test ANOVAs indicated that before the intervention there were significant differences between the three groups. Follow-up comparisons indicated that the intervention group and active control group were not significantly different (p = .930) in the pre-test, though control groups indicated significant differences in comparison to both the other groups in the pre-test (p < .001), with no other significant differences. However, pre- to post-test ANOVAs indicated that the intervention group of students improved their creative performance more than active control and control students.

Gender and creativity To follow up the Gender interaction (displayed below in Figure 6), the simple effects of Group at each level of Gender were investigated. Interestingly, the pre/post- test in TTCT -V and TTCT- F results indicated that interaction between group and gender indicated that females varied in their overall creativity scores depending which group they were in, F(2,122) = 8.1, p < .001. The follow-up comparisons indicated that females in the active-control group had lower creativity scores than females in the intervention group (p < .001) and the control group (p = .002).

132 Chapter 6: Results

Figure 6 Interaction between Group and Gender for total creativity scores

RESULTS FOR ADAPTABILITY

To measure the effect of the drama-based intervention program in relation to the development of adaptability skills, the adaptability scale was analysed by a 2 x 3 x 2 mixed-design ANOVA method, within time (pre- and post-) as a within-subject factor, condition (intervention, active-control, and control) as a between-subject factor, and gender (male and female) as a between-subject factor. A significance level of p < .025 was used as a cut-off to determine suitable adaptation between the included factors in the analysis, due to minor breaches in the assumption of homogeneity of variances (see Table 15).

Table 15 Levene’s test for homogeneity of variances - adaptability test scores at each time point

F df p

Adaptability (pre) 3.64 5, 122 .004

Adaptability (post) 4.71 5, 122 .001

The analysis found there was a significant main effect of Time, a significant main effect of Group, and an interaction between them (see Table 16). There were no other main effects or interactions.

Chapter 6: Results 133 Table 16 Pre/post-adaptability test results

Wilks’ F df p Lambda

Time .609 78.32 1,122 <.001*

Group 84.91 2,122 <.001*

Gender 0 1,122 .998

Group * Time .826 12.89 2,122 <.001*

Time * Gender .996 .51 1,122 .478

Group * Gender 1.29 2,122 .279

Group * Time * Gender .99 .61 2,122 .545 *Significant at < .025

As shown by Figure 7, in relation to adaptability development, for the interaction between Time and Group simple effect of Time within each group reveals a significant difference between total pre- and post-test scores in the intervention group (Wilks’ Lambda = .63, F (1,122) = 71.64, p < .001). There was an increase in scores in the active control group (Wilks’ Lambda = .76, F (1,122) = 39.43, p < .001), and no difference in the control Group (Wilks’ Lambda = .99, F(1,122) = 1.03, p = .312).

Figure 7 Pre/post adaptability total score

I also looked at the simple effect of Group at the pre-test time point. The different groups varied significantly at pre-testing, F (2,122) = 25.78, p <.001, as well as at post-

134 Chapter 6: Results

testing. Follow-up comparisons showed that the intervention group was significantly higher than the other two groups in the pre-test, p < .001, with no other differences found. Having examined whether there is a significant difference between genders, data indicated that the effect of gender is not significant in adaptability scores.

Tripartite perspective on adaptability This intervention initially hypothesised that three perspectives/components of adaptability skills (cognitive, behavioural and emotional) helped to adjust to, deal with and manage novel, varying and uncertain in- and out-of-school life situations by using process drama techniques. Following this, a one-way ANOVA was conducted to check whether there are any differences between pre/post adaptability scores among the three factors, and basic descriptive statistics for the adaptability scale were examined. In relation to analyses based on eigenvalues, nine items were analysed by descriptive analyses, including an assessing scale, means and variances (standard deviation) to examine if adaptability can be denoted by cognitive, behavioural, and emotional dimensions. The first analysis of the cognitive adaptability scores in pre/post is presented in Table 17.

Table 17 Pre/post cognitive adaptability skills

School Pre-Cognitive Post-Cognitive

Intervention A Mean 15.92 19.25

S D 3.078 1.29

Intervention B Mean 16.96 19.68

S D 2.77 1.40

Active control A Mean 13.25 15.79

S D 4.44 2.50

Active control B Mean 11.41 14.83

S D 3.11 2.36

Chapter 6: Results 135 School Pre-Cognitive Post-Cognitive

Control A Mean 12.15 12.89

S D 5.28 4.34

Control B Mean 13.25 13.30

S D 3.97 2.957

Total Mean 14.22 16.39

S D 4.246 3.72

Table 18 indicates the significant differences between pre/post cognitive adaptability scores between groups and within groups.

Table 18 Pre/post cognitive adaptability skills between groups and within groups

Sum of Mean df F Sig. Squares Square

PreCog123 Between (Combined) 485.92 5 97.18 6.57 .000 * School Groups

Within Groups 1804.51 122 14.79

Total 2290.43 127

PostCog12 Between (Combined) 960.37 5 192.07 29.13 .000 3 * School Groups

Within Groups 804.30 122 6.59

Total 1764.68 127

*Significant at < .005

136 Chapter 6: Results

The same procedure was followed to check whether there were any differences between pre/post behavioural adaptability scores among schools. The second analysis of the second test is presented in Table 19.

Table 19 Pre/post behavioural adaptability skills

School Pre-Behaviour Post-Behaviour

Intervention A Mean 14.92 18.71

S D 3.484 1.718

Intervention B Mean 15.12 18.56

S D 3.72 1.68

Active control A Mean 10.87 15.87

S D 3.19 2.54

Active control B Mean 10.95 12.70

S D 4.69 3.62

Control A Mean 11.21 10.52

S D 4.35 2.89

Control B Mean 10.95 12.70

S D 4.69 3.62

Total Mean 12.71 15.56

S D 4.16 3.94

Table 20 indicates the significant differences between pre/post behavioural adaptability scores between groups and within groups.

Chapter 6: Results 137 Table 20 Pre/post behavioural adaptability skills between groups and within groups

Sum of Mean df F Sig. Squares Square

PreBeha123 Between (Combined) 486.07 5 97.21 6.92 .000 * School Groups

Within Groups 1712.23 122 14.03

Total 2198.30 127

PostBeha123 Between (Combined) 1177.14 5 235.42 36.06 .000 * School Groups

Within Groups 796.35 122 6.52

Total 1973.50 127

The same procedure was followed to check whether there were any differences between pre/post emotional adaptability scores among schools. The third analysis of the emotional adaptability scores in pre/post is presented in Table 21.

Table 21 Pre/post emotional adaptability skills

School Pre-Behaviour Post-Behaviour

Intervention A Mean 14.28 18.46

S D 3.57 2.25

Intervention B Mean 14.80 17.60

S D 4.27 1.84

Active control A Mean 11.20 14.62

S D 3.28 3.06

Active control B Mean 11.16 13.58

S D 2.51 2.64

Control A Mean 10.94 11.63

S D 4.60 3.74

138 Chapter 6: Results

School Pre-Behaviour Post-Behaviour

Control B Mean 11.35 11.65

S D 3.391 3.13

Total Mean 12.56 15.03

S D 4.02 3.89 *Significant at < .005

Table 22 indicated the significant differences between pre/post emotional adaptability scores between groups and within groups.

Table 22 Pre/post emotional adaptability skills between groups and within groups

Sum of Mean df F Sig. Squares Square

PreE123 Between (Combined) 354.66 5 70.93 5.08 .000 * School Groups

Within Groups 1700.83 122 13.94

Total 2055.50 127

PostEmo Between (Combined) 972.32 5 194.46 24.96 .000 123 * Groups School

Within Groups 950.47 122 7.79

Total 1922.80 127

I now discuss the data obtained from my classroom observations, teacher interviews and students focus group discussions.

FIDELITY, ACCEPTABILITY AND FEASIBILITY OF THE PROGRAM

In this section, I discuss the results that relate to the fidelity of the program, the acceptability of the program to both teachers and students, and then the feasibility of the program. First, I discuss the fidelity results.

Chapter 6: Results 139 Fidelity of the program The fidelity of the program implemented by the teachers was measured by classroom observation and weekly interviews with the two teachers. I implemented a non-participant observation method to gather data. My observations were focused not only on the teachers following the manual but also on whether Lucas’s five skills of creativity were being developed. I undertook eighteen classroom observations from each teacher and all lessons used for the analysis.

I observed the first eight lessons, and the others were observed by my colleagues. In order to ensure consistency of observations, we discussed in detail how they would be conducted. My colleagues and I all noticed that the teachers often did not follow the manual closely. The School A teacher was not very strict in adhering to the specific instructions for an exercise, often improvising; but he did not give any notes. The School B teacher, while adhering to the manual more strictly, often did not finish the activity.

We used Lucas’ five creative dispositions model (Lucas, 2016; Lucas et al., 2013) to structure our observations: inquisitiveness, persistence, imagination, collaboration and discipline. Working with the schedule helped to ensure consistency in observations, ensured that we were all looking at the same aspects of fidelity and simplified the process of assessing what students created, prepared, voiced, contributed, and developed.

Inquisitiveness Our observation data showed that both teachers in the intervention groups used inquisitiveness-related strategies in their lessons. Most of the time they began the class with warm-up talks; the conversations were generally about students’ everyday experience, some television advertisements or programs that they had watched, or the teachers’ personal stories about what they had done during the holidays or their experience of the weather. During this time, students were eager to talk and to share their experiences. For example, in B Group (the girls’ school), the female teacher was preparing the students to perform animals’ dramatic movements through an improvisation technique. Before starting the lesson, she asked students to walk around the room like a lion (pre-text); she then asked questions (wondering and questioning) and invited the students to start the dramatic action phase. When the pre-text was complete, she asked: “how did you feel about that?” I observed that this question led

140 Chapter 6: Results

to an increase in the frequency of questions from the students themselves and encouraged more creative thinking opportunities for them (exploring and investigating). She provided many opportunities to the students to voice their ideas. The students’ responses showed how they were learning to think and to respond and to express their thoughts. The teacher also elaborated on their thoughts, eliciting further ideas from the class (School B, author field notes, 8 May 2018).

However, my colleague reported that School A, the intervention group, was different. When the teacher questioned the students, they did not respond well. It appeared that they knew the answer but did not feel relaxed enough to respond. They possibly felt embarrassed, or were not used to chatting with the teacher. Most of the time they seemed to be staying quiet if something seemed difficult, to avoid ‘getting it wrong’ (School A, colleague 1- field notes, 11 June 2018).

Students in Group B were eager to answer direct teacher-initiated questions. They were keen to talk; they were generating ideas, without any apparent sense of judgment or evaluation of any kind. They were referencing their existing beliefs, considering their own actions, looking at facts, evaluating their achievement in the class and determining final action. Overall, we observed that Group B students asked and responded to lots of questions. They provided inspiring options for solving a problem by exploring all types of lines of investigation through drama.

Persistence Persistence was observed being developed in lessons in both groups of students. This creative habit consists of three sub-habits: (1) Sticking with difficulty; (2) daring to be different; and (3) tolerating uncertainty (Lucas, 2016; Lucas et al., 2013). The focus was on students’ persistence and resilience, their ability to tolerate the face of challenge, and their readiness to take risks and learn from mistakes. During the observations we noted that the teacher at School B provided more opportunities for student persistence. For example, when she tried something new, she did not give up if students did not “get it” right away; she continued to use a problem-solving approach to manage challenging situations, understanding that her students needed time to learn and to adopt these problem-solving strategies. Similarly, when students reflected on something repeatedly, trying to figure it out and plan how to do better the next time, she frequently helped (School B, colleague 2- field notes, 19 June 2018). By contrast, the School A teacher provided fewer opportunities for persistence. He did not

Chapter 6: Results 141 demonstrate substantial support for its development, so in a sense the students were undermined in this respect; or at best, his lessons did nothing to develop it (School A, colleague 1 - field notes, 11 June 2018).

Imagination Teaching for the development of imagination was observed in the lessons. This creative capacity consists of three sub-habits: (1) Playing with possibilities; (2) making connections; and (3) using intuition. Imagination is a process which reflects social situations, and involves imagining, reconstructing, and transforming. We observed students used their imagination for problem-solving. When they were involved in group activities, particularly when they were deciding what to do next, we noticed them quickly scanning faces and body gestures, searching their memory for information about prior experiences with the same individuals or similar situations, and then deciding how to act; all within less than a second. For example, School B students were given scenario cards. They pooled their knowledge by using different characters, like the politician, the teacher or a sailor. It was observed that student-to- student connections were built through a variety of behaviours, such as praise, smiling, or sharing personal stories or experiences. Most of the time, we noticed that storytelling and hot-seat techniques were the main strategies used to strengthen students’ imaginative capacity. For example, during storytelling time, the School B teacher divided the class into small groups and gave a topic to each group. She instructed her students to develop a short play for performance. In the rehearsal time, my colleague noticed students being encouraged to use their imagination to consider or create different possibilities. For example, one student used her scenario to criticize the present education system: this was a new, unique, and surprising experience for my colleague (School B, colleague 2 - field notes, 19 June 2018). The student carefully selected a range of ideas relating to the Sri Lankan education system and selected the best one to shape into a performance. In role, she then asked new questions of the teacher-in-role, stepping outside conventional boundaries through the vehicle of her character performance (School B, colleague 2 - field notes, 26 June 2018).

I observed the creation of a flexible and supportive environment in the classroom, facilitating students’ individual creativity, and expression of satisfaction and pleasure. School A teacher frequently used a relaxed approach, enthusiastically engaging in students’ activities. The open-air theatre may have contributed to creating

142 Chapter 6: Results

this improved atmosphere, helping him to create a better approach. This teacher always used improvisation techniques, inviting students to build different situations spontaneously. For example:

We are going to change it a little more. Now you are going to send a positive word to someone in the circle. So, it is not just a single positive word. It is a positive sentence….and do it, whatever your made-up words are, in normal talking pattern like you would if they were regular words. Make sense?

This approach allowed students to explore their own self-expression and use of the imagination in a range of different situations. I noticed that the improvisation technique helped to create new opportunities for them (School A, author field notes, 16 May 2018).

Collaboration Instances of collaboration were observed in both groups. The potential of the drama class as a space to develop collaboration skills was noticeable. When a group activity started the students were made aware of their role in working together towards a shared goal. Everyone had the same vision in mind and all members of the group were aware of their role in working as a team. In one example in School A, the teacher divided the class into five groups and each group leader was asked to mime an action that would signal a particular environment which the rest of the group had to guess and then enter the space and behave appropriately. This process kept going until the entire group was in the environment and they were able to create a complete picture (School A, colleague 1 - field notes, 2 July 2018). During group activities it became evident that each group member took personal responsibility for working to reach shared goals; and most of the students took time to share their thoughts, give constructive feedback to each other, and argue with each other’s ideas while keeping an open mind (School B, colleague 2 - field notes, 12 June 2018).

Discipline Discipline was also a focus of observation. It was noted that School B teacher worked hard to balance dramatic activities and discipline during the drama period. She used different approaches to establish discipline. A music approach she used was effective. She always played music or video clips before starting her class, believing music stimulates creativity in the brain. For example, she showed a video clip about air pollution, and when it was finished she asked questions about it (School B,

Chapter 6: Results 143 colleague 2 - field notes, 12 June 2108). She also used music as a storytelling technique. When the music track finished, she told her class that focused relaxation is the ideal bodily state for imagination and creative thinking (School B, author field notes, 3 July 2108). Unfortunately, we did not observe this kind of effective technique implemented by the School A teacher.

Acceptability of the program Teacher thinking, teacher acceptance, and student satisfaction are recognized as critical factors to the success of a classroom intervention (Harris, Preller, & Graham, 1990). To measure the acceptability of the intervention, I conducted teacher interviews both during and after the intervention and a student focus group during the intervention.

Acceptability of the program by teachers I canvassed teachers’ views by interviews which were conducted with both teachers in a semi-structured format. Analysing the literature, there are generally considered to be four factors associated with teachers' views on the acceptability of a drama-based intervention. While they are described by a variety of names, in this thesis, I suggest these four factors are: (1) flexibility; (2) question-posing and question responding; (3) collaboration; and (4) engagement in the lesson.

Flexibility Both teachers expressed the view that the intervention manual provided many opportunities for teaching flexibility. School A teacher expressed his belief that flexibility is an essential characteristic for the development of creativity, as it allows time and space for students to generate novel ideas. He commented that the students chose to use novel ideas he had never seen before: “They are more eager to perform new things. I have never seen these things before from them” (School A teacher, third interview). School B teacher commented that the students' behaviour and their involvement in the lessons showed they were keener and more flexible in relation to new ideas: “The given situation cards encourage students to practice their flexibility skills while in the middle of a fun and immersive, dramatic experience. Many activities require students to shift their thinking with each new situation level” (School B teacher, fourth interview).

Question-posing and question-responding skills

144 Chapter 6: Results

School A teacher reported that the program encouraged question-posing and question- responding skills. He believed that the hot-seat technique was the basis for being able to do this: “When they sat on the hot-seat, they converted themselves to the character. Not any abashment, not any hesitation” (School A teacher, fifth interview). He also stated that:

This can be simply modified to suit the needs of the students. This is a great way for the students to practice asking and answering questions. Also, for students who are eager for more speaking, using an interactive, conversational activity, hot-seat is the best opportunity for them. This technique helps for communicating genuinely in whatever scenario and to get to know each other on a more personal level (School A teacher, fifth interview).

He also observed that the ‘sillinesses’ was an important characteristic which was essential for creativity development. “I observed surprising things during a hot-set session. Some discussions went through completely silly and out of character. At the same time, some students identified errors, and they straight away corrected it” (School A teacher, fifth interview). Moreover, he observed that the hot-seat technique helped students to develop self-confidence to adapt to any situation:

I believe that the hot-seat helps to build student confidence too! ... students were eager to come forward voluntarily during the hot-seat…. This activity encourages students to get practice in more argument as well as using novel approaches. Likewise, this builds self-confidence… (School A teacher, fifth interview).

He also stated that he had observed and experienced how the hot-seat technique helped students to find ways of facing everyday problems and also future problems. He said that during one hot-seat session (teacher-in-role), he gave a few minutes to create a list of five questions and all students created unbelievable queries for him:

It provides students with an arena to express new ideas and voice their opinions. Sometimes students developed more critical arguments; these arguments allowed them to challenge each other logically and spark off of each other’s ideas (Group A teacher, fifth interview).

The Group B teacher also confirmed that hot-seat helped to enhance her students’ question-posing and question-responding skills:

Chapter 6: Results 145 When students sat, automatically appeared their question-posing and question-responding skills. Students like it and the questions that were asked from those who sat by others were wonderful too. Some were very logical” (Group B teacher, second interview).

Collaboration Both teachers reported that the program promoted collaboration, and that students were more motivated through collaborating in the activities than they had been in drama classes previously, and that working in small groups provided more opportunities for actively participating in the lessons:

Very clearly……this approach unites the students and always has to work in a team. I saw students were talking with peers and searching for solutions… They discussed, shared their ideas as a team, and listened to other ideas, and finally, they agreed to one firm decision. Now students are working in small groups; they have more opportunities for participating actively in the lessons” (School B teacher, first interview).

The School A teacher observed students’ enthusiasm for group collaboration: “The activities in the lessons making students happy and have fun in the classroom and become successful together” (School A teacher, first interview).

According to this teacher, working in a group helped to develop leadership skills, at the same time learning cooperation through drama and the capacity to connect and empathise with their peers. His commentary showed how he used this strategy practically. For example, he created small groups (6-7 members for each) and gave each one a scenario to perform. Students were left to develop the story together and to decide who played which role:

Students learned to empathise, not just through interaction with their group or partner, but from the characters they played. They also were educated in humility as they determined that no one individual can truly make something happen on their own (School A teacher, eighth interview).

Engagement in lessons Lesson engagement was also highlighted in the responses of both teachers. Both noted how students’ engagement increased during the intervention period, and believed that this engagement was an outcome of the strategy implemented via process drama. The School B teacher noted: “Now children answered well… everyone had

146 Chapter 6: Results

shown a keenness of answering. So, I think now students have got the best, and from now onwards they are getting it” (School B teacher, fifth interview). The School A teacher added: “now they willing to come in their free periods. Sometimes they asked could we come to our lunchtime. This means that they willing to utilise…their lunchtime too.” (School A teacher, fifth interview).

I experienced how smart they were [students]. As we know, this age group was very eager to know new things; this was the same in the drama classroom too. They investigated the new scenarios during the hot-seat and storytelling techniques times. I believe that they might adjust themselves to new things and they are dreaming better tomorrow (School A teacher, fifth interview).

Similarly, School B teacher noted:

implemented hot-seat very first time in the drama classroom and I was nervous in the first lesson because I do not have prior experience. However, what I observed in the students, they were eager to hot-seat, and they have a more positive expectation than me. Actually, they did not know what happens next, but they faced a new situation. I believed their attempt was succeeded (School B teacher, third interview).

Acceptability of the program by students The student focus groups were conducted with eight students in each group (16 students from both groups) in a face to face conversation with open-ended questions to explore their views on the acceptability of the program. The data revealed a variety of important information. Students identified eight reasons why they felt their experience using process drama techniques had contributed to their creative thinking and adaptability skills in an enjoyable way. These reasons were: (1) felt more relaxed in their learning; (2) reduced teacher intervention; (3) developed engagement skills; (4) confidence; (5) collaboration; (6) problem finding; and (7) motivation.

Relaxed The students claimed that they felt more relaxed in their learning through the use of process drama. For example, one student commented: “The approach was very relaxed, I’m so happy the way lessons are going” (School A, student 3), “I like this approach because in class all of us are in happy and relaxed moods” (School B, student 1), “I am in a pleasing attitude in the drama classroom” (School A, student

Chapter 6: Results 147 4), “We were relaxed in the drama activities, it brings us a happy mood” (School A, students 3, 4, 6 and 7).

The students’ perceived their engagement in the drama classes as being relaxed and fun. Some said it was relaxing because they no longer needed to take copious notes (School A, students 3, 5, 6 and 7). During the discussion it became clear how much the students disliked the traditional chalk-talk-notes approach described in Chapter 1: “I hate taking notes. I selected drama because of its practicals. But, unfortunately, throughout the first term, we had to take notes without 'doing'” (School A, student 2). Another student from School A noted:

“Yes, I felt the same. I could not see any differences between drama and science; the way of teaching was the same in both subjects. However, I know the drama approach should not be the way of science teaching. I like drama now” (School A, student 8).

The School B students also observed that the main reason they were happy and relaxed was the practical approach taken in the lessons: “Now, we have lots of activity in one particular lesson. I am happy” (School B, student 5). Other students agreed with her: too. “Yes, we liked this approach, lots of practicals... This was good for our relaxation” (School B, students 1, 2, 6, and 7). Both groups of students felt that they were more comfortable and positive when they participated in activities with the whole class; and that this comfortable relationship was reached through many experiences of performing for and with one another. The students clearly saw drama classes as being different now, and saw drama as being fundamentally more active, involving working with others to a much greater extent and doing away with the reliance on ‘note-taking.’

Minimal teacher approach Students commented that when they felt that they were ‘free’, unconsciously their creative ideas increased: “I do not know how to express it. When starting the dramatic activities, I felt that this was my time, not teachers. …oh! Ideas came for my mind continually” (School B, student 2). Most of the students in school B agreed, saying that the teacher’s minimum approach was beneficial: “Most of the time, our teachers’ tried to control our ideas. Then we were jammed. However, this time (intervention period), our teacher’s interference was minimal. Then, we were free, and we had the opportunity to expose our ideas” (School B, students 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8). School A

148 Chapter 6: Results

students made similar comments: “Dramatical movements were easy to perform without our teacher” (School A, students 4, 5).

Engagement in lessons Both groups of students identified skills in ‘volunteering’, ‘sharing’ and ‘group discussions’ as an indication of their engagement skills. They made the point that the drama class needs a different quality of engagement, a more active engagement than other subject areas. They saw this new approach as giving them more opportunities for this level of engagement. “All lessons combined with activities, therefore, we had to do something” (School B, student 1), “Its need an actively sharing ideas, just putting ideas not enough, because of all arguments, ideas created by ourselves, not from the teacher. Therefore, we need to be responsible for our ideas” (School A, student 4).

Both groups included “volunteering” in their discussion of engagement in drama activities: “Earlier, our teacher had to put extra effort into our contribution. Therefore, she had to wait a substantial time for our engagement. Now, we all participate voluntarily, no hesitation” (School A, student 4). Another student noted: “This is good for us. We were eager to listen to other ideas, then automatically developed our listening skills as well as empathy skills” (School B, student 7). When I asked her to describe what she meant by empathy skills she said: “It’s ability to see things from other’s viewpoint… Patience is important for us” (School B, student 4).

Confidence The students stated that they felt more confident after doing the program: “Now, I have confidence for engagement. Earlier I had some uncomfortable feelings …” (School A, student 3) was a common response among the students. This confidence spread beyond the drama classroom, with students reporting better ease of engagement in other subjects as well: “My regular engagement helped me to contribute in other subjects too...” (School B, student 5). “This was the first experience that I had. I think discussing my ideas with my group gave me confidence with it, and that was entirely a successful process of building my ideas...” (School A, student 3).

Collaboration Both groups of students confirmed that their engagement and confidence helped them to build collaboration and teamwork skills. They said that when they worked on their own, they naturally stopped generating ideas as soon as they came up with one acceptable one. However, working in groups appeared to overcome the tendency to

Chapter 6: Results 149 accept the first idea, and they were able to continue thinking until they came to the best one: “When we started to discuss, each idea changed or was questioned by our team. Finally, we choose to take one good idea among those ideas” (School B, student 4).

Most of the time, my friends appointed me as a group leader. Then, sometimes I need to take a part, a drama role, and as well as I need to help and encourage my group members who were upset and trying to perform their part……” (School A, student 2).

As this student and others have suggested, they felt more comfortable with different ideas and also with their own weaknesses because they knew others were able to take the lead and help them when they needed help: “I agreed [with the previous student’s] words. He sometimes acts as a group leader; then, he encouraged us to perform. In this situation, we had a chance to listen and cooperate with other members in our group” (School A, student 4).

Problem finding The students said that this was the first time they had experienced learning in terms of asking rather than answering questions. Most were eager to share their ideas, for example about what they learn, how they learn it, and when they get to learn. Students also revealed asking questions and discovering problems increases their engagement and motivation. For example, one student from School A observed: “In general, our teacher asked questions, and we had to solve them. But this time it was totally changed. I like this approach” (School A, student 1). When I asked that student to explain more from his own experience, another jumped in and stated:

One day, our teacher said that Colombo is filled in its population, we need to evacuate it. It was interesting! We used old maps, planned field trips, and discussed the population growth, as well as the living conditions and overcrowding. After that, he asked us to make a mind map for presenting our findings. (School A, student 2).

Another student agreed, commenting: “Yes, I agreed with (students 1 and 2) idea. We always had to think about what we were to say” (School A, student 7). Intervention School B students said that some techniques helped them to develop problem finding skills rather than problem-solving skills: “We need to appreciate you, miss [researcher]… We used some techniques for the very first time, and it allowed us to

150 Chapter 6: Results

develop situations and find answers to those situations. Thanking you!” (School B, student 3).

Motivation All students appeared to believe that they were more motivated and that the lessons were more meaningful to them and they could transfer their new knowledge and skills to other subjects or to daily life. All also mentioned at the beginning of the lessons that they thought it would be problematic without direct teacher instruction; but they soon became involved and motivated because they felt free to offer their own ideas;

Normally, we do not like drama, because of its approach [passive attraction and giving notes] …but suddenly the second term the teaching approach was totally changed. Then we were scared the way of approaching, but soon after we understood that it was thrilled. Now I am eager to come to the drama subject. (School A, student 6)

Another student said: “Now I am excited about the drama subject. I never missed my drama period” (School A, student 8). The same idea was also expressed by the School B students: “Sometimes we came in our free periods and asked our teacher, is it possible to come? She said, are you crazy? (School B, students 1, 5, 6). The students also found it very motivating to have a range of discussions with their friends before organizing their presentation.

Interestingly, most of the students indicated that their preferred technique was the hot-seat. For example, one student from School A said: “to be frank; this was the first time in our life faced the hot-seat for learning. It was marvellous” (School A, student 2). Another student said: “The hot-seat has given a chance to talk. It facilitated what we know about that topic and giving encourage us to look at the evidence, I love drama now” (School B, student 1). This comment reflects the fact that the hot-seat served to increase motivation and helped students to develop their questioning skills. The student from School A commented: “When it starts, we need to know the honest answer and questions that need deeper levels of thinking” (School A, student 6). The data show that the students’ second favourite technique was story-telling, which gave them opportunities to create, adapt and interact. The improvisation technique was their least preferred: “My preferred techniques are hot-seat and story-telling. Improvisation is my third choice.” (School B, student 4). Other students agreed with her.

Chapter 6: Results 151 Feasibility of the program After considering the issue of acceptability, I then analysed the data associated with feasibility. In the next section I present the data relating to feasibility of the program as evidenced from classroom observations, teacher interviews and students’ focus groups.

Feasibility results from classroom observations Classroom observations clearly demonstrated the difficulties associated with implementing process drama techniques in Sri Lankan classrooms. As noted earlier, these classrooms are not known as places of experimentation or exploration. The introduction of process drama lessons represented a real departure from the note-taking and lecture-style pedagogy generally experienced by students. The observation notes revealed five main problems: (1) formulating difficulties; (2) preparation; (3) timing; (4) space; and (5) resourcing.

Formulating difficulties The following two examples from the two schools provide some detail of the challenges involved in this project. They provide a description of the challenges that may be experienced by other Sri Lankan teachers trying to implement these techniques. They are illustrative of the situation and are not specifically analysed in this thesis.

Intervention school A - Lesson observation (Hot-Seat technique)

All the students and the male teacher arrived at the open-air theatre on time. The teacher asked students to make a circle; they made a huge one. The teacher said they were to make a middle-sized one; otherwise they would not hear his voice. The teacher then presented a short item on stage by performing the song from the famous stage play ‘Manamey.’ He spent three minutes on this activity. While he was performing, a few students could be seen pushing each other and moving their heads and shoulders; but most reacted favorably to their teacher’s performance. The teacher then proceeded to ask the students what they thought about his performance. They all commented that it was the song of the Veddaha King in the stage play Manamey. The teacher then asked them to name the other characters in the play. The students named the characters correctly. The teacher then said that he was creating a ‘hot-seat’ by using the Manamey characters. All students agreed to this proposal very happily.

152 Chapter 6: Results

The students asked how many chairs were needed; the teacher asked them to bring chairs according to the number of principal characters in the play. Four students left the class to bring chairs, the rest chatted with each other. No comment was made about the restless and noisy behaviour. The students brought four chairs; other students asked why four chairs? The students replied that there was one for the teacher. The teacher clapped his hands and silenced the students.

He produced four A4 sheets on which he had written the words Princess, Prince and Veddah King; he fixed the sheets on the chairs with the help of selotape. He then invited the students to volunteer for the roles of the three characters. There was such eagerness to comply with the teacher’s request that three students competed to get into one chair. The chairs were quickly occupied.

After they sat down, the teacher said that they were going to use the hot seats to create a new interpretation of the Mannamey play. He explained the importance of the hot-seat characters, as well as of the others in the audience, and emphasized the importance of their cooperation and attention. This introduction/discussion took about seven or eight minutes, and a few minutes later the teacher said they could start the lesson.

The students in the hot-seats of Prince Manamey and King Veddah were engaged in conversation; then a student in the audience suggested that the two should be angry with each other, but the student playing Prince Manamey replied “No!”- and that as this was a 21st-century retelling of the Manamey story, the whole context can be changed. During this exchange the boy portraying the character of the Princess was texting on his mobile phone – a behaviour noted and reacted to by the audience, who shouted, “Hey, she is sending an SMS. Is this for Veddah?” Another student in the audience asked why the Princess had given a sword to King Veddah? The boy playing the Princess wriggled in embarrassment, explaining that she did not love Prince Manamey, but had in fact fallen in love with King Veddah, and loved only him. The Prince Manamey character then asked the Princess, “if you did not love me, why didn’t you say you so?” The boy playing the Princess replied that she was obedient to her parents and didn’t want to disgrace them; and that was why she had consented to marry Prince Manamey.

The students in the audience then asked her why she had then sung in the forest and behaved lovingly? At this question others in the audience began to respond with

Chapter 6: Results 153 comments like, “That is the way of girls. They gave him the boot.” Meanwhile, others in the audience were engaged in private conversations with each other and paid no attention whatever to the lesson.

The Princess then said she had nothing else to do but dance with Prince Manamey. Another student in the audience asked what she would do if the Prince asked her again? and the boy playing the Princess picked up his mobile phone and laughed loudly into it. Once again, the attention of the class was diverted. The teacher shouted “Silence”, but it took about 2-3 minutes for the class to settle down.

One of the students in the audience asked the Princess what her modern appearance would be like. She replied that this was interesting, as she wanted to be a model, and she was therefore training for this task. Another student asked, “Why do you need to change?” The Princess replied, “To wear heavy chains, bangles and traditional jackets is not suitable for modern society.” When one student asked her what today’s dress was like, she replied, “Denim and T-shirt.”

Another student asked Prince Manamey how people should behave in the 21-st Century. He replied that there was no need for a sword, but a smart personality with English and computer literacy. “If we know English, it is not a big deal to get Princesses.” King Veddah then asked Prince Manamey, “Is being a king important?” A student in the audience remarked that England’s Queen Elizabeth is still there. Others replied that the Queen is there only in name. Someone else asked Mannaey, ‘Is it better to be a king by name only?” and another student said, “You can be our king”, and another, “Are you mad, our king was a former president?” (This joke relates to the history of Sri Lanka - the time when the former president named himself King). The class then became restless again. Conversation continued, digressing to lifestyles, and luxury vehicles used by the sons of the former president; the focus and aim of the lesson and attention to it were lost.

In the meantime, the boy portraying the restless Princess, was explaining, “Look I have to go to my training session...I am so busy, no time for spending…” [not clear] and got up from her seat. The other characters also asked the teacher whether they could leave. The teacher signaled to them to sit down, came into the middle of the circle and said he was pleased with the way the lesson had progressed. He also said attention was necessary for any learning situation, and that the students needed to more careful about this. Then he explained how hot-seat characters can give new meanings

154 Chapter 6: Results

to the scripts of plays: “We know the play from 1956, we have studied the Manamey play and learned that girls are fickle. But today, you have given a new interpretation of the old story and also the characters. I think we were somewhat successful in today’s lesson.” The students listened quietly and were directed by the teacher. The school bell rang, the class concluded. The below section describes the lesson.

The human context The play, Manamey, was based on the old Jathakakatha (Buddhist legends of the previous lives of Buddha), first staged in 1956. It is still staged and has become a regular feature of school textbooks and drama syllabi since 1972. The play portrays how the old tradition of a student-teacher relationship ends with the betrothal of the best student to the teacher’s daughter in marriage. In this original drama, an incident occurs when the new couple on their journey through a jungle get caught by a Vedda clan (jungle tribe). The king of the Veddah wanted the Princess for himself. So he challenged the Prince Mannaey to a sword fight. During this fight, the Prince’s sword gets thrown, and the Princess retrieves it. The King Veddah requests the sword from her, and she complies. The King Veddah then kills Prince Manamey. The teacher has attempted to give new meaning to these characters through the hot-seat technique. Students are taken from the known to the unknown and are free to ask relevant questions. These questions and the curiosity to them are novel. The teacher attempted to get the students to consider how the future will be different.

Dramatic Tension The entire lesson’s new interpretation did not emerge clearly, and therefore, dramatic tension did not appear successfully.

Focus The dialogues in this lesson attempted to show how new thinking is added to conventional ideas and beliefs; the teacher attempted to have

students question why and how it should be; what other ways are there to solve problems?

Place and time As this lesson was in an open-air theatre it was subject to various disturbances which distracted the students’ attention away from the

lesson. As it was directly opposite the principal’s office of the school, the students paid too much attention to visitors rather than the class

Chapter 6: Results 155 activities. Also, as the open-air theatre was massive, students moved about very freely. Due to this context, students would lean onto things or corners, or they would engage in private conversations between themselves.

This lesson commenced at 12.10 pm and, due to the temperature reaching 33C, students were sweating and uncomfortable. It may be the discomfort contributed to their off-task behaviour.

Language and Vernacular and formal language were both used for the dialogues. movement However, dramatical expressions and a sense of dramatisation movements were not adequately seen during the lesson.

Mood Even though the lesson didn’t hold the attention of all students, it was not a total failure. Liveliness was maintained throughout, and because

they could talk freely and put forward their ideas and make an argument, the majority of students participated with enthusiasm. On the whole, the lesson included instances of questioning ability, curiosity, and cooperative engagement. The hot-seat technique was successful. The timing of the lesson, its duration, the space and also the heat created some management issues. Overall, students got an opportunity to explore ideas, to reflect on their background, and to consider the benefits of acting in that way instead of taking notes.

Intervention School B - Lesson observation (Hot-Seat technique)

All the students arrived in the classroom on time; the classroom was filled with desks and chairs. The teacher activated the sound system and played three minutes of a videotape on air pollution, asking the students to watch silently. At the beginning a few students were seen murmuring to each other, words like ‘deyanney’ (Oh! My God) ‘ayiyo’ (amazing smoke). However, most watched silently. At the end of the video clip, the teacher opened discussion on some of the content. “Is this from our country? / What do you think about this video? / Is it possible?” The students responded enthusiastically, with various comments: “This is not from our country / We have watched this on ‘YouTube’, and this is in India, can this happen, why, what is happening?”

156 Chapter 6: Results

The teacher then asked them whether there are similar issues in Sri Lanka. One student asked the teacher if she could share her experience with the class, and went on to explain that she lived close to a famous garbage hill in Colombo, saying “all of us who live close to it have to suffer a lot due to the stink from it”. Another girl mentioned that she had heard there was a plan to move that garbage hill to Kolonnawa and that there was going to be a protest campaign against the move the next Saturday. While this discussion was happening, other girls seemed to be having conversations of their own, and others were seen to be taking notes. The teacher concluded the introduction to the lesson by saying, “We all need a pollution-free environment. Let us look at a problem in the environment and see what we can do to solve it.”

She nominated four girls and asked them to place four chairs in the middle of the classroom. The girls asked, “Are we going to do Hot-Seat?” When the teacher nodded her reply the whole class clapped their hands in approval. She explained that they were going to consider the issue of environmental conservation through the medium of Hot-Seat. At this point, all the students were paying attention, and there was an atmosphere of quiet for a time.

The teacher then announced that the students could select characters on the topic mentioned. She addressed each student by name and asked them what character they would like to portray. One girl suggested the Minister of the Environment and another a journalist; then a third suggested a timber merchant, and the last girl a teacher. Other students were whispering together during this process. The teacher then invited the chosen characters to come forward; but no one came up. She then gave time for students to select their own characters; she turned her attention away, and the classroom became raucous and noisy, with students going off-task and talking to each other. No one came up to nominate. After a few minutes, the teacher raised her voice to ask: “Have you selected the actors?” Some students pushed each other, and eventually three students came up and took their seats. A few seconds later, another student came to the front and sat; and the hot seat process could finally begin.

For a couple of minutes there was discussion between them about who was going to start. The teacher then came forward and asked them to stop wasting time and to begin. The journalist character started speaking. She said that she needed to write an article for the Sunday newspaper, and this was the right forum for her to gather information for her article.

Chapter 6: Results 157 The students raised many objections. They said nothing could be achieved by publishing an article in the newspaper. The teacher came to the middle of the class and tried to quieten them. She asked them to allow the journalist to do her task without interruption, but the students replied that her task was a failure. The teacher then asked the audience what they thought would be a good topic for discussion, to which one student in the audience then said what was required was an environmental excursion; that this would be more relevant. The hot-seat characters agreed; and the topic was finally agreed on as exploring the environment.

The discussion began. The journalist stated that since the environment was being destroyed very rapidly, the environmental excursion would give them an authentic experience and opportunity to learn about the environment; everybody agreed. A question arose from the audience as why a timber merchant was needed for an environmental excursion; to which the merchant replied that he had come to choose trees for his furniture business. This response produced derisive laughter from the entire audience, who made a lot of whistling and mocking sounds. The merchant replied, “You may laugh now, but you all going to need this later.”

When a student from the audience asked him why they would need him, the merchant said that when girls get married, they need a dowry, which includes furniture; so that they would need him. This comment aroused a loud response with the audience shouting, “We will not need dowries!” There then followed a lot of noisy comments about dowries, and the flow of the lesson was interrupted. The teacher then came forward and told the class to refrain from unnecessary jokes and conversations, and requested them to proceed with their task, signaling with her hand for the three to do so.

One student in the audience directed a question to the teacher in role, asking what she taught about environmental degradation. The teacher replied that she felt badly about this. The student then asked her why and the teacher replied, “I have been a teacher for 25 years and have been teaching about environmental protection all those years”; but felt that her teaching had not helped.

The merchant said that the teacher had taught him about environmental protection but had failed to teach him how to apply it effectively. The merchant then went on to say he had done no wrong. When the audience asked him to explain he said he provided essential things to people; that he was serving society by providing people

158 Chapter 6: Results

with furniture. A student from the audience then asked, “why hasn’t the teacher taught you about substitute furniture?” He said the teacher had taught practical ways of providing alternative furniture; and furthermore, he reported that the Minister always provided raw materials for his business. At this point the audience became noisy, and the Minister said it was not something to make so much fuss about.

The students in the audience told the Minister of Environment that he was responsible for the destruction of the environment, and a TV news broadcast had recently said so. The Minister loudly denied this report, causing the students to make an “ahhh” sound to calm him. The journalist pointed out that it was the Minister who issued permits to cut down trees, so yes, he was responsible for the destruction of forests. One student in the audience asked the Minister whether he had passed the Grade 10 exam, and he replied, “No need of education qualification in politics.” Then he said that he was a very busy person and some duties were more important than protecting the environment. At this moment, the school bell rang, and the class had to conclude. The teacher said that the discussion had been very successful and told the students that they needed to come the following week prepared for another activity. The below section analyses the lesson descriptively.

The human This lesson was designed for discussing environmental protection; context characters are chosen, and the content was effective. The characters were as follows:

Journalist: Acts as principal advocate for the environment by raising a voice against environmental degradation by publishing articles and discussions in the media.

Teacher: Acts as a traditional teacher, so pedagogy not suited to practical application.

Minister of Environment: Responsible for the country’s environment, however, in this lesson, it was noted he was one of the destroyers of the environment

Timber Merchant: Acts as a chief destroyer of the environment.

Chapter 6: Results 159 Dramatic The use of the strategy demonstrated the unpredictability of the process Tension which led students to consider issues more in-depth. When arguments started, it was unpredictable what would happen next. What emerged from the interaction was how the relevant characters did not take responsibility for their actions. For example, the politician said that he had no educational qualifications. This dispute is common in the Sri Lankan context, and the students highlighted it and inquired further. What was also referenced by students was what and how the teacher had taught them, and this questioned the effectiveness of environmental education in Sri Lanka.

Focus What emerged from the discussion was the existing situation in Sri Lanka. Even though journalists try to expose the issue and teachers teach about the environment, relevant authorities ignore the warnings and do not support the environment. Thus, the students tried to explore alternative ways to address the problem.

Place and time This lesson which took place inside the classroom took up a total of 80 minutes.

Language and Questions and inquiries were raised in dramatic style. Instead of using Movement vernacular language, the students used the formal style of language. Some students used voice modulation and dramatic movements.

Mood A positive context was built through this lesson. All students took part with enthusiasm and motivation, which contributed to a dramatic experience for them all. The hot-seat characters adapted themselves dramatically to their own and each other’s roles, using appropriate language and gestures to portray their roles. They tried to interpret existing problems and discussed issues fearlessly. Collegiality among the students was clearly seen, and even though a few students dominated this discussion, it did not disturb the flow of the lesson as a whole.

The above analysis reveals some key problems with the feasibility of the program as conducted in Sri Lanka.

160 Chapter 6: Results

Planning and Timing of Lessons Timing was a problem for both teachers. Of the thirty-eight lessons observed in the two schools only fifteen started on time, five in School B and ten in School A. The delays happened either because the students took a few minutes to walk to the classroom from their previous lesson, or everyone got to the classroom on time but the drama teacher had not finished her previous lesson and students had to wait outside the classroom. This is common practice in Sri Lankan classrooms; lessons last forty minutes but five to ten minutes is often wasted as teachers find it difficult to start their classes on time. I observed how they often struggle to finish on time. When a single lesson lasts 40 minutes and loses time at the beginning, completing all the planned elements of the lessons becomes a problem. The 80 minutes double lessons worked better.

Lack of Space Another problem concerns the teaching and learning environment. In both examples discussed above it can be seen that the environment was not suited to Drama. The lessons in School B generally took place in a quieter environment than in School A, as the classes were arranged in a separate room. As noted, the noisy open-air learning environment became a disadvantage for students who are trying to concentrate when there is off task and disruptive behaviour, especially in relation to performing hot-seat, role-play, or other verbal activities. Their voices were difficult to hear. And in the classroom in School B, I could not hear students in the back row because of noise in the neighbouring classrooms.

Lack of Resources The final problem was that of resourcing. The observations revealed that both school classrooms were restricted in this respect, having inadequate resources, such as suitable classroom space, suitable equipment for teaching and learning (marker pens, chalk, blackboard dusters, suitable black-bords, whiteboards, audio-visual and electronic instructional materials such as radio, tape recorder, television or video tape recorder) for teaching and learning. School B teacher generally utilised more resources than School A teacher who only used some video clips.

Feasibility results from teacher interviews The teachers identified seven significant difficulties encountered when conducting the program. Those were: (1) cultural and linguistic differences; (2)

Chapter 6: Results 161 difficulty reconciling their previous teaching approaches with the lessons in the manual; (3) the preparation of lessons; (4) pressure from the exam based nature of the Sri Lankan education system; (5) pressure from parents to show work in notebooks; (6) policy; and (7) lack of time.

Cultural and linguistic differences A significant difficulty was identified before the interviews or the implementation phase, namely that the teachers, while claiming to know what process drama techniques are, actually did not. During the pre-intervention workshop interviews it became clear there was confusion between process drama and drama processes. The teachers who were chosen by the Director of Drama Education to implement the intervention did not know about process drama, although they were selected on this basis. They misunderstood the concept of process drama, confusing it with the process of teaching drama.

This realisation highlighted the first difficulty of a study such as this one, that of cultural and linguistic differences in transferring concepts from different cultures and languages. In Australia, process drama is used to describe work where, “the participants, together with the teacher (facilitator) constitute the theatrical ensemble and engage in drama to make meaning for themselves”; which includes developing “their own play as the narrative and tensions of their drama unfold in time and space” (Bowell & Heap, 2011, p. 59). In Sri Lanka, teachers understood the term to mean a process for teaching drama, including planning, implementation, evaluation and revision (Author field notes, 22 April 2018). In this situation, I had to provide a half- day preparation for teaching the intervention manual and process drama techniques for the intervention school teachers themselves. After that workshop, they had better understanding of process drama and its classroom implementation (Author field notes, 22 April 2018).

Differences between the intervention and previous teaching experiences Another issue experienced by both teachers was the difference between the approach embodied in the intervention manual and their previous teaching experience (teacher’s guide). The School A teacher commented: “There was a huge difference between given intervention manual and teacher’s guide” (School A teacher, first interview); and in his second interview, “Teachers’ guide included firm knowledge then activities’. The next week he added that he was confused when he used the intervention

162 Chapter 6: Results

lessons: “Sometimes, students’ reaction totally different than previous. Then, I was confused about what would be the next step” (School A teacher, third interview). The School B teacher said that the teachers’ guide, which includes guidance for lesson planning, teaching, carrying out activities and measurement and evaluation, did help her to teach. She appreciated the guide because of all the exercises she could plan ahead.

I have been completing more than ten years of teaching experience; therefore, when I start to teach, I know each activity included in each lesson by practice. However, your manual and its approach is very new to me. It means that preparation should be needed” (School B teacher, second interview).

The new approach is difficult for teachers. “Normally, I know the rhythm of the teachers' guide, but I do not have a sense about intervention lessons... I meant the content…. I am adapting” (School B teacher, second interview). “Intervention lessons were very different from most of my previous lessons because it was an indirect teaching form” (School B teacher, third interview). These comments reflect the fact that teachers prefer to follow the traditional chalk-and-talk approach rather than to experiment with new approaches.

Preparation Another change identified related to the preparation of lessons. The interview data showed that the teachers were not sufficiently prepared or organized for teaching; mainly because they were not used to preparing proper lesson plans, but needed to do so now, to ensure they were able to teach this new approach. They commented that they did not usually use a proper lesson plan for teaching drama; they worked from the previous year’s notes, and felt there was no need to plan. The School A teacher said, “I did not prepare proper lesson plans. I believe that it was a time-wasting exercise…” (School A teacher, first interview). “To be frank, regularly, I did not use lesson plans correctly. After my teaching practice in PGDE, this is the first-time proper lesson plans are being used for my teaching … Please do not tell principal” (School A teacher, first interview). ‘I believe that a short note is as good as a detailed lesson plan’ (School A teacher, third interview).The School B teacher believed that her content knowledge was sufficient to teach without lesson preparation: “When I start to teach, I know the depth of the lesson. Therefore, I am always confident about my knowledge. No need for additional preparedness” (School B teacher, first interview); l like the School A

Chapter 6: Results 163 teacher who said his draft lesson format was adequate and a comprehensive plan was not needed.

Exam pressure The exam-based education system in Sri Lanka also clearly poses difficulties. Examinations are all important; and teachers in Sri Lanka are responsible for their students’ academic performance in examinations; and so, they tend to stick to methods that are tried and tested, instead of experimenting with a new, more open pedagogical approach such as process drama. Preparation for examinations is always the focus. Both teachers described how this exam pressure is as stressful for many students as it is for them. “Personally, I struggle with the pressures of today's exam system. Sometimes as a teacher, I have failed to perform the best of my skills, due to the pressure around examinations.” (School B teacher, third interview). She added in her third interview: “Some students have acted passively in the drama classroom, some were too examination-oriented” (School B teacher, seventh interview); elaborating:

Some students were not interested in changing learning approaches because they (students) believed that creativity would not enhance their grades. ‘Some students might think the teaching for creativity in the drama subject was not as important as other areas… because developing creative skills were not directly changing their grade. (School B teacher, eighth interview).

School A teacher commented further on this issue, believing that the present education system was damaging students’ confidence, self-esteem, collaboration and motivation to do well:

Students are under pressure…some students are not willing to discuss or share ideas…also, teachers perceived that students who are in the high marks (more than 75%), they focus on ‘thoughtful work’ instead of just ‘performing’ or ‘intervention’ drama techniques” (School A teacher, tenth interview).

This effect could be seen in our classroom observations. It was evident that a few students in both groups were more eager to learn content knowledge than to experiment with dramatic experience and performance. These students would be taking notes while the teacher was explaining.

Parental expectations Another issue was that of parental expectations. Parents expect teachers to give lesson notes for drama lessons, and to focus on drama assessment by exams. School A teacher

164 Chapter 6: Results

noted that parents regularly checked their children’s notebook to know what the teacher had taught in the lesson. “Student says that mothers looked at the book and said that there are no notes. They are [mothers]questioning whether I am teaching drama or not and scolding for myself” (School A teacher, fifth interview).

Similarly, School B teacher reported, “Previously I was teaching drama with traditional methods, and I have given notes for students. Then they [parents] identified that I was teaching. Now, I did not give notes; then they decided that I am not teaching” (School B teacher, seventh interview). Both teachers said that both parents and students thought that the teachers’ essential role is to complete activities essential for reportable learning. This pressure from parents’ expectations affects teachers’ teaching approach; inevitably meaning that they are not teaching for creativity skills.

Policy Educational and school policy also constitutes a problem. Both teachers emphasized the fact that summative examinations inhibit student innovation and reduce the possibility of student creativity; the school policy focuses above all on students passing the examinations and achieving good grades. School B teacher explained,

The policy is essential rather than creative approaches. The Zonal officers always encourage us to make competition among schools and also the subjects. Therefore, unconsciously principals also support them [Zonal officers]. The need has been created to make our school the highest pass rate in the zonal, in particular, the practice of using ‘the best school’ based on examinations performances and the publishing data about individual students’ performances in public examinations in media.” (School B teacher, ninth interview)

Lack of time The School B teacher pointed out that lack of time is another problem associated with teaching drama practically and engagingly, and a major issue is that of the official syllabus that has to be covered within the time period: “lack of time disturbs me vastly, and I am sure it affects every drama teacher in the system” (School B teacher, fifth interview). Both teachers mentioned time pressure and associated limited opportunities to experiment with alternative teaching and learning techniques, and lack of support from the school authorities:

Chapter 6: Results 165 You have [myself] practically experienced that how I struggle to teach drama in the conventional classroom. I believe that the drama classroom should be developed as physically and psychologically safe and free context where students engage in practices strongly. I have requested from the principal several times for a separate place for drama subject; unfortunately, it is like playing music for deaf elephants. (School A teacher, ninth interview)

School B teacher reported that she had needed to stop this new implementation after the second term:

I knew that I couldn’t continue your format further. Because you have targeted only the second term. The principal knows that I am under the research, and the Ministry permitted this only for the second term. Then, I am sad that I have to turn back to traditional context when the third term begins. (School B teacher, ninth interview)

The teachers described how the classroom set up, the sheer numbers of students in each class, and inadequate resources are a serious challenge in relation to the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills in students. This was obvious to us during our observation time. We noticed that teachers were unable to start their lessons on time, partly due to overloaded content in other lessons, and also to distances between classes (see sub-section 5.2.4.1), and they struggled with lack of resources.

Feasibility results from students focus group discussions There were two significant difficulties which emerged in the student focus group discussions: (1) pressure from parents; and (2) teaching for the examination.

Pressure from parents Some students, especially girls (School B, students 2,3,6) talked about their parents pressuring them about good academic achievement. When I asked them to elaborate, one girl said, “When I get a failed mark, my parents help me to see what went wrong” (School B, student 3). I again asked her what she saw as a fail mark, and she replied, “Below 40 is failed”. Boys, however, appear to have different ideas about parental pressure, one boy explaining, “My parents are only pleased if my grades are better than everyone else's” (School A, student 5); “I know my parents never been happier, they always worried about my marks, I hate this exam culture” (School A, student 7); “Why they [parents and teachers] are given too much value to subjects marks?” (School A, student 4). A girl in School B said that her parents are continually

166 Chapter 6: Results

supervising, to check if she has completed her homework, whether she is making progress, or doing her best at school. “I hate my parental approach. I don’t have free time. Always they [parents] need a good mark. Especially my mum needs the highest marks for science and maths. However, I love drama subject” (School B, student 1).

Pressure from teachers Both groups of students clearly identified teachers as the source of much of their pressure. A boy in School A said that teachers always push them to get high marks for each subject: “Every teacher in particular subjects demand higher marks. English teacher needs good marks, Maths teacher needs good marks, even drama teacher also asking good marks. I think they think we are robots” (School A, student 5). Lessening this pressure has recognised benefits: “everything [drama] we are learning is completely different now. Earlier we had to have bulk notes without any drama practicals. Earlier I hate our drama teacher, but now I have a soft corner for him” (School A, student 3). Nearly all the students in this student’s group expressed similar feelings.

Similar ideas were also expressed by most of the students in School B, although one student stated: ‘I have taken higher marks for grade five scholarship. From that time onwards, every teacher insists on getting good grades for every subject. I hate this” (School B, student 1); while another requested, “could you please tell our teachers not insisted us for marks. You [myself] told me us creativity is important for future jobs, but our teachers didn’t give chances for our creative thoughts, please, Madam” (School B, student 6).

CHAPTER SUMMARY

In this chapter I have analysed the findings that emerged from my data. I analysed pre/post verbal and figural creativity test scores separately, then the verbal and figural creativity total scores taken together were analysed and presented. I then analysed pre/post adaptability total scores, and analysed cognitive, behavioural and emotional adaptability results, to check on any significant differences in pre/post results.

Data obtained from lesson observations, teacher interviews and student focus groups were examined using a content analysis approach, and discussed in relation to

Chapter 6: Results 167 fidelity, acceptability and feasibility. In the next chapter, I present further discussion and conclusions.

168 Chapter 6: Results

Discussion and Conclusion

In my previous chapter I discussed the key findings that emerged from my data. The data suggest that when we provided a suitable environment and opportunities for active engagement, when students were energetically involved in creative experiences, processes and development, then their creative thinking and adaptability skills as measured by their scores on the two tests were significantly enhanced. However, prior to the conduct of the present study, the literature review suggested that there has been a dearth of specific research that has specifically examined the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills in Sri Lankan students; not a single study was found which researched teaching drama differently in Sri Lanka, although there have been a few studies in Asia which have looked at different approaches to teaching drama (Burke & William, 2008; Freeman, Sullivan, & Fulton, 2003; Lin, 2012; Stinson, 2009). When exploring how to develop creative thinking and adaptability skills through process drama techniques when working with junior secondary school students, many past researchers have only addressed which teaching strategies are most frequently used by teachers, rather than examining effects of the strategies over an extended period of time (Moskovsky, Alrabai, Paolini, & Ratcheva, 2013). The research project reported upon in this thesis has been conducted to address this gap in current research by applying a non-randomised study design (Dekes et al., 2003). The design employed a range of research instruments, including pre/post-intervention surveys, teacher semi-structured interviews, student focus group discussions, and real- time classroom observations, in order to explore creative thinking and adaptability skills development from different perspectives and via a new approach in the Sri Lankan drama classroom context.

This final chapter discusses the results in relation to associated theories examined earlier in the thesis, perspectives, previous studies and a final discussion of implications from the study. In Section 7.1, I summarise the overall process of my thesis; in section 7.2 I discuss the main findings from the data and link these findings back to the literature associated with the field of drama teaching and learning. Section 7.3 provides recommendations for policymakers, teachers, school administrators and parents, who can potentially apply my findings around the potential development of

Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion 169 creative thinking and adaptability skills in Sri Lanka. In Section, 7.4 I comment on the limitations of my thesis; and in section 7.5, I propose the contribution to our professional knowledge base of this research project. The final section, 7.6, offers concluding remarks in relation to this thesis.

OUTLINE OF THE OVERALL PROCESS OF THE THESIS

To summarise, this study set out to explore whether process drama techniques could lead to measurable differences in the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills in Sri Lankan junior secondary school students. The design of the study was a non-randomised control design, involving three groups: a control group, an active control group and an intervention group. Each group consisted of two classes. The students in the two control classes received the standard lecture method used in all Sri Lankan schools at the time for the entire intervention period. The students in the two active-control classes received the standard lecture method and creative oriented activities, to counter any placebo effect. These creative oriented activities focused on creating students’ own traditional theatre props for a practical art form of drama. The students in the two intervention classes experienced process drama techniques, from a manual written by me and supplied to the teachers.

Pre/post-testing surveys were used to measure creativity and adaptability skills before and after the intervention in all six classes. A total of 128 students participated in the surveys. To ascertain the fidelity, acceptability and feasibility, I used classroom observations; 36 classroom observations undertaken in two intervention group drama classrooms throughout the second term. I then conducted twenty semi-structured interviews with both intervention group teachers, each teacher being interviewed ten times, over ten consecutive weeks, for 30 minutes each time. Finally, I conducted a focus group discussion with intervention school A (boys) and B (girls) respectively. In one session of 60 minutes, a total of eight students, grouped in two teams, took part in the discussion. My investigation was informed by Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory (1978) and Craft’s possibility thinking (2008), as described in Chapter3.

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

This study measured the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills among Grade 7 students participating in an intervention program, evaluated alongside comparable control and active-control groups, before and after the intervention. The

170 Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion

findings of the study support the proposition that school students' creative thinking and adaptability scores on these skills can be improved by participating in drama taught by process drama methods; these findings align with those of other studies in the Western and East Asian World (e.g. Burke & William, 2008; Freeman et al., 2003; Garaigordobil, 2006; Hui & Lau, 2006; Lin, 2012; Martin et al., 2013; Stinson, 2009). The results confirm that teaching drama by a process drama method does influence and stimulate students’ creative development. As Munro (2017) noted, a school is a place that can encourage creativity. The results presented here particularly suggest that creative thinking and adaptability skills, which I measured with the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) and Adaptability Scale, can be enhanced through the addition of a focused training program. These findings are particularly relevant to the Sri Lankan context. The results show that targeted intervention produces significant effects, specific target behaviors and skills (Martin, 2005). An encouraging aspect of the experiment is that the key intervention components can be incorporated into an existing program. The intervention period represented a significant proportion of the academic term for students: the whole of second term, during which students experienced a different teaching approach and challenge. The findings can be considered healthy in the sense that they provide evidence of students critically challenging their academic lives; and the findings are important because they provide some understanding of the intervention in the context of samples matched in terms of age, year level and gender. I now discuss results relating to creativity and adaptability respectively.

Creativity results In relation to the four main elements of creative thinking, fluency, flexibility, elaboration, and originality (Torrance, 1962, 1974), in the pre/post comparison study results showed that the students in the three groups varied significantly across all the Figural and Verbal TTCT subscales. In terms of the pre/post study results in the TTCT, the intervention group students achieved statistically significantly different and meaningfully higher scores than the active control and control group students. Prior to the main study, the intervention group achieved a low score for verbal and figural creativity in the pre-test; but their post-test study results showed that they scored the highest of the three groups in TTCT-V and TTCT –F. These results suggest that the intervention program helped to develop (a) verbal creativity in terms of fluency,

Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion 171 originality and flexibility; and (b) figural creativity in several features, such as fluency, elaboration, abstractness of titles and resistance to premature closure of figures; originality, or the ability to present novel, statistically infrequent ideas or solutions that are far from obvious, common, or established; elaboration, or the ability to develop, extend, and expand ideas with additional details; and figural creative performance.

When considering fluency, students were asked to express their ideas by drawing pictures and making sketches. Fluency is associated with the understanding that creative people produce more ideas in response to any given question, and is also reflected in the independent generation of more numbers of solutions to a given problem. It was observed that most students showed low levels of creativity regarding fluency in the pre-test; nevertheless, control group students were able to finish most of the activities within the given timeframe while intervention and active control groups were not. However, the intervention group students in the post-test produced more ideas than in the pre-test, showing marked improvement compared to the other two groups. These results suggested a positive influence by the intervention program on students’ capacity to generate ideas.

With regards to flexibility, most students in the control and active control groups got stuck with a few familiar visuals, representative of everyday objects. The post-test results revealed that the intervention group students were able to generate more ideas than in their pre-test. These results suggested that the process drama techniques may be effective for broadening students’ understanding, helping them to look at things from different viewpoints, and supporting them to hold opposing points of view in their mind at the same time.

In terms of elaboration, the intervention group’s performance was much better than that of the active control and control groups of students. On figural and verbal creativity tasks, the intervention group students had attempted to elaborate more ideas on given questions, while students in the control groups were not able to respond appropriately to the given tasks (especially questions 3, 4 and 5). Most had submitted nothing, instead of filling in the spaces and exploring creative and meaningful ideas. It was also noticed that they were unable to make alterations, substitutions or provide additional details to make an idea stronger within the post-test period. It is clear from these results the control groups’ students’ content knowledge did not have a significant influence on their capability to add details or to draft meaningfully.

172 Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion

Originality was unquestionably the most difficult aspect of the creativity test (Eshun & Amoako-Agyeman, 2016; Kim, 2006a). The data made clear that as students worked through the exercises, they were increasingly challenged to show originality. This was clearly observed in both the pre- and post-test. In the pre-test, I observed that none of the students came up with new ideas (all groups); a finding which matches Jackson’s (2005) observation that students tend to exhibit a careless attitude, and not use the creative process to improve on their ideas. However, post-test results evidenced the creation of new, unique ideas in each activity by the intervention students. These results are consistent with those of a study by Hokanson (2007) on the effect of creativity training on the development of creative thinking skills, which found that teaching creativity in a separate subject is effective in developing measured creativity in students.

In relation to resistance to premature closure, the intervention group students indicated a much improved performance compared to the active control and control groups in the post-test. They demonstrated the ability to entertain new and original ideas to suit or affect new situations (Torrance, 2008). Their performance supported the proposition that process drama techniques can help students to think of more options in response to given stimuli, and allow them to make and synthesize more original connections than students in the other groups. The ability to synthesise novel connections has been identified as a key benefit of a process drama approach (Ashton- Hay, 2005). With regards to abstract of titles, the intervention group students contributed more titles than the active control and control groups in the post-test, confirming that process drama techniques may help students to capture the essence of something, to identify what is important, to see things more deeply and meaningfully.

The discussion above of elements of creative thinking appears to confirm that alternative approaches to drama performance facilitate creative thinking skills; stimulus materials (intervention manual) and different approaches (process drama techniques) stimulate students to respond creatively in different situations. This finding aligns with those of Scott, Leitz, and Mumford (2004), who provided evidence that creativity exercises in novel situations have a positive impact on performance, attitudes and behaviours, especially in relation to divergent thinking and problem- solving skills; and Burk and Williams (2008), who demonstrated that creativity can be

Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion 173 developed by targeted intervention with teacher training and support organised in a regular educational setting.

Secondly, students in the intervention and active control groups significantly enhanced their ability to utilise expressive thinking (as measured on the figural tests), to reflect on their thought processes and developments, and to find opportunities where they could use those skills in other contexts. The intervention lessons adopted an activity-based approach to teaching and to learning, whereby students had to apply their skills in different situations, providing opportunities to increase their capability to use these skills. This finding is similar to that of Scott et al.’s (2004) study: that creativity programs have a definite impact on performance, attitude and behaviours, especially on divergent thinking and problem-solving; and to that of Hui, Chow, Chan, Chui, & Sam (2015), who worked with students in the same age category (11-12 years) as the students in my study. My results and age groups were also similar to those reported by Garaigordobil (2006) in relation to his investigation of an intervention program based on creative drama, which also showed that the verbal and figural creativity of students aged 10 to 12 years was enhanced.

Interestingly, the pre/post TTCT results showed that the creativity scores of the active control group were higher than those of the control group. This shows the importance of including an active control group, and not just a control group, as changes in pedagogy apart from process drama also impact on students’ experience and skills development. The possible explanation for these results may be the fact that in the active control group students spent substantial hours on making props and comparatively fewer on note-taking. Making props and designing theatre sets provides students with creative opportunities that engage and extend their creative and performance skills - using various materials and devising techniques. These are valuable results; providing support to the proposition that activity-based learning is positively associated with verbal and figural creativity.

The overall analysis of TTCT time-point 1 showed that groups varied significantly at pre-testing. The control group was higher than both the active-control and intervention group in overall scores in figural and verbal creativity. As noted in Chapter 4, the educational levels of the three selected districts (Gampaha, Kalutara, and Colombo) had slight variations in terms of educational qualifications. For example, Gampaha district (control group) had the highest adult population who had

174 Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion

completed university education (Asian Development Bank, 2017). I therefore believe that parental education might to some degree influence the scores of students in the control group in the Gampaha district, showing higher scores in the pre-test than the Colombo and Kalutara groups. This difference suggests that students from more educationally advantaged backgrounds may present more advantageously to the new opportunity to engaging with learning activities within culturally and linguistically rich environments (Østern 2006). However, during the post-test, the control group students’ total scores become lower compared to the active control and intervention group students. This shows that the initial advantage in creativity skills evidenced in the control group was not maintained; and that the students in the intervention and active control groups scored significantly higher in creativity scores than the control group.

Gender was an interesting factor to be aware of. It turned out that girls varied in their overall creativity scores depending on which group they were in. Research around gender and learning has varied. Some researchers (e.g., Charyton, Hutchinson, Snow, & Elliott, 2009) have provided evidence to suggest that gender does influence creativity; however, others have produced contrary evidence (e.g., Charyton & Snelbecker, 2007). For example, Baer and Kaufman (2005) and Krumm, Lemos, and Filippetti (2014) used the Figural Form B with students aged 9 to14 years and found differences in creativity scores according to gender in the innovative and adaptive factors, although the effect size was less than 0.05. Jiliang and Baoguo (2007) found no gender differences in fluency, but did in originality, finding that high school boys expressively outperformed girls. In addition, boys’ scores on figural tasks were significantly higher than female scores, a finding that differs from my results, which showed boys’ verbal creativity total scores were higher than the girls’. One possible clarification for these gender variances comes from Conti, Collins, and Picariello (2001), who found that boys and girls respond in different ways according to circumstances and external limitation factors. In situations concerning competition, for example, boys who had been isolated by gender described significantly higher levels of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation than did girls who had also been separated by gender.

In this study the intervention group and the active control group students scored higher on the creativity tests than did the control group. I hypothesise that since both

Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion 175 process drama activities and designing props for performance provide experiences and offer opportunities for more creative experience, they are likely to enhance verbal and figural creativity. As Garcês et al. (2016) report, individuals who have experience of activity-based learning tend to attach more value to creative problem-solving. Other researchers (e.g. Selby, Shaw, & Houtz, 2005) also make the connection between a creative environment and product.

Adaptability results The overall adaptability results showed a significant difference between total pre- and post-test scores in the intervention group (Wilks’ Lambda = .63, F (1,122) = 71.64, p < .001). The results suggest that process drama techniques might develop better approaches to situations that involve change. This is a similar conclusion to that of Martin and his colleagues (Martin et al., 2012), who note the benefits of encouraging positive and productive actions when students face unpredictable or uncertain situations. Positive psychology offers insights to processes that encourage positive emotions and decrease maladaptive reactions in human development (e.g. Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson, 2005). The focus is on positive involvement, character strength and positive qualities, happiness and positive associations (Peterson & Park, 2009), which are seen to subsequently build strong personal resources (Fredrickson, 2001).

The overall adaptability results showed that the active control group also increased their scores in adaptability skills (Wilks’ Lambda = .76, F (1,122) = 39.43, p < .001), suggesting that the activity-based teaching approach also benefited their adaptability skills. The results found no difference in the control group scores (Wilks’ Lambda = .99, F(1,122) = 1.03, p = .312). These findings further suggest that any new teaching approach, unlike chalk-and-talk, benefits the development of students’ cognitive, behavioural, and emotional skills; a similar conclusion to that reached by Goode and Beckmann (2010). For example, as reported, both the intervention and the active control group students were involved in creative performance tasks rather than traditional teaching. This experience required them to engage with new situations, to recognize challenges associated with change, and to modify their problem-solving behaviour. The process drama and activity-based teaching approaches are clearly beneficial for academic but also for broader non-academic outcomes.

176 Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion

In terms of this intervention, I examined whether process drama techniques helped to develop the tripartite perspective on adaptability skills (cognitive, behavioural and emotional), which helps students to deal with novel, changing, and undefined in and out of school life circumstances. The overall results suggest that the tripartite model of adaptability is connected with motivation (Martin et al., 2013a) because it considers the affective domain - identifying emotions that need to be altered in order to improve performance (Martin et al., 2013b). Motivation is broadly concerned with academic tasks and demands, and is relevant to situations involving change, novelty and uncertainty (Martin et al., 2013b). The pre/post adaptability one- way ANOVA test results showed that the intervention group of students showed statistically different and meaningfully higher scores than the active control and control group students in their tripartite perspective on adaptation skills. Cognitive adaptability is related to the development of approaches which support and encourage the process of thinking about individual thoughts, feelings, emotions and actions (Schunk, 2008). We can predict that an intervention program based on process drama techniques may help to develop students’ higher-order thinking about what they know about themselves, their surroundings, their environments and their tasks. For example, both intervention groups moved slightly from their traditional teaching approaches during the intervention; students had a chance to be more open and conscious of their thinking processes.

Behavioural adaptability is concerned with adjusting and altering behaviour in response to internal and/or external stimuli as an individual faces’ uncertainty (Nejad, 2014); and behavioural regulation includes elements of cognitive regulation (Martin, 2017). There is a link here with process drama techniques, which help to develop student’s self-control and behaviour management skills. For example, when Group A students were initially using the open-air theatre, they could not control themselves; the teacher had to make an additional effort to control them and to maintain class discipline. However, as the intervention progressed, students were able to manage and modify their behaviour.

Emotional adaptability is associated with encouraging and enhancing positive emotions, for example by inspiring students’ interest in schoolwork, strengthening self-concepts and encouraging academic potential (Ferris & Gerber, 1996). A process drama intervention program helps to develop students’ positive emotions. For

Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion 177 example, students from both groups talked about feeling ‘relaxed’ ‘free’ and ‘happy’ in their new style drama classroom. They also talked about the ‘playfulness’ of the sessions.

Interestingly, the active control group students also showed a statistically significant difference and meaningfully higher scores than the control group students in the tripartite model of adaptability skills. These results further suggest that activity- based teaching and learning helps to develop students’ cognitive, behavioural and emotional adaptability skills. Previous research (e.g., Martin & Marsh, 2009; Martin et al., 2012, 2013a, 2013b; Nejad, 2014) has suggested that the three elements of adaptability correlate strongly with factors such as facing challenges, personality expression, and progressive opinions. For example, Cleary and Zimmerman’s (2004) study, which provided intervention instruction designed to improve students’ cognitive behaviour (Self-Regulation Empowerment Program), involved graphing, cognitive demonstrating, cognitive expressing, and designed practice sessions; and the findings suggested that such intervention programs help to develop specific educational and learning skills, including problem-solving capabilities.

The overall adaptability results suggest that the junior secondary school students in this study developed a higher level of adaptability; and that more adaptable students are likely to hold more progressive views on capability (Du, 2009). Moreover, students’ adaptability is likely to be reflected in higher levels of psychological well- being, in the form of life satisfaction, self-esteem and sense of meaning and purpose (Zhang et al., 2018). As discussed in the previous section, this is a first-ever intervention study to use an adaptability scale in Sri Lanka. I hold hope, therefore, that these results represent an initial understanding that may help to all students, but especially those that struggle with adaptability, to be more adaptable. It is also hoped that these results may encourage teachers and administrators support students who may really need help with adaptability and creative thinking, and to improve methods of assessing the success of all students’ efforts on school-related tasks. For example, by considering how teachers can introduce drama to help students manage and deal with change, novelty, and uncertainty, regardless of whether they are positive or negative, may assist teachers implement activities that encourage “everyday resilience” or variance in educational and personal well-being outcomes rather than focus on an approach that is holey devoted to giving notes for assessing examination.

178 Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion

POSSIBLE REASONS FOR SUCCESS OF THE INTERVENTION

There are two possible reasons why the intervention was successful in developing creative and adaptability skills in the students. The first could be that the students were more motivated; and the second relates to the interaction that occurred between the students.

Findings from the teacher interviews, focus groups, and classroom observations indicate that experience of process drama techniques was associated with greater positive behavioural engagement (motivation). The data from the teacher interviews showed that students were engaged and enjoyed the lessons. Interestingly, the classroom observations found that both teachers from the intervention groups were flexible in addressing students’ social and emotional needs, with a commitment to improving their learning experience and academic achievement. The teachers’ sense of satisfaction is important. As Martin (2006) notes, a teacher’s satisfaction and confidence in teaching, their instructive efficacy and affective directions in the classroom have a positive impact on student motivation. The main teacher satisfaction in this intervention was that the intervention manual suggested process drama activities for creative thinking and suitable adaptation, not for exam preparation. Both teachers frequently highlighted that the learnings tasks developed for this project supported for real-life scenarios which helped to enhance student’s social collaboration skills.

Classroom observations also demonstrated that students were more motivated through their level of collaboration and engagement in the activities than they had been in previous drama classes. As noted in the introduction to this thesis, rote learning is common practice in Sri Lankan classrooms, and drama is no exception at the moment. I also stated that curriculum developers had not as yet made any attempts to include 21st-century skills into the subject of drama. Students in the focused group discussions talked about better opportunities for active engagement, saying that they were motivated to come regularly to drama lessons. One student commented, “All lessons involved activities; therefore, we had to do something, now we motivated for drama” (School B, student 1). This point was further confirmed by the School B teacher: “They discussed, shared their ideas as a team, and listened to others’ ideas and finally, they agreed to one firm decision, they highly motivated”. Students who are motivated show greater persistence and higher voluntary engagement in their learning process (Sakız et al., 2015).

Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion 179 The School A teacher also said that he observed students’ enthusiasm for group collaboration, an important and positive outcome, as teachers identify the importance of peer relationships and friendship (Scales, 2010) and of provision of opportunities for positive peer interactions (Kellough & Kellough, 2008). In my observations I noticed the effectiveness of the drama class as a space to adopt and develop collaboration skills. Collaboration is an umbrella term (Fisher & Nancy, 2012), which represents a broad platform from which to enhance active engagement in the classroom. The development of this skill is particularly important in Sri Lanka, where students rarely experience working together, having discussions with others about subject related material and finding out what others are thinking. These interactions provide a forum, a space for clarifying or adapting beliefs, values, or ideas in collaboration with others. It is believed by many in education that energetic and collaborative learning experiences have more influence on student performance than any other variable; and that students are more empowered when they are taught how to learn as well as what to learn (Barron & Darling-Hammond 2008).

The student and teacher data collected in this study do seem to suggest that it is possible to improve students’ creative and adaptability skills through the different process drama techniques, especially hot-seat. Students themselves believed that hot- seat provided space for them to explore ideas and feel empowered when talking with their peers. This finding matches that of Elnada (2015), who found that implementing the hot-seat technique can effect improvement in students' confidence and self-esteem; and that of Martin et al., (2013a), who recognised it as a social situation that empowers students to negotiate new, uncertain or shifting demands in their environment. Kellough and Kellough (2008) also confirmed the value of activities that engage students in discussion in classroom settings that involve creating imagined social situations through role-play or other simulations. Martin et al., (2013a) comment that adaptability plays a role in supporting engagement because of its permitting capacity: the allowing of change or variation. It is clear from the data that the change in instructional approach and expectations – which included increased autonomy for students and a decrease in teacher control – contributes to understanding why the approach was successful.

Before advancing to the next paragraph, I should at least mention the current status of the hot-seat technique in Sri Lanka. The technique was first introduced as a

180 Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion

way of encouraging the production of creative ideas in problem-solving groups (Eijs, 2016). In general terms, hot-seat has become a very popular technique in drama teaching, especially in Australia (Bowll & Heap, 2017); but it has not been part of the drama curriculum in Sri Lanka. My intervention represented the first exposure to the hot-seat technique in Sri Lanka.

The second reason for the success of the intervention might have been the social environment. Most creativity researchers (e.g., Amabile & Pillemer, 2012; Beghetto & Kaufman, 2016) who work in educational contexts agree that group settings and social environments are essential factors in the expression and development of creative thinking skills. According to Ryan and Patrick (2001), positive educational contexts are necessary to help optimally adaptive student outcomes, including academic and non-academic outcomes and adjustment to school. The social environment of the classroom is particularly important for adolescent students, who are navigating a precarious stage of development, which involves continuous changes in achievement, opinions and behaviours (Ryan & Patrick, 2001). Students are observed to be more likely to adjust positively when the school environment and classroom context match their needs. I noticed how much the Group A students relaxed when using the open- air theatre for drama lessons; this fit between students’ needs and the environment made a considerable difference regarding their level of enjoyment and interest in continuing with the experience (Martin, 2001).

The data from the interviews, focus groups and other classroom observations similarly confirmed that social interactions, social context and interaction help to develop creative thinking. Group interaction is part of a social context (Sawyer, 2012). I noticed that how group collaboration created space for enjoyable working together, for challenging, discussing content, sharing ideas and completing activities. All these elements of the lessons appeared to contribute to motivation. The students were participating willingly and enthusiastically in the dramatic activities and games; they seemed to be finding them inspiring and enjoyable – especially as they never knew what to expect; and when they were faced with the challenge of communicating verbally or non-verbally in dramatic situations they became more skilled in observing and learning from each other’s behaviour.

Students frequently reported that working in pairs or in small groups made for a more enjoyable class atmosphere and provided better opportunities for using their

Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion 181 dramatic skills. I noticed that apart from enjoying the more relaxed environment, they seemed better able to focus on each other’s performances. It is well established that group interactions in drama do increase levels of involvement, and students appear to engage more willingly (Almond 2005). Vygotsky (1930/2004, 1931/1998), argues that drama is always a social, symbolic activity, involving multiple students, exploring themes, stories, and roles, dramatic events, expressions of understanding, and appropriation of sociocultural materials of society. This study has provided some insight to such a creation of a group setting and social environment where flexibility is possible and encouraged as being fundamental to the creative process (Amabile, 1996; Davies et al., 2013; Doorley & Witthoft, 2012).

In discussion of my theoretical framework I noted how Vygotsky (1978) recommends a continuous flow of collaborative practices as the basis of human development and learning. Social constructivism suggests that knowledge is not complete in itself but develops from cooperation and interaction between teacher and student, and student and student, within a social setting. The students in the intervention groups experienced more active engagement with dramatic action, investigating, problem-solving, creating dramatic encounters, and expanding their own learning and understanding. Ideally teachers create learning environments in which students are able to interact with their peers through discussion, collaboration, and feedback. The Vygotskian view of knowledge and learning is of a product of social interaction mediated by activities and social tools (Vygotsky, 1978).

The data presented in this thesis align with existing literature which sees process drama techniques as combining two important elements of divergent thinking; fluency and flexibility (Karakelle, 2009); of developing creativity, and self-expression (Hui & Lau, 2006); of developing the capacity for risk-taking, play, innovation and imagination through dramatic experience (Lin, 2012); and developing the imagination by inspiring the use of psychological imagery (Mages, 2006). The data also confirm the importance of quality interaction between teachers and peers, a key to inspiring students’ tripartite adaptability behaviours (Martin at al., 2015). I believe the findings presented in my thesis contribute to this existing literature.

182 Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion

DISCUSSION OF THE FIDELITY, ACCEPTABILITY AND FEASIBILITY OF THE INTERVENTION

In Chapter 6 I detailed the fidelity, acceptability, and feasibility of the intervention. I now discuss the specific findings in relation to: (1) fidelity of the intervention; (2) the acceptability of the intervention; and (3) the feasibility of the intervention.

The teacher interviews and lesson observations indicated that the intervention was carried out with good to excellent fidelity. It will be recalled that fidelity was defined on page 99. Data revealed there to be a high degree of participant responsiveness overall to the intervention at both school and student level. Data from teacher interviews showed that the program and the lessons were delivered regularly. This is an important finding, suggesting that it was feasible for teachers and schools to work with the topics and the process drama techniques to support students’ development of creative thinking and adaptability skills. Teacher interviews suggested that the intervention manual provided clear and practical guidance, encouraging teaching in a more creative manner, and teachers reported feeling confident that they could deliver the lessons. Both teachers mentioned that design of the lessons was central in helping students to think more deeply and to consider how to make small achievable changes in their creative behaviour. They also commented that students seemed more aware of their ways of thinking, and were ready to change them, proving increased resilience (Martin et al., 2013b).

The findings showed good teacher acceptability in terms of using process drama techniques. They reported increased levels by students of asking and responding to questions; and of collaboration and engagement. According to Chappell et al. (2008), asking and answering questions lies at the heart of possibility thinking; it is a crucial part of the development of everyday creative skills. The researchers (e.g. Chappell et al., 2008) have discussed the issue of question framing (including the variations of possibility narrow, possibility moderate, possibility broad), and question modality; all are considerations included in question posing and question responding strategies. The results from this study also include evidence of verbal and figural creativity behaviours, dimensions of everyday creativity, and confirm the importance of providing more appropriate, time/space/responsibility/freedom for students to make their learning visible. The data connected with adaptable characteristics in turn confirm

Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion 183 that a process drama teaching approach might help to (i) recognise uncertainty and novelty, both of which require a suitable monitoring response; (ii) help to adjust behaviour, cognition and/or emotion; and (iii) encourage students to recognise the value of regulatory responses and the filtering of them (if necessary). There is a considerable body of research around cognitive-behavioural-emotional intervention in the classroom that shows that students can, with support, change behaviour, cognition, and emotion for more effective functioning (e.g., Hattie, 2009, 2012; Martin, 2005, 2008).

The results also showed that students’ acceptability of process drama teaching was good. They reported that the approach helped them to feel ‘relaxed’ ‘free’ and ‘happy’ in their drama classroom; and that the experience felt playful. According to Ruch, Platt, Proyer, and Chen (2019), playfulness is considered as the foundation of humour (a play with ideas), and joyfulness is considered a play indication, to indicate the cancelation of seriousness. It has been demonstrated that a happy, free, relaxed and playful learning environment is more likely to encourage these 11-12-year-old students to be creative. According to Amabile (1996), granting freedom is key to creativity. A sense of freedom allows students to approach problem-solving in a relaxed way that is more likely to make the most of their knowledge and their creative-thinking skills. Sawyer and his colleagues (2012) observed that an enjoyable and relaxed mood is more favourable to creative work; and Craft (2001, 2008) has demonstrated the positive relationship between creative thinking skills and a relaxed, open, and playful approach to learning; a relationship commented upon by the students in this study. They reported really enjoying taking part in drama activities and warm-up exercises; they had no problems with these types of activities. These findings are consistent with those of Lin’s (2012) study, which reported that drama lessons not only stimulated students’ interest in learning, it also facilitated their creative development in relation to imagination, risk-taking, and discovering substitutes. Many researchers have demonstrated how the enjoyment of school plays an important role in students’ academic achievement (e.g. Ainley & Ainley, 2011; Martin, 2001), contributes to the building of positive emotions (Lüftenegger et al., 2016), and has been related to buoyancy (Martin, Colmar, Davey, & Marsh, 2010). These findings correlate the data relating to adaptability in this thesis.

184 Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion

Data from the focus group also showed that students’ collaboration and engagement skills were enhanced, a finding that aligns with Findlay, Girardi, and Coplan’s (2006) data on empathy, associated with sociality and prosocial behaviours such as engagement and cooperation; and with Paulus and van der Zee’s (2015) argument that collaboration skills enhance creativity. There is, however, something of a gap in the creativity literature on collaboration and creative processes as it relates to school students (Baruah & Paulus, 2019).

Interestingly, both groups of students noted that they were more comfortable in relation to adaptation. Being a team member in a drama group meant they had to take on different roles in different situations, providing them with the chance to explore different points of view and increasing their confidence in developing adaptation skills:

Most of the time, my friends appointed me as a group leader. Then, sometimes I need to take apart a drama role and as well as I need to help and encourage my group members who were upset and trying to perform their part…… (School A, student 2).

Another student agreed that they were more comfortable experimenting with different ideas and with their weaknesses because they knew others were able to take the lead and help them if they were having problems: “I agree [with the previous student’s] words. He sometimes acts as a group leader; then, he encouraged us to perform. In this situation, we had a chance to listen and cooperate with other members in our group” (School A – Student 4).

This finding is significant. Adaptability seems to enhance students’ capacity to navigate uncertain and novel circumstances that otherwise might threaten their psychological well-being (Nejad, 2014). This finding sheds some light on the profile of young students who are adaptable and those who are not; and on the types of personal well-being outcomes that come from adaptability, signalling the importance of adaptability in the educational context.

Data from the interviews, focus groups and classroom observations showed there to be some issues relating to the feasibility of the intervention and its long-term sustainability. These findings will help improve the design of the intervention by making suitable modifications to the processes and procedures involved. My

Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion 185 classroom observation noted that teachers faced significant problems when implementing the process drama techniques in Sri Lankan classrooms, which depart so significantly from traditional Sri Lankan pedagogy.

A troubling observation was the lack of preparation that teachers in this study undertook for their drama lessons; and likely for all their lessons. Lesson planning is generally considered an important aspect of effective teaching; and every teacher in Sri Lanka is expected to prepare a complete lesson plan, specifying the planned cognitive, affective and psycho-motor domains of development for all students (MoE, 2013). However, both teachers in this study reported that they did not prepare lesson plans for drama, as they felt it took too much time: “It is wasting time”. (School B teacher, second interview). The literature makes it clear that teachers on the whole spend significant time planning their lessons; and that while planning is challenging (Richards, 1998), it lies at the heart of effective teaching (Reed & Michaud, 2010), and involves a blend of preparation, strategies, curricula, settings and assessment (Banaji et al., 2010; Brady & Edelman, 2012; Bunt, 2009; Cheng, 2004). The teachers involved in this study each had a foundation degree in Drama and Theatre, and one had a Post Graduate Diploma in Education qualification. They are well-qualified.

Lesson planning is compulsory in other countries; and this applies to Drama as well as other curriculum areas. In the US, procedures have been developed to boost creativity (Committee on Prospering in the Global Economy of the 21-st Century, 2010; National Endowment for the Arts, 2010), to meet twenty-first-century citizenship standards, in which creativity and innovation development are a priority (P21, 2007). In Australia, the national curriculum (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2016) prioritises the development of critical and creative thinking, and teachers are provided with appropriate training and professional development to be able to plan effective lessons. Yet these well-educated Sri Lankan teachers reported that lesson planning was not important to them; they felt it was not necessary to plan because they just used the notes from previous years.

The data also evidence that lack of time is another problem. This is consistent with other research findings that indicate that teachers report having tremendous time difficulties (e.g. Soares, Vannest, & Harrison, 2009). Lack of space is another constraint in the Sri Lankan drama classroom. During the initial study survey, I saw this problem throughout schools in Sri Lanka. The atmosphere in drama classrooms

186 Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion

was typically poor as the internal arrangement of classroom space is not optimised for practical drama work; it is set up and designed for the presentation of lecture-style note-taking lessons, for all subjects. Most teachers used corridor spaces, isolated places or even parts of the playground for practical work. Unfortunately, suitable space is a missing resource in most Sri Lankan school settings.

A noisy environment also combines with lack of appropriate space. Effective teaching is significantly improved in classrooms where behaviour is managed; but the level of classroom noise is a major issue related to classroom order (Grebennikov & Wiggins, 2006). My classroom observations noted that noise from neighbouring classrooms was a significant impediment to creative teaching. Sometimes I could hear neither teacher instructions nor student responses. One common reason for classroom noise in Sri Lanka is that classrooms are overcrowded. There are too many students for the room capacity. Researchers (e.g.Chiang & Lai, 2008; DiSarno, Schowalter, & Grassa, 2002) have demonstrated the negative effects of noisy classrooms, including a reduction in skills of reading, writing, and comprehension, with noise being found to affect overall educational performance, making it hard to focus on the task being completed. However, Mehta, Zhu, and Cheema (2012) found that students’ creativity was enhanced when they were working in a moderate-noise environment; a suggestion confirmed by Massonnié, Rogers, Mareschal, and Kirkham (2019), who concluded that moderate classroom noise helps to generate new ideas, although students with low selective attention skills might be especially vulnerable to the effect of noise. The noisy classroom question is still being debated.

My overall observations suggested that most of the classes were uncomfortably noisy for students and that this affected their focus on learning. As mentioned earlier, flexibility is a key component in a creative space, the literature suggesting (e.g. Gallagher, 2017) it to be one of the most significant factors affecting students. Space needs to be flexible to accommodate creativity; and my observation data noted the negative impact on students of overcrowded classrooms; students struggled to perform in groups, and they struggled to find a quiet space to reflect or concentrate. As the National Council of Teachers of English, USA reported, suitable class sizes provide many advantages, including more opportunities for engagement, more focused attention, and better-quality instruction (NCTE, 2014). Richard Sallis of Drama Australia (2009) suggests that schools limit drama class sizes to no more than

Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion 187 25 students, in light of the practical nature of drama, with an emphasis on group work, student contributions and presentations, and the need for active teacher supervision and an appropriate level of duty of care. Unfortunately, this is not the case in drama classrooms in Sri Lanka.

Inadequate resources also hinder the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills in Sri Lanka; they are a key factor in failures in creative learning (Wearmouth, 2010). Hettiarachchi (2010), whose study was conducted with English teachers in Sri Lanka, found inadequate and poor amenities prevented teachers from conducting practical lessons in the classroom and discouraged them from trying; and that lack of resources impacted on the development of creativity. Some scholars claim that limited resources enhance creative action (Baker & Nelson, 2005; Ohly & Fritz, 2010); while my findings suggest that resources are essential for students and teachers to be able to act creatively, I believe that teachers could foster creativity with limited resources, encouraging students to be inventive. Both my pre- and post- data show an increase in active engagement in the active control group, who were making props. It may be that students are stimulated to act more creatively in order to develop new and useful solutions to resourcing problems, which may, in itself, foster a creative thinking capacity.

The teachers’ views on the feasibility of this intervention identified cultural and linguistic differences and differences between the intervention and previous teaching experiences as the main difficulties for them. In terms of cultural and linguistic differences, each language theorises differently, wrapping the phenomena of reality together in different ways, strengthening differences by interpreting them differently; each language has its own interpretation according to its ways of thinking, culture, and geographic location. It is the cultural context, as well as some technical terms, that seems to pose the greatest challenge in translating English to Sinhala. Like all languages, Sinhala is loaded with cultural terms and expressions; as is English. Culturally specific expressions are challenging to translate, even for me, a native speaker. As I noted in Chapters 4 and5, the Sri Lankan language is more than 3,000 years old, and contains a high number of cultural terms and expressions, which are difficult to translate. The first difficulty lay in the use of the term process drama, which was not recognised in Sri Lanka. The second significant difficulty was translating the term hot-seat technique into an equivalent Sinhala term. As noted in my introduction

188 Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion

to this chapter, I was the first to implement the hot-seat technique in Sri Lanka, and I have struggled to find an equivalent or accurate translation for the term. If translated word-for-word, it does not convey the English meaning. I contacted a retired senior professor who was fluent in both languages and was familiar with drama education, and together we decided to name ‘hot-seat,’ Vichra Asana in Sinhala.

In terms of addressing the difficulty of reconciling previous teaching experiences and approaches with the model of process drama outlined in their teaching manual, in Sri Lanka the design and development of the national school curriculum, syllabus and the teachers’ guide is centralised at national level by the Ministry of Education. The National Institute of Education (NIE) is the institute responsible for designing school syllabus and teachers’ guides. The school syllabus consists of outlines or lists of topics to be studied in a given year or specified period of learning; and these syllabi are directed by the teachers’ guide in terms of the extent of work required in a given subject. The teachers clearly preferred to use traditional materials, which are easy for them to use; it’s what they are used to doing. Change is difficult. Changing familiar patterns of practice is a challenge. Both teachers in this intervention were experienced and working in their home location. They were comfortable with the types of teaching behaviour required of them within the normal school context. My intervention was asking them to step out from the familiar and change their practice. Although they genuinely tried to do this, their traditional teaching behaviour emerged (Author field notes, 26 June 2018). Relevant literature (e.g. Efland, 2004; Eisner, 2002, 2018) suggests that teaching for creative arts requires both teachers and students to understand the concept of aesthetic value, and to be able to implicitly connect learning to their own social and personal lives, creating characters and developing cognitive capacity. However, the interviews with both teachers confirmed that, due to centrally controlled approaches to teaching, the opportunity to promote creative learning, to teach creatively and to teach for creativity, is limited. This finding supports previous research (e.g. Craft, 2003; Jeffrey & Craft, 2004; Robinson, 2011).

Creative teachers and creative teaching are highly correlated with fostering creative product (Craft, 2003; Craft et al., 2013; Jeffry, 2003, Runco, 2014); and the literature highlights the role of the teacher in arranging the best possible fit between format and choice of expression for students. The findings of my research reflect how traditional teaching approaches disadvantage students’ creative expression. Sri Lankan

Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion 189 teachers typically focus their lesson on preparing for exams and see student-centred, energetic, or creative activities as time wasting. Yet both intervention groups of students seemed to be understood that when they were allowed to explore their own ideas, they were accountable and in control of their activity; and they appreciated this experience. This observation aligns with Craft’s conceptual framework around ‘learner empowerment’ (Crafts, 2008); and shows the benefits of moving away from the traditional teaching approach in the creative dramatic context. My findings support previous research evidence of the effectiveness of creative approaches (Hall & Chandler, 2005; Marzano & Marzano, 2003).

Both teachers frequently mentioned that teaching preparation is a time- consuming task; and identified exam pressure as the main issue. Yet they are dissatisfied with their current teaching style (chalk-talk approach). They described the present education system as too narrow and too focused on students achieving the highest grades; and they understand that this denies students the opportunity to be creative. They know that students are not learning how to take risks, not learning from errors or exploring topics. Instead, they are taught to follow traditional procedures, which hinder their creative development (Carroll & Dodds, 2016). The tradition of knowledge transmission and examination pressure, so common in Sri Lankan schools, discourages teachers from teaching for creative thinking. They see their school environment as impeding creativity, especially in the drama classroom. They identified additional barriers, such as a lack of administration support, a lack of educational resources, classroom size, and unavailability of electronic equipment. Edinger (2008) has argued that teachers’ capacity to promote creativity would be enhanced by helpful administration; and this situation would certainly be considerably improved by the Sri Lankan Government paying more attention to training and professional development programs in collaboration with the Ministry of Education to help teachers understand how to develop students’ creativity.

Parents’ high expectations of their children’s academic achievement also impact on teachers’ practice. Both teachers identified parental pressure as a limiting factor in engagement with creativity and expression. School A teacher said that if he stopped giving notes, he and his school would be blamed. Parental pressure on their children and economic distress are two of the circumstances rated as highly stressful by adolescents in Sri Lanka (Annual Report on Family Health Bureau, 2016). As a

190 Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion

final observation, I obtained some feasibility results from students. They commonly reported high levels of academic related stress from both parents and from teachers for the examinations. This academic-related stress experienced by junior secondary students’ affects their mental and physical health and leads to a variety of academic problems (Sawyer et al., 2012). They told me that their parents’ primary concern was not developing creativity skills, but to focus on content knowledge and testing skills to enhance their exam scores.

Helping junior secondary students cope with academic-related stress during this crucial period of development is an important target of the OECD (2015), which points out that educational settings are the places where students need to develop the social and emotional skills needed to become strong and succeed in life (OECD, 2015). Unfortunately, in Sri Lanka, assessment of the quality of schools is based solely on students’ academic achievement, and university entrance exam results; and knowledge-based tests are widely used in almost all subjects, even drama (World Bank, 2017). It is therefore necessary to provide programmes that have been proved to decrease stress and to increase stress management and coping skills. Academic stress experienced by school students is not confined to the school context; it affects student mental health more broadly; and affects social relations with peers and attitudes towards authority and society at large (Zhao et al., 2015). The World Health Organisation (2001) points out that students must be healthy and feel secure to participate fully in education – and this includes mental health (WHO, 2001). There is a need for some changes in the Sri Lankan system in this respect (Irugalbandara, 2019).

SECTION SUMMARY

I have explored the discussion study results within the theoretical frameworks provided by Vygotsky (1978) and Craft (2003, 2008). The above section discussed several significant findings from the surveys and focus groups, interviews and classroom observations. The quantitative data suggested that when we provide a suitable environment and active engagement where the students are energetically engaged in creative experiences, processes, and development, students’ creative thinking and adaptability skills scores on creativity and adaptability are significantly increased. This finding is linked to my definition of creativity which suggests that four elements – person, process, product and press, are elements of student learning. The data from students and teachers and my classroom observations found that the

Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion 191 intervention was implemented with fidelity, was acceptable to both teachers and students, but was not feasible or sustainable in the present educational climate in Sri Lanka.

Most significantly, the analysis conducted so far suggests an exciting viewpoint regarding the creative processes that can be an effective starting point to introduce creative behaviour in a drama education context in Sri Lanka. At the heart of all kinds of process drama techniques, students display active engagement as a means of transforming both imagined and actual worlds. The overall data revealed that process drama techniques encourage students to look at the world from others’ viewpoint and to think about new alternatives and interpret options. As noted in Chapter Two, subsection 2.1, I argue for the importance of creative thinking in the drama subject for 21st- Century demands. This is my long-term goal, a goal resulting from the need to have professional teachers able to manage the teaching-learning process effectively and to adapt their behaviour to different social situations.

Moreover, as has appeared throughout this intervention and has been highlighted in the data, I would suggest process drama techniques can be used to develop not only creative thinking and adaptability skills, which were the focus of this thesis, but future research could also examine whether it also develops inter-social competencies and collaborative skills (Almond, 2015). For example, improvisation techniques always encourage students to imagine and react in the instant in ways that they are genuine and existential. Therefore, students bring what they know as a group about human behaviour to a freshly created situation which requires verbal and physical reactions. These reactions have been formed by prior experiences, linked with social and cultural conversations. This idea connects with students’ creative adjustment to learning and with their capability to imagine substitutes, produce new ideas, reflect on options for action and self-determination, engage in possibility thinking (Craft, 2008). All students in the intervention groups actively took part in activities, had something to say or do, either when they took part in games or when adopting a role in performance; all actions that require a degree of fluency, self- confidence and competence (Fleming, 2006).

The feasibility results identified the challenges of implementing the process drama approach in the unique context of Sri Lankan education. In this section, I outlined the difficulties concerning the observation of the hot-seat lessons and noted

192 Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion

that the observation recorded four main problems: preparation, time, the environment and resourcing.

IMPLICATIONS

In this section I would like to address different audiences who are responsible for decision-making and judgement in drama education in Sri Lanka.

Implications for policymakers The literature review and the analysis of data in this thesis contain several key messages for the policymakers responsible for drama education at the national level in the Ministry of Education (MoE) in Sri Lanka. The literature findings clearly indicate that there is a lack of substantial evidence of any programs or interventions relating to students’ creativity development in the junior secondary years of schooling. This thesis therefore includes both positive and negative messages for Sri Lankan policymakers and the Ministry of Education.

The positive message is that process drama techniques are known to enhance students’ creative thinking and adaptability skills; and to enhance the quality of teaching. The MoE could take action to raise awareness of the potential benefits of this approach in relation to the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills. It will be important to develop a process drama manual to help teachers plan and conduct lessons effectively. Sri Lankan policymakers must take the necessary steps to develop evidence-based interventions to support this approach to teaching creative thinking and adaptability skills to junior secondary school students.

This study also found that it would be useful for education authorities to have a creativity improvement plan, developed and supervised on an ongoing basis and forming part of schools’ responsibility requests. The MoE also needs to confirm that they have the capacity and proficiency to guide and support schools as they develop and implement such creativity development plans; which should be externally revised every year.

Perhaps the most critical finding is the adverse impact of the continuous exam pressure on creativity and adaptability skills development in Sri Lankan students. According to the Family Health Bureau (Annual Report on Family Health Bureau, 2016) parental pressure for their children to achieve academic excellence, and the

Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion 193 potential economic distress of those children who fail to achieve excellent results, are two key circumstances rated as highly stressful by adolescents themselves. It would therefore be useful for the Ministry of Education to consider other countries’ best practices in drama education, identified in my sub-section 1.4.1 and 2.1.

A negative message conveyed via this intervention relates to teachers' perceptions of drama teaching in relation to content learning and evaluation. Sri Lankan formal education consists of nine national goals, with creativity development being one of them (National Education Commission, 2014a; 2014b). A significant point to emerge from the findings concerning curriculum policy was that although teachers were working with the national education curriculum, they were not making any specific links in their drama classrooms to creative thinking, as identified in the national creativity development goals. According to Hayes and Comber (2018), "…it is the performing of the pedagogy in situ that truly counts, which may be depending upon teacher knowledge and skill in practice" (Hayes & Comber, 2018, p. 7-8). It was the performing of the appropriate pedagogy to achieve the stated curriculum aims that was absent; revealing a lack of awareness in both teachers and school authorities of the nature of pedagogical application in the drama classroom.

The unnecessary decentralisation of the Sri Lankan education system also creates problems. An unfocused teacher employment system produces significant shortcomings. For example, as recently as 2018, the Ministry of Education recruited pre-service teachers who had completed a Bachelor of Education Drama and Theatre Degree as primary and home-science teachers. As the coordinator in this program I have personally seen this recruitment program in action. I suggest that policy makers need to consider teachers' actual qualifications before they are appointed; and choose only teachers who are appropriately qualified for subjects such as drama, just as they do with mathematics and science. The model of a centralised and transferable teacher service runs the risk of inferior teacher placements and higher teacher absenteeism in Sri Lanka (Athurupanne, 2013). Hence policy makers need to consider the issues of specialisation and qualification as essential pre-requisites for appropriate teacher employment and placements. In addition, pre-service teacher education programs conducted by the National Colleges of Education should seriously consider how teacher professional programs can adapt to 21st- Century contexts and requirements. It is hoped that this thesis will provide some guidance and input to consideration of

194 Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion

these issues. All educational programs need to promote teacher independence through practice, which involves being responsive to changing contexts and being able to adapt to contextual challenges, "in interpreting ambiguous, constraining and constantly shifting policy […] despite restricted professional development" (Alford & Brian, 2015, p. ii). A recommendation I would offer is the provision of drama workshops and appropriate professional development for teachers who do not have a drama background.

Finally, policymakers need to take immediate action on the development of teacher education standards in the Sri Lankan education system. Unfortunately, Sri Lanka lacks standards for teachers, which means that teacher education is a field with very few practical statements to guide effective practice. Teachers themselves are the primary gatekeepers who facilitate and shape children’s learning, perspectives and capabilities. I argue that creativity must be a key focus of teachers’ practice and guiding teacher standards.

Implications for teacher practice The main concern of this thesis has been to find a suitable pedagogical format for developing creative thinking and adaptability skills in the target population, the junior secondary school students who study drama as a school subject in Sri Lanka. This intervention has identified key issues and challenges for drama teachers in Sri Lanka. The pre/post-tests revealed that the process drama teaching approach and the activity of making props for their drama subject provided opportunity for students to express themselves via a ‘making and doing’ approach. As such, my intervention contributes to a growing body of knowledge in the field of drama education in Sri Lanka; and suggests that there needs to be more research conducted on a national level into similar approaches to teaching that actively engage students.

In particular, this intervention demonstrates that drama students can - with appropriate support and stimulus - make courageous and bold choices, take risks in their quest for suitable adaptations, and use their imagination in order to display their skills and understandings to the best of their capability. This finding reflects the literature reviewed in this thesis that highlights the importance of interaction and freedom for both drama teaching and learning; and it provides an evidence-based argument that process drama as a pedagogical approach can influence and support

Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion 195 students’ development of creative thinking and adaptability skills in the Sri Lankan context.

I hope that the findings of this project encourage teachers to reflect on their practice; and to improve their practice, focusing on the practical dimension of teaching creatively as well as on assessment; and to reconsider the importance of lesson planning. Research shows that clear lesson plans are vital for enhancing students' performance (Hattie, 2008). As Schmoker (2006) notes, teachers need opportunities to practice new techniques, assessments, and ways of lesson planning; teachers are more positive and more effective when they feel prepared in these areas. Therefore, this thesis suggests the following steps for teachers.

I. Drama teachers need to set clear lesson goals to help students understand the success criteria, learning and assessment expectations.

II. Drama teachers need to design lessons which incorporate a sequence of clear steps and changes between them and support learning to build students’ knowledge and creative skills. They must also reflect on sequencing and the pace of the curriculum (Kyriakides, Christoforou, & Charalambous, 2013).

III. Teachers need to create opportunities in drama lessons for students to apply their creative expression and skills, and where explicit teaching is appropriate, it must be methodical (Hattie, 2008) and provide sufficient time for creative expression in safe and supportive environments.

IV. Drama teachers need to provide opportunities for students to contribute to flexible groups that collaborate on expressive tasks and respond to questions that support the accomplishment of learning goals. In the collaborative learning context, students should work together in small groups with all students participating in a learning task (Education Endowment Foundation, 2015).

V. Drama teachers need to use questioning to support interactive meaning- making. Questioning is an influential tool, which helps to engage students, inspire interest, stimulate inquisitiveness, and make links to students’ lives (Hattie, 2009; Kyriakides et al., 2013).

196 Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion

VI. Drama teachers need to praise curiosity and encourage students to express new and unique ideas. This can be done by effective question posing strategies.

I believe that this intervention has implications for new drama teaching approaches and methodology. My implementation of the hot-seat technique for the first time in Sri Lanka suggests it is both productive and successful. I feel very fortunate to have been the first to implement it, knowing that it is now being continued in the intervention schools. I found that it actively encouraged student engagement, as evidenced by the decision to continue it in the schools in which it was trialled. I like to think that this study has contributed a new methodological approach (hot-seat) to the Sri Lankan drama classroom.

I know that this will require comprehensive training, new and updated knowledge of drama education theory, new elements of drama and its operation, improved aesthetic sense and thinking strategies for drama teachers. Guidance will be needed to help teachers to consider the relationship between social interaction and student agency, and to be conscious of the importance of dramatic freedom in drama planning, a crucial finding that emerged from this thesis; a finding which suggests the importance of notions of tension, dramatic role, attention, mood, and how to use all these elements to facilitate active engagement in the classroom.

Both teachers in the intervention study felt that they lacked the freedom to be independent in matters related to the teacher's guide, such as lesson preparation, resourcing and accessing suitable space to teach effectively. Appropriate autonomy is needed for both school administration and teachers in order to meet the essential requirements of the drama education curriculum.

Students' discussions revealed the high value they place on creative thinking processes, including possibility thinking, imagination, questioning, self-determination and risk-taking. The students expressed the desire to know more about how creative processes work, wanting to know how to use them more efficiently and productively in the process of developing their individuality. A strength of this intervention lay in the fact that the participants were junior secondary students, who were highly motivated for active, practical experience; they were not passive listeners. Importantly, they valued their experience and the advantages they perceived in participating in the intervention. The students’ positive experience provides welcome support to the case

Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion 197 for the implementation of creative learning experience in the drama classrooms, and for ways of customising learners’ involvements to assist them to reach their potential.

Implications for school administration The intervention found that creative thinking and adaptability skills can be improved in Sri Lanka by teaching drama by process drama techniques. The following implication is that administrators need to provide facilities and resources for drama teachers to do this. Teaching is a system; it works like an engine, with the parts working together and strengthening one another, driving the vehicle forward. This thesis therefore recommends two main tasks for school administrators to support teachers in creative teaching and students in developing creative thinking and adaptability skills.

First, school administrators need to provide efficient infrastructure and facilities for the subject of drama. Schools must continue to offer and to increase openings for dramatic activities, and one significant way to achieve this is to provide appropriate space for drama. This thesis has shown that the allocation of separate classrooms/space for drama supports its success.

Second, in Sri Lanka, school principals play a leading role in promoting effective and high-performing schools; therefore, school principals need to create a suitable school climate which provides freedom for teachers to work productively and innovatively, motivating their performance. The physical context and environment, including technology, teaching and learning resources, instruments and extra resources, are also vital for the success of drama education.

While parental pressure was not measured as part of my research agenda, the teachers talked about some problems during the intervention period. Therefore, to reduce the constant pressure from parents on students to focus solely on attaining high grades, school administrations need to convey positive messages to them about other dimensions of education – such as creativity and flexibility. This communication and awareness-raising could be part of parent-teacher meetings, workshops or electronic or social media messaging.

Implications for parents Parents play a key role in ensuring students’ preparation for their future lives. The findings presented in this thesis align with previous research findings on the

198 Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion

negative impact of parental pressure on student wellbeing (Ang & Huan 2006; Agliata & Renk 2009; Luthar & Becker 2002). This thesis found that most of the students felt pressure because of their parents; they continuously felt that their parents were trying to force them to perform better academically. Children's development is more than the marks they achieve in assessment tasks, and measures of a successful education should include holistic assessment of students' performance. Therefore, I would like to recommend the following guidelines for parents:

I. Parents need to know the difference between engaged and disengaged behaviours, and to understand how to create situations in which children feel comfortable with themselves as learners.

II. Schools need to promote open communication with parents and provide guidance about how to interpret grades and reports to help parents construct realistic expectations for their children and strengthen their ability to support their children in school.

III. To address the struggle that some parents have in assessing their children's capability, it may be helpful for schools to offer parent seminars, parent-teacher meetings, or peer-group interventions that explain approaches for making contact with their children's teachers and developing trusting and supportive relationships with them.

IV. Parents need to talk with their children about the school’s day to day activities and help to ensure that their children are happy in school. Schools can provide parents with questions or sentence starters to get their children talking to them about their learning.

V. Parents need to encourage their children to plan accurate schedules for short and long-term projects, and they need to give them free time for leisure activities, which allow them to be relaxed.

Section summary This research makes a theoretical, methodological and practical contribution to the field and knowledge base of Sri Lankan drama education. The intervention that it is built on is theoretically framed and analysed through the lens of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory (1978) and Craft’s model of possibility thinking (2005). Methodologically, this thesis applied a non-randomized design. This intervention also

Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion 199 makes a methodological contribution by using Lucas’s five creative disposition model (2016), applied for the first time in observing and assessing creative development in drama classrooms. Finally, the overall findings of this intervention contribute to professional practice by providing practical suggestions for policymakers, school administrators, teachers and parents.

CONTRIBUTION TO KNOWLEDGE

There is a dearth of school-based educational interventions for developing creative thinking and adaptability skills in Sri Lanka. This intervention therefore contributes to new knowledge. This was the first non-randomised controlled trial of a teacher-delivered process drama intervention in Sri Lankan classrooms; and therefore, adds to the corpus of literature by exploring how Sri Lankan teachers interpreted and enacted creative thinking and adaptability skills. This study is significant because of its novelty. It is interesting to note that before I started my intervention, I faced some objections from Sri Lankan educators, such as ‘it is wrong to intervene on school students’; or ‘it is not fair to treat students differently’. I had to argue that the intervention was being tested in a conventional educational setting with the objective of improving the drama curriculum and pedagogy in Sri Lanka. To support my case, I had to provide examples from other developed countries which have successfully implemented similar interventions. I argued that in order to make policy decisions on experimentation or change, there needs to be a strong foundation of intervention outcomes evidence. I now discuss in more detail how I believe my intervention outcome contributes to the agenda of new educational knowledge in Sri Lanka. I need to emphasise that for Sri Lankan education authorities randomised experiments are the ‘gold standard’ for measuring educational interventions. I firmly believe that my thesis opens a door for researchers who wish to conduct intervention studies in Sri Lanka in the future.

My intervention contributes to knowledge in four different ways. Firstly, it involves new techniques and a new teaching approach. The data confirm the effectiveness of a process drama approach in drama education. This contribution to knowledge is significant; it can potentially convince educational authorities, policymakers and possibly future researchers to consider the aspects of creative thinking and adaptability skills in a process drama framework.

200 Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion

Secondly, the findings have clear implications for the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills through process drama techniques in Sri Lanka. Based on the evidence from the pre- and post-tests, students’ experiences in process drama techniques had a beneficial outcome on developing characteristics of possibility thinking. They stimulated their creativity and made them more aware of their reasons for making choices and thinking about their individual interests. Students were being stimulated to identify problems and issues together, to discuss their ‘thinking’ in the process of possibility thinking. The data demonstrate the importance of exploring and expressing students’ personal opinions and preferences, so these can be kept in the teacher’s mind when designing courses and planning lessons. During my class observations I saw students using their own experiences to build up and expand learning situations, making imaginative links to different conceptualisations, creating social interactions with peers, and offering their judgment on the quality of learning. This kind of experience is rare in Sri Lankan classrooms; which is why I suggest that drama teachers in Sri Lanka find ways of integrating a process drama approach in their teaching. We know that if we value developing creativity and adaptability skills the talk-chalk approach needs to be significantly reduced; and we need to incorporate activities that are active and engaging. In this context, my thesis may be considered as valuable contribution to the agenda of creating a compelling and engaging drama pedagogy in Sri Lanka; one capable of developing students’ creativity and adaptability skills.

Thirdly, the findings of this thesis contribute new knowledge to the field of drama education research in Sri Lanka. As mentioned earlier, this thesis is the first doctoral study to focus on students’ creative thinking and adaptability skills; it has potential therefore to help improve not only drama teaching practice and pedagogy in Sri Lankan classrooms but also to encourage further research activity in the field. It contributes, for example, new knowledge of Vygotsky’s and Craft’s frameworks that support exploration of drama teaching interventions; and it provides a first example of a non-randomised control study design successfully used in drama education in Sri Lanka. As a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Education, I am already guiding a student online to implement this study design for her Master’s degree. I see this model as having wide potential application for research students to investigate an instrument which visually clarifies drama assessment beyond rote learning and memorisation of

Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion 201 facts and helps students to become creative learners able to respond to future life demands. Therefore, by integrating and interconnecting current literature and theoretical frameworks, the study has created new academic knowledge in the field of drama education in Sri Lanka.

Fourthly, the data from my study bring to light the significant problems and challenges faced by both teachers and students in drama classrooms. I see the possibility of further studies, for example into the issue of inadequate resources, difficulties in accessing appropriate space, the attitudes of school administrations towards drama teaching, conditions which impact on the quality of teaching and learning. The data invite consideration of the current readiness and capability of drama teachers to use process drama techniques in their classrooms. The evidence clearly shows that government and school authorities are far behind in all aspects of responding to 21st-century demands, focusing their attention uniquely on preparing students for examination, not considering the importance of creative skills.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

Even with the number of significant contributions and implications I have noted in the previous section, some limitations to this research study need to be acknowledged. The study is an educational intervention with Grade 7 drama students as research participants in a regular drama classroom setting, using three particular pedagogical treatments. The effects of these were observed and measured by means of different instruments. This thesis was theoretically and conceptually framed by the main research question: ‘Does including process drama techniques in the teaching- learning program in drama improve creative thinking and adaptability skills of junior secondary school students in Sri Lanka?’ The intervention process does have some limitations in relation to interpretation and generalisation of the findings.

The first limitation is that the intervention’s external validity is limited because of the selected sample and characteristics of the schools that agreed to participate. The six participating schools were located in the Western province of Sri Lanka; thus the study’s findings might not be generalisable to schools located in the other eight provinces, as there are substantial differences in learning outcomes in secondary education in terms of province, gender, income, and location (World Bank, 2017).

202 Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion

The second limitation is that of all the process drama techniques I could have chosen as an approach - there are eighty-two process drama techniques - I selected only three for a comprehensive comparison of efficacy. It may be that other techniques might be more effective or may have produced different results. Although the present study used two instruments (TTCT and Adaptability scale), which were very new in the context of Sri Lankan students, there was not much background against which to compare results; however, they were suitable for between-group comparisons. Therefore, I suggest the need for future studies to expand the sample to include other schools. It also might be useful to repeat this intervention in other year levels.

The third limitation of this thesis regards time and timing constraints. I was constrained by the limited time and resources allocated to my PhD research. I conducted forty classroom observations over ten weeks in order to achieve something approaching a longitudinal approach to exploring the techniques and their implementation over a longer time period. However, out of forty lessons, I was only able to code and analyse twenty lessons. The balance of the data will be analysed in the future.

The fourth limitation in my thesis is that it is possible to experience what is known as the ‘Hawthorne effect’ (Adair, 1984). My classroom observations noted that students and teachers could have changed their teaching and classroom behaviour - either positively or negatively - due to the fact of my presence. Also, the focus group students who were interviewed shortly after their experience in the intervention might not have had enough time to reflect adequately on their experience. Similarly, I conducted interviews with the teachers a few days after they finished their teaching; this may have affected their recall of the experience. I am also conscious of the possible restrictions involved in studying such a complex phenomenon, and focusing directly on the students in the classroom, when I know that many other variables also influence creative behaviours, including experiencing different teachers and teaching styles, physical environments, different values and life experiences. Despite these limitations, however, I believe this account of this intervention can advance understanding of the relationship between drama-based activities, the development of creativity and adaptability skills, and a creative and adaptive life.

The fifth limitation in my thesis is terms of methodology, as this study was a quantitative one, there are limits to what can be understood through the data. For

Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion 203 example, the adaptability scale presented in this thesis is self-reported. Students answered a set of questions in class time, after I had provided them with general instructions about the procedure. The challenge with self-reporting measures is possible uncertainty as to whether the students fully understood the concept of adaptability and its features (e.g., cognitive adjustment and so forth). Self-reported data carry the risk of possible discrepancy between what students report and what they do (Cook & Campbell, 1979). Future research might include more qualitative data to understand better and to illustrate how and when adaptability functions; and it would be essential, in terms of examining the hypothesis, to use data from additional sources, such as, for example, the parents.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

The use of process drama techniques for the development of creative thinking and adaptability skills for junior secondary school students is a new research field in Sri Lanka; it therefore opens up many avenues for further investigation. A number of issues related to Sri Lankan drama education have been referred to during the investigation of the research problem in this thesis. Some of these issues invite further in-depth examination, as they are closely connected with the efficacy of drama teaching and learning in Sri Lanka. For example, student focus group data revealed that a process drama approach engages students’ sense of joy, freedom, and playfulness. This dimension of experience in a process drama classroom with junior secondary school students is worth further investigation.

Finally, using the data collected during this project, I plan to write and publish research articles that will advocate for the potential benefits of adopting a process drama approach as a new dimension to secondary education drama curricula. There are aspects of this study that could be further developed in order to obtain a better perspective on the effectiveness of the three different process drama techniques, either taken together or separately, of their potential to support the development of students’ creative thinking and adaptability skills. The initial intention of my thesis was to conduct a mixed-method study; and so, I have more qualitative data which was collected, coded and incompletely analysed, but not included in this thesis.

204 Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion

Future implementations When I go back to Sri Lanka, one of my academic tasks will be to check the feasibility and make necessary arrangements in terms of the implementation of a new post graduate degree program (Master of Education in Drama and Theatre) for in- service teachers. I believe therefore that in the near future I will be able to expand understanding of process drama approaches for different purposes. For example, some techniques may be applicable to pre-service programs (e.g. Bachelor of Education) and also to in-service programs (e.g. Post Graduate Diploma in Education). The teaching practice component and professional learning opportunities for teachers more generally could include the kinds of positive, active teaching /learning practices which were tracked in this thesis (see subsection 2.2); and students currently studying for the Bachelor of Education (Drama and Theatre) degree in the Open University of Sri Lanka will benefit from the insights generated by this study: I am the program coordinator of this degree program, the only undergraduate education degree which is designed for pre-service drama teachers in the country.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

It is evident from the analysis presented in this thesis that process drama techniques represent a useful pedagogical tool which can enhance creative thinking and adaptability skills in junior secondary students in Sri Lankan schools. There is a long way to go in terms of enabling teachers to take on more responsibility for the teaching and assessing of both skills. I believe my analysis contributes to clarifying and providing some insight into the current situation in drama classrooms in Sri Lanka.

I have identified the principal barriers to developing creative thinking and adaptability skills; primarily that there is no indication that creativity and innovation have value in Sri Lankan educational policy and practice. There seems to be no appetite for change at policy level. Also, lack of resources, the focus on examinations, parental and school pressures on students, all represent significant issues. To move towards a pedagogy capable of developing creative thinking and adaptability skills in the drama classroom, action and argument are needed at several levels concomitantly. There is a need to alter teacher training and professional development; to change the drama curriculum and syllabi in ways which create space and time for play, imagination, experimentation; to value and embed performance-based assessments, to decentre the

Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion 205 writing of exams for drama from note giving and reproduction; to develop collaborative tasks; all these are steps in the right direction to effect change.

There is a real need for research that adopts a range of approaches across a variety of Sri Lankan drama classroom contexts, to gain further insight into the complexity of creativity development pedagogy in this context, and to respond to the complicated and dynamic challenges in relation to continually changing demands of the 21-st Century.

206 Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion

References

Abayasekara, A., & Arunatilake, N. (2018). School resources and education outcomes: Evidence from Sri Lanka. Retrieved from https://crawford.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/events/attachments/2018- 06/abayasekara.pdf Abbot, S. (Ed.). (2014). 21st century skills. The Glossary of Education Reform. Retrieved from http://edglossary.org/21st-century-skills/ Agliata, A. K., & Renk, K. (2009). College students’ affective distress: The role of expectation discrepancies and communication. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 18, 396- 411. doi: 10.1007/s10826-008-9244-8 Agustian, S., Nga, T.N., & Donna T. (2014). Incorporating translation in qualitative studies: Two case studies in education. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 27, 1337-1353. doi: 10.1080/09518398.2013.837211 Ainley, M., & Ainley, J. (2011). Student engagement with science in early adolescence: The contribution of enjoyment to students’ continuing interest in learning about science. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 36, 4–12. doi: 0.1016/j.cedpsych.2010.08.001 Alford, J., & Brian, W. (2015). Wicked problems: Implications for public policy and management. Administration & Society, 47, 711-739. doi: 10.1177/0095399713481601

Almond, M. (2005). Teaching English with Drama. London: Modern English Publishers. Amabile, T. M. (1990). Within you, without you: The social psychology of creativity, and beyond. In M. A. Runco & R. S. Albert (Eds.), Theories of creativity (pp. 61–91). Sage Publications, Inc. Amabile, T. M. (1996). Creativity in context. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Amabile, T., & Pillemer, J. (2012). Perspectives on the social psychology of creativity. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 46, 3-15. doi: 10.1002/jocb.001 Ang, R. P., & Huan, V. S. (2006). Academic expectations stress inventory: Development, factor analysis, reliability, and validity. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 66, 522 -539. doi: 10.1177/0013164405282461

Annual Report on Family Health Bureau (2016). Retrieved from: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kNOB0IwEgIVKpP0- J3mC52dan6yY1qDL/view Aprill, A., Burnaford, G., & Weiss, C. (2001). Renaissance in the classroom: Arts integration and meaningful learning. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

References 207

Ashton-Hay, S. (2005). Drama: Engaging all learning styles. In Proceedings 9th International INGED (Turkish English Education Association) Conference, Economics and Technical University, Ankara Turkey. Retrieved from http://eprints.qut.edu.au Asian Development Bank (2017). Annual Report – Sustainable infrastructure for future needs. Retrieved from https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/institutional-document/411996/adb- annual-report-2017.pdf Association of American Colleges and Universities (2009). Creative Thinking VALUE Rubric. Retrieved from https://www.aacu.org/value/rubrics/creative- thinking Atkinson, P., & Silverman, D. (1997). Kundera’s immortality: The interview society and the invention of the self. Qualitative Inquiry, 3, 304–325. doi: 10.1177/107780049700300304 Aturupane, H. (2013). Economic benefits and options for financing higher education in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Journal of Advanced Social Studies, 2, 47-66. doi: 10.4038/sljass.v2i1.5118 Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (2012). ACARA budget statements – Overview & resources. Retrieved from https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/acara_budget_statements.p df Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (2016). ACARA budget statements – Overview & resources. Retrieved from https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/acara_budget_statements.p df. Ayala, G. X., & Elder, J. P. (2011). Qualitative methods to ensure acceptability of behavioral and social interventions to the target population. Journal of Public Health Dentistry, 71, 69-79. doi: 10.1111/j.1752-7325.2011.00241.x Baer, J. M., & Kaufman, J.C. (2005). Creativity across the domains: Faces of the muse. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Baker, T. L. (1994). Doing social research. New York: McGraw-Hill. Baker, T., & Nelson, R. E. (2005). Creating something from nothing: Resource construction through entrepreneurial bricolage. Administrative Science Quarterly, 50, 329–366. doi: 10.2189/asqu.2005.50.3.329 Banaji, S., Cranmer S., & Perrotta, C. (2010). Expert perspectives on creativity and innovation in European schools and teacher training. Retrieved from http://ftp.jrc.es/EURdoc/JRC59833_TN.pdf. Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. New York, NY: General Learning Press. Barron, B., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2008). Teaching for meaningful learning: A review of research on inquiry-based and cooperative learning. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED539399.pdf

208 References

Bart, W. M., Hokanson, B., & Can, I. (2017). An investigation of the factor structure of the Torrance tests of creative thinking. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 17, 515 – 528. doi:10.12738/estp.2017.2.0051 Baruah, J. & Paulus, P.B. (2019). Collaborative creativity and innovation in education. C. A. Mullen (Ed.). Creativity under duress in education? Creativity theory and action in education (pp. 155 – 177). doi: 10.1007/978-3- 319-90272-2_9 Basadur, M., Runco, M.M., & Vegaxy, L. A. (2000). Understanding how creative thinking skills, attitudes and behaviours work together: A causal process model. Journal of Creative Behaviour, 34, 77-100. doi: 10.1002/j.2162- 6057.2000.tb01203.x Beattie, M. (2000). Narratives of professional learning: becoming a teacher and learning to teach. Journal of Educational Enquiry, 1, 1-23. Retrieved from https://www.ojs.unisa.edu.au/index.php/EDEQ/article/view/573/443 Beghetto, R. A. (2005). Does assessment kill student creativity? The Educational Forum,69, 254-263. ERIC- EJ683512 Beghetto, R. A., & Kaufman, J. C. (2007). Toward a broader conception of creativity: A case for "mini-c" creativity. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 1, 73- 79. doi: 10.1037/1931-3896.1.2.73 Beghetto, R. A., & Kaufman, J. C. (2009). Beyond big and little: The four-c model of creativity. Review of General Psychology, 13, 1–12. doi: 10.1037/a0013688 Beghetto, R., & Kaufman, J. (2016). Ever broadening conceptions of creativity in the classroom. In R. Beghetto, & J. Kaufman (Eds.), Cambridge companion to nurturing creativity in the classroom (pp.67-85). New York: Cambridge University Press. Benner, G., Nelson, J., Stage, S., & Ralston, N. (2011). The influence of fidelity on the reading outcomes of middle school students experiencing reading difficulties. Remedial and Special Education, 32, 79–88. Bernard, H. R. (2002). Research methods in anthropology: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Walnut Creek, CA: Alta Mira Press. Billíková, A., & Kiššová, M. (2013). Drama techniques in the foreign language classroom. Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/4371534/Drama_Techniques_in_the_Foreign_Langu age_Classroom_Constantine_the_Philosopher_University_in_Nitra_Faculty_of_ Arts_Department_of_English_and_American_Studies Black, N. (1996). Why we need observational studies to evaluate the effectiveness of health care. British Medical Journal, 312, 1215–1218. doi: 10.1136/bmj.312.7040.1215 Bloch, A., Phellas, C., & Seale, C. (2011). Structured methods: Interviews, questionnaires and observation. In Researching Society and Culture (3 Ed.). London: SAGE.

References 209

Bonoma, T. V. (1985). Case research in marketing: Opportunities, problems, and a process. Journal of Marketing Research, 22, 199-208. doi: 10.2307/3151365 Bora, S. F. (2017). Beyond the mere word. Exploring the language of Drama through text- and performance-based approaches for developing L2 oral skills (Unpublish doctoral thesis). University of Essex, United Kingdom. Retried from: http://repository.essex.ac.uk/id/eprint/21287 Borich, G. D. (2004). Effective teaching methods. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. Bournot-Trites, M., Belliveau, G., Spiliotopoulos, V., & Seror, J. (2007). The role of drama on cultural sensitivity, motivation and literacy in a second language context. Journal for Learning Through the Arts, 3, 1–35. doi:10.21977/d93110058 Bowell, P., & Heap B. S. (2017). Putting process drama into action: The dynamics of practice. New York: Routledge. Bowell, P., & Heap, B. S. (2001). Planning process drama. London, UK: David Fulton Boyle, M. (2003). The thinks you can think: Teaching and assessing higher order thinking in the senior drama classroom. Drama Queensland Says, 26. 27-34. Brady, R., & Edelman, L. A. (2012). State of creative study: Global benchmark study on attitudes and beliefs about creativity at work, school and home. Retrieved from https://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pdfs/Adobe_State_of_Create_Gl obal_Benchmark_Study.pdf Bulman, C., Lathlean, J., & Mary, G. (2011). The concept of reflection in nursing: Qualitative findings on student and teacher perspectives. Nurse Education Today, 32, 8-13. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2011.10.007. Bunt, B. (2009). The nurturing of creativity in the history classroom through teaching methods - the views of teachers and learners. Yesterday & Today, 4, 107-24. Retrieved from http://dspace.nwu.ac.za/handle/10394/5517 Burke, L. A., & Williams, J. M. (2008). Developing young thinkers: An intervention aimed to enhance children’s thinking skills. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 3, 104–124. doi: 10.1016/j.tsc.2008.01.001 Burnard, P., Craft, A., & Grainger, T. (2006), Possibility thinking. International Journal of Early Years Education. 14, 243-262. doi: 10.1080/09669760600880001 Burns, E. C., Martin, A. J., Collie, R. J (2018). Adaptability, personal best (PB) goals setting, and gains in students’ academic outcomes: A longitudinal examination from a social cognitive perspective. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 53, 57-72. 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2018.02.001 Cachia, R., Ferrari, A., & Punie, Y. (2010). Creative learning and innovative teaching. Final report on the study on creativity and innovation in education in the EU Member States. doi:10.2791/52913. Retrieved from

210 References

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324983712_Creative_Learning_and_I nnovative_Teaching_Final_Report_on_the_Study_on_Creativity_and_Innovatio n_in_Education_in_the_EU_Member_States Cannon-Bowers, J. A., Rhodenizer, L., Salas, E., & Bowers, C. (1998). A framework for understanding pre-practice conditions and their impact on learning. Personnel Psychology, 51, 291−320. doi: 10.1111/j.1744-6570.1998.tb00727.x Cardoso, A., Veale, T., & Wiggins, G. (2009). Converging on the divergent: The history (and future) of the international joint workshops in computational creativity. AI Magazine, 30, 15-22. doi: 10.1609/aimag.v30i3.2252 Carol Fuller, Elizabeth McCrum & Tony Macfadyen (2014) Teachers’ knowledge and experiences of Information Advice and Guidance: some implications for the current policy context in England, Education Inquiry, 5:2, DOI: 10.3402/edui.v5.23922 Carroll, P., & Dodds, E. (2016). Taking risks and being creative: Assessment in drama and theatre. Research Matters, 21, 23- 28. Retrieved from http://www.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/research-matters/ Caskey, M. M., & Ruben, B. (2007). Under construction: The young adolescent brain. In S. B. Mertens, V. A. Anfara, Jr., & M. M. Caskey (Eds.), The young adolescent and the middle school (pp. 47-72). Charlotte, NC: Information Age. Catterall, J. S., & Dumais, S. A. (2012). The arts and achievement in at-risk youth: Findings from four longitudinal studies (Research Report #55). Retrieved from https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/Arts-At-Risk-Youth.pdf Celume M. P., Besançon, M., & Zenasni, F. (2019). Fostering children and adolescents’ creative thinking in education, a theoretical model of drama pedagogy training. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, -11. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02611 Chappell, K., Craft, A., Burnard, P., & Cremin, T. (2008). Question‐posing and question‐responding: the heart of ‘possibility thinking’ in the early years. Early Years, 28, 267-286. doi: 10.1080/09575140802224477 Charyton, C., & Snelbecker, G. (2007). General, artistic and scientific creativity attributes of engineering and music students. Creativity Research Journal, 19, 213-225. doi: 10.1080/10400410701397271 Charyton, C., Hutchinson, S., Snow, L., Rahman, M., & Elliott, J. O. (2009). Creativity as an attribute of positive psychology: The impact of positive and negative affect on the creative personality. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 4, 57-66. doi:10.1080/15401380802708791 Chen, H. Yu., & Boore, J. (2009). Translation and back‐translation in qualitative nursing research: methodological review. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 19, 234- 239. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2009.02896.x Cheng, M. Y. C. (2004). Developing physics learning activities for fostering student creativity in Hong Kong context. Asia-Pacific Forum on Learning and

References 211

Teaching, 5, 1-33. Retrieved from http://www.eduhk.hk/apfslt/download/v5_issue2_files/chengmy.pdf Chiang, C., & Lai, C. (2008). Acoustical environment evaluation of joint classrooms for elementary schools in Taiwan. Build Environment, 43, 1619–1632. doi: 10.1016/j.buildenv.2007.10.014 Clapham, M. M. (2004). The convergent validity of the Torrance tests of creative thinking and creativity interest inventories. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 64, 828-841. Clark, R. E. (2002). Performance assessment in the arts. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 39, 29-32, doi: 10.1080/00228958.2002.10516379 Cleary, T. J., & Zimmerman, B. J. (2004). Self-regulation empowerment program: A school-based program to enhance self-regulated and self-motivated cycles of student learning. Psychology in the Schools, 41, 537–550. doi:10.1002/pits.10177 Cleary, T. J., Callan, G. L., & Zimmerman, B. J. (2012). Assessing self-regulation as a cyclical, context-specific phenomenon: Overview and analysis of SRL microanalytic protocols. Education Research International. Article ID: 428639. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258384420_Assessing_Self- Regulation_as_a_Cyclical_Context- Specific_Phenomenon_Overview_and_Analysis_of_SRL_Microanalytic_Protoc ols Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison K. (2000). Research methods in education (5th Edition). London: Routledge Falmer. Cole, M., & Cole, S. (2001). The development of children. New York: W.N.Freeman and Company. Collard, P., & Looney, J. (2014). Nurturing creativity in education. European Journal of Education, 49, 348-364. doi: 10.1111/ejed.12090 Collie, R. J., & Martin, A. J. (2017a). Teachers sense of adaptability: Examining links with perceived autonomy support, teachers’ psychological functioning, and students’ numeracy achievement. Learning and Individual Differences, 55, 29– 39. doi: 10.1016/j.lindif.2017.03.003 Collie, R. J., & Martin, A. J. (2017b). Students’ adaptability in mathematics: Examining self-reports and teachers’ reports and links with engagement and achievement outcomes. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 49, 355–366. doi: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2017.04.001 Collie, R. J., & Martin, A. J. (2017c). Adaptive and maladaptive work-related motivation among teachers: A person-centred examination and links with well- being. Teaching and Teacher Education, 64, 199-210. doi: 10.1016/j.tate.2017.02.010 Colwell, J., & O'Connor, T. (2003). Understanding nurturing practices — a comparison of the use of strategies likely to enhance self‐esteem in nurture

212 References

groups and normal classrooms. British Journal of Special Education, 30, 119- 124. doi: 10.1111/1467-8527.00296 Committee on Prospering in the Global Economy of the 21-st Century (2010). Rising above the gathering storm: Energizing and employing America for a brighter economic future. Retrieved from https://www.nap.edu/download/11463 Conti, R., Collins, M. A., & Picariello, M. L. (2001). The impact of competition on intrinsic motivation and creativity: Considering gender, gender segregation and gender role orientation. Personality and Individual Differences, 31, 1273–1289. doi:10.1016/S0191-8869(00)00217-8 Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (1979). Quasi-experimentation: Design and analysis for field settings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Corbett, S. (2019). Influence of a drama-based education program on the development of empathy in year 10, Western Australian students (Unpublished doctoral thesis). Edith Cowan University, Australia. Retried from: https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses Craft, A. (2000) Creativity across the primary curriculum: Framing and developing practice. London: Routledge. Craft, A. (2001) Little c creativity. In A. Craft, B. Jeffrey, & M, Leibling, (Eds.), Creativity in education (p.45-61). London: Continuum. Craft, A. (2002). Creativity and early years education: A life- wide foundation. London: Continuum. Craft, A. (2003). The limits to creativity in education: Dilemmas for the educator. British Journal of Educational Studies, 51, 113–127. doi: 10.1111/1467-8527.t01-1-00229 Craft, A. (2005). Creativity in schools: Tensions and dilemmas. London: Routledge. Craft, A. (2008). Creativity in the school. Retrieved from http://www.beyondcurrenthorizons.org.uk/creativity-in-the-school/ Craft, A. Jeffrey, B., Leibling, M. (eds) (2001). Creativity in Education. London: Continuum. Craft, A., Cremin, T., Burnard, P., & Chappell, K. (2007). Developing creative learning through possibility thinking with children aged 3-7. In A. Craft, T. Cremin and P. Burnard (Eds.), Creative learning (pp. 3-11). London: Trentham. Craft, A., & Jeffrey, B. (2008). Creativity and performativity in teaching and learning: Tensions, dilemmas, constraints, accommodations and synthesis. British Educational Research Journal, 34, 577-584. doi: 10.1080/01411920802223842 Craft, A., Cremin, T., Burnard, P., Dragovic, T., & Chappell, K. (2013). Possibility thinking: culminative studies of an evidence-based concept driving creativity? Education 3-13, 41, 538-556. doi: 10.1080/03004279.2012.656671

References 213

Craft, A., Dugal, J., Dyer, G., Jeffrey, B. & Lyons, T. (1997). Can you teach creativity? Nottingham: Education Now. Creativity, Culture & Education (2013). Evaluation of CCE/NCB arts and cultural activities project with looked after children. Retrieved from https://www.creativitycultureeducation.org//wp-content/uploads/2018/10/CCE- NCB-Evaluation-Final-Report.pdf Cremin, T., Burnard, P., & Craft, A. (2006). Pedagogy and possibility thinking in the early years. Thinking Skills and Creativity 1, 108-119. doi: 10.1016/j.tsc.2006.07.001 Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational research. (4th Eds.). Boston: Pearson. Creswell. J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. California: Sage. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996). Creativity: Flow and the psychology of discovery and invention. New York: Harper Collins. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2013). Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. D’Agostino, R. B. (1998). Propensity score methods for bias reduction in the comparison of a treatment to a non-randomized control group. Statistics in Medicine, 17, 2265–2281. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1097- 0258(19981015)17:19<2265::aid-sim918>3.0.co;2-b Daniels, H., & Downes E. (2015). Identity and creativity: The transformative potential of drama. In S. Davis, B.F. Clemson, B. Ferholt, S. Jansson, & A. C. Shane (Eds.), Dramatic interactions in education: Vygotskian and sociocultural approaches to drama, education and research (pp. 98-112). London: Bloomsbury Academic. Darling-Hammond, L., Flook, L., Harvey, C.C., Barron, B., & Osher, D. (2019). Implications for educational practice of the science of learning and development. Applied Developmental Science, 1-44. doi: 10.1080/10888691.2018.1537791 Davies, D., Snape, D. J., Collier, C., Digby, R., Hay, P., & Howe, A. (2013). Creative learning environments in education - A systematic literature review. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 8, 80-91. doi: 10.1016/j.tsc.2012.07.004 Davis, S.E. (2010). ICTs for creative practice drama: Creating cyber-drama with young people in school context (Unpublished doctoral thesis). Queensland University of Technology. Retried from https://eprints.qut.edu.au/33156/2/Susan_Davis_Thesis.pdf Davis, S. E. (2017). Dramatic thinking: Identifying and owning our creative process. National Journal Drama Australia, 41, 83-92. doi: 10.1080/14452294.2017.1435946. Davis, S., O’Toole, J., Haseman, B., McLean, J., Gattenhof,S., Bundy, P., Davis, S., & Jones, A. (2007) Coming of Age: Dialogues about “Dramawise” and the

214 References

Elements of Drama. Drama Australia Journal 31,59-71. doi: 10.1080/14452294.2007.11649518 De Bruin, L. R. (2018). Dialogic Communication in the One-to-One Improvisation Lesson: A Qualitative Study. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 43(5). http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2018v43n5.1 Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Self-determination theory: A macro-theory of human motivation, development, and health. Canadian Psychology, 49, 182– 185. doi: 10.1037/a0012801 Deeks, J. J., Dinnes, J., D’Amico, R., Sowden, A. J., Sakarovitch, C., …, Altman, D. (2003). Evaluating non-randomized intervention studies. Norwich, London: Grey. Department of Education and Skills (2017). Annual Report. Retrieved from https://www.education.gov.au/annual-report-2017-18/part-1-overview DiCicco-Bloom, B., & Crabtree, B. F. (2006) The qualitative research interview. Medical Education. 40, 314-321. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2929.2006.02418.x Dickinson, R., & Neelands, J. (2006). Improve your primary school through Drama. London: David Fulton. Dicks, J.E., & Le-Blanc, B. (2009). Using drama for learning to foster positive attitudes and increase motivation: Global simulation in French second language classes. Journal for Learning Through the Arts, 5, 1-41. doi: 10.21977/D95110035 Dimitrov, D. M., & Rumrill, P. D. (2003). Pretest-posttest designs and measurement of change. Work, 20, 159–165. Retrieved from https://web-b-ebscohost- com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=02d4a02f- 4d21-46af-8e56-774b8f694c35%40pdc-v-sessmgr01 DiSarno, N. J., Schowalter, M., & Grassa, P. (2002). Classroom amplification to enhance student performance. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 34, 20-25. ERIC: EJ650461 Doorley, S., & Witthoft, S. (2012). Make space: How to set the stage for creative collaboration. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons Douglas, S. P., & Craig, C. S. (2007). Collaborative and iterative translation: An alternative approach to back-translation. Journal of International Marketing, 15, 30–43. doi: 10.1509/jimk.15.1.030 Drama Australia (2009). Working conditions for Teaching and learning in drama. Position paper on working conditions and environmental, health and safety guidelines for teaching and learning in drama in Australian schools. Retrieved from http://www.dramaaustralia.org.au/assets/files/WorkingConditionGuidelinesFIN AL%5B1%5D.pdf Du, P. (2009). Factors influencing students’ adaptability in school: A production function model and multilevel analysis. Chinese Education and Society, 41, 21- 35. doi: 10.2753/CED1061-1932410502

References 215

Duatepe, P., Asuman, T., & Ubuz, B. (2009). Effects of drama-based geometry instruction on student achievement, attitudes, and thinking levels. The Journal of Educational Research, 102, 272-286. doi: 10.3200/JOER.102.4.272-286. Earl, L. (2003). Assessment as learning: Using classroom assessment to maximise student learning. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press, Inc. Edinger, M. J. (2008). An exploratory study of creativity fostering teacher behaviours in secondary classrooms (Unpublished Doctoral Thesis). College of William and Mary Retrieved from: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Edmiston, B. (2000). Drama as ethical education. Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 5, 63-84. doi: 10.1080/135697800114203 Edmiston, B. (2013). Transforming teaching and learning with active and dramatic approaches: Engaging students across the curriculum. New York: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780203116531 Education Endowment Foundation (2015). Arts Participation - Low impact for low cost, based on moderate evidence. Retrieved from https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/pdf/generate/?u=https://education endowmentfoundation.org.uk/pdf/toolkit/?id=128&t=Teaching%20and%20Lear ning%20Toolkit&e=128&s= Efland, A. D. (2004). The entwined nature of the aesthetic: A discourse on visual culture. Studies in Art Education, 45, 234-251. doi: 10.1080/00393541.2004.11651770 Eijs, J. V. (2016). Creative problem-solving in groups: The effects of problem construction on creative ideation and selection. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Universiteit van Amsterdam. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/aecb/835ff5331a3175828bdb7a3098bc57c0dc7 8.pdf Eisner, E. W. (2002). The arts and the creation of mind. London: Yale University Press. Elnada, Z. M. (2015). The Effectiveness of using hot seating strategy on enhancing student-teacher's speaking skills at Al-Azhar University-Gaza. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Al-Azhar University-Gaza. Retrieved from https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:o0c5q8TuNbkJ:www. alazhar.edu.ps/Library/aattachedFile.asp%3Fid_no%3D0048266+&cd=17&hl=e n&ct=clnk&gl=au Eshun, E. F., & Amoako-Agyeman, K. (2016). Measuring creativity with divergent thinking tasks: Communication design students’ experience. International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change, 2, 1-23. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318265028 Ewing, R. (2011). The arts and Australian education: Realising potential. Victoria: Australian Council for Educational Research. Retrieved from https://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1020&context=aer

216 References

Ewing, R. (2018). Making a difference in learning through arts-rich pedagogy. Australian Council for Educational Research, 15-19. Retrieved from https://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1331&context=research _conference Felzmann, H. (2009). Ethical issues in school-based research. Research Ethics, 5, 104–109. doi: 10.1177/174701610900500304 Ferrara, S., & McTighe, J. (1994). Assessing learning in the classroom. ERIC - ED429989 Ferris, J., & Gerber, R. (1996). Mature-age students’ feelings of enjoying learning in a further education context. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 11, 79-96. doi: 10.1007/BF03172937 Fettes, T., Evans, K., & Kashefpakdel, E. T. (2018). Putting skills to work: It’s not so much the what or even the why, but how. London: Commercial Education Trust. Filer, A. (Ed.) (2000). Assessment: Social practice and social product. London: Routledge Falmer. Findlay, L. C., Girardi, A., & Coplan, R. J. (2006). Links between empathy, social behaviour, and social understanding in early childhood. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 21, 347–359. doi: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2006.07.009 Fisher, D., & Nancy, F. (2012). Feedback for learning. Educational Leadership,70, 42-46. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational- leadership/sept12/vol70/num01/Making-Time-for-Feedback.aspx Fleith, D., Bruno-Faria, M., & Alencar, E. (2014). Theory and practice of creativity measurement. Woodway, TX: Prufrock Press Fleming, M. (2006). Drama and language teaching: The relevance of Wittgenstein’s concept of language games. Humanising Language Teaching, 8, 97-110. Retrieved from https://old.hltmag.co.uk/jul06/mart01.htm Fleming, M., Merrell, C., & Tymms, P. (2004) The impact of drama on pupils' language, mathematics, and attitude in two primary schools. Research in Drama Education, 9, 177-197. doi: 10.1080/1356978042000255067 Flower, A., McKenna, J., Muething, C., Bryant, D., & Bryant, B. (2014). Effects of the Good Behaviour Game on class wide off-task behaviour in a high school basic algebra resource classroom. Behaviour Modification, 38, 45–68. Fraser, H. (2004). Doing narrative research: Analysing personal stories line by line. Qualitative Social Work, 3, 179 – 201. doi: 10.1177/1473325004043383 Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56, 218– 226. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.218 Freeman, G. D., Sullivan, K., & Fulton, C. R. (2003). Effects of creative drama on self-concept, social skills, and problem behaviour. The Journal of Educational Research, 96, 131–138. doi: 10.1080/00220670309598801

References 217

Freire, P. (2014). Pedagogy of commitment (D. Brookshaw & A. Oliveira, Trans.). Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers. Fryer, M. (1996). Creative teaching and learning. London: Paul Chapman. Furtak, E., Ruiz-Primo, M., Shemwell, J., Ayala, C., Brandon, P., Shavelson, R., & Yin, Y. (2008). On the fidelity of implementing embedded formative assessment and its relation to student learning. Applied Measurement in Education, 21, 360– 389. Gallagher, K. (2007). Conceptions of creativity in drama education. In L. Bresler (Ed.), International handbook of research in arts education (pp .1229-1240). Netherlands: Springer. Gallagher, S. (2017). The physical space of the classroom and its impact on creativity (Unpublished Honors Theses). Western Oregon University, United States. Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.wou.edu/honors_theses Garaigordobil, M. (2006). Intervention in creativity with children aged 10 and 11 years: Impact of a play program on verbal and graphic–figural creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 18, 329–345. doi: 10.1207/s15326934crj1803_8 Garcês, S., Pocinho, M., Jesus, S., & Viseu, J. (2016). The impact of the creative environment on the creative person, process, and product. Revista Avaliação Psicológica. 15, 169-176. doi: 10.15689/ap.2016.1502.05. Gardner, H. (2011) Frames of Mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York: Basic Books. Gearing, R. E., El-Bassel, N., Ghesquiere, A., Baldwin, S., Gillies, J., & Ngeow, E. (2011). Major ingredients of fidelity: A review and scientific guide to improving quality of intervention research implementation. Clinical Psychology Review, 31, 79- 88. Doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2010.09.007 Ghefaili, A. (2003). Cognitive apprenticeship, technology, and the contextualization of learning environments. Journal of Educational Computing, Design & Online learning, 4, 1-27. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/0b16/c302b034d5cc378c1d2179686ae54402d0 32.pdf Ginige, I. L. (2002). Education research for policy and practice: Secondary education reforms in Sri Lanka. Educational Research for Policy and Practice, 1, 65-77, doi: 10.1023/A: 1021168904979 Glass, D., Meyer, A., & Rose, D. H. (2013). Universal design for learning and the arts. Harvard Educational Review, 83, 98-119. doi: 10.17763/haer.83.1.33102p26478p54pw Gliner, J. A., Morgan, G. A., & Harmon, R. J. (2003). Meta-analysis: Formulation and interpretation. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 42, 1376–1379. doi: 10.1097/01.chi.0000085750.71002.01

218 References

Goode, N., & Beckmann, J. (2010). You need to know: There is a causal relationship between structural knowledge and control performance in complex problem- solving tasks. Intelligence, 38, 345-352. doi: 10.1016/j.intell.2010.01.001. Goodman, A., Joshi, H., Nasim, B., & Tyler, C. (2015). Social and emotional skills in childhood and their long-term effects on adult life, London: Early Intervention Foundation. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/aiiru/Downloads/social- and-emotional-skills-in-childhood-and-their-long-term-effects-on-adult- life%20(2).pdf Grabinger, S., Aplin, C., & Brenner, P. (2007). Instructional design for sociocultural learning environments. Journal of Instructional Science and Technology (e- JIST), 10, 1-16. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ846730.pdf Grebennikov, L., & Wiggins, M. (2006). Psychological effects of classroom noise on early childhood teachers. The Australian Educational Researcher, 33, 35-54. ERIC- EJ766615 Griffin, P. (2014). Assessment and teaching of 21st-century skills- Methods and Approach. Netherlands: Springer. Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. (1989). Fourth generation evaluation. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Guest, G., Bunce, A., & Johnson, L. (2006). How many interviews are enough? An experiment with data saturation and variability. Field Methods, 18, 59- 82. doi: 10.1177/1525822X05279903 Guilford, J.P. (1950). Creativity. American Psychologist, 5, 444-454. doi: 10.1037/h0063487 Guilford, J. P. (1967). Creativity: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow. The Journal of Creative Behaviour, 1, 3–14. doi: 10.1002/j.2162-6057.1967.tb00002.x Hainselin, M., Aubry, A., & Bourdin, B. (2018). Improving teenagers’ divergent thinking with improvisational theater. Frontiers in Psychology, 9,1-19. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01759 Hall, D. T., & Chandler, D. E. (2005). Psychological success: When the career is a calling. Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 26, 155-176. doi: 10.1002/job.301 Hanley, G. P., Iwata, B. A., & McCord, B. E. (2003). Functional analysis of problem behaviour: A review. Journal of Applied Behaviour Analysis, 36, 147-185. doi: 10.1901/jaba.2003.36-147 Hargreaves, A. (1994). Changing teachers, changing times: Teachers’ work and culture in the postmodern age. London: Cassell. Harlen, W., & Deakin-Crick, R. (2003) Testing and motivation for learning. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 10, 169-207. doi: 10.1080/0969594032000121270 Harris, K. R., Preller, D. M., & Graham, S. (1990). Acceptability of cognitive- behavioral and behavioural interventions among teachers. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 14, 573-587. doi: 10.1007/BF01173365

References 219

Harrison, J. R., State, T. M., Evans, S. W., & Schamberg, T. (2016). Construct and predictive validity of social acceptability: Scores from high school teacher ratings on the School Intervention Rating Form. Journal of Positive Behaviour Interventions, 18, 111–123. doi: 10.1177/1098300715596135 Hattie, J. (2008). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. New York: Routledge. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com Hawkins, S., McKenzie, V., & Frydenberg, E. (2006). Coping skills training to adolescent girls in a small group counselling context. The Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 23, 69-90. doi: 10.1017/S081651220002887X Hayes, D., & Comber, B. (2018). Researching pedagogy in high poverty contexts: Implications of non-representational ontology. International Journal of Research and Method in Education, 41, 387-397. doi: 10.1080/1743727X.2017.1395409 Hébert, T. P., Cramond, B., Neumeister, K. L. S., Millar, G., & Silvian, A. F. (2002). E. Paul Torrance: His life, accomplishments, and legacy. Storrs: The University of Connecticut. Heinig, R. B. (2003). Creative drama for the classroom teacher. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Hennessey, B. A., & Amabile, T. M. (2010). Creativity. Annual Review of Psychology, 61, 569-598. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.100416 Hettiarachchi, S. (2010). ESL teacher motivation in Sri Lankan Public Schools. (Unpublished MA thesis). Eastern Michigan University. Retrieved from https://commons.emich.edu/theses/316 Hingel, A. (2009). Creativity measurement in the European policy context. In Villalba, E. (Ed.), Measuring creativity (pp. 421-422). Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-policy/doc2082_en.htm Hoever, I., Knippenberg, D., Ginkel, W., & Barkema, H. (2012). Fostering team creativity: Perspective taking as key to unlocking diversity’s potential. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97, 982–996. doi: 10.1037/a0029159 Hoffmann, J., & Russ, S. (2012). Pretend play, creativity, and emotion regulation in children. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 6, 175–184. doi: 10.1037/a0026299 Hogan, S. (2008). Being Ethical: How process drama assists pre-service drama teachers to reflect on professional ethics (Unpublished Master of Arts thesis). The Queensland University of Technology, Australia. Retrieved from: https://eprints.qut.edu.au/26436/1/Sharon_Hogan_Thesis.pdf Hokanson, B. (2007). By measure: Creativity in design. Industry and Higher Education, 21, 353–359. doi: 10.5367/000000007782311830 Holdhus, K., Høisæter, S., Mæland, K., Vangsnes, V., Engelsen, K., Espeland, M., Espeland, Å., & Boylan, M. (2016). Improvisation in teaching and education—

220 References

roots and applications. Cogent Education, 3, 1-17. doi: 10.1080/2331186X.2016.1204142. Holtkamp, M. (July, 2014). Leadership skills and the role of adaptability and creativity in effective leadership: A literature review geared toward an integrative model. 3rd IBA Bachelor Thesis Conference. Enschede, The Netherlands. Retrieved from https://essay.utwente.nl/65422/1/Bachelor%20Thesis%20Mark%20Holtkamp% 20-%20s0218979.pdf Howard, S., & Johnson, B. (2000). Resilient and non-resilient behaviour in adolescents. In A. Graycar (Ed.), Trends and issues in crime and criminal justice series (pp. 1–6). Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. Huang, C. (2011). Self-concept and academic achievement: A meta-analysis of longitudinal relations. Journal of School Psychology, 49, 505–528. doi: 10.1016/j.jsp.2011.07.001 Hui, A., & Lau, S. (2006). Drama education: A touch of the creative mind and communicative-expressive ability of elementary school children in Hong Kong. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 1, 34-40. doi: 10.1016/j.tsc.2005.06.001 Hulley, S. B., Cummings, S. R., Browner, W. S., Grady, D. G., & Newman, T. B. (2007). Designing clinical research, (3rd Edition). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Irugalbandara A.I. (2011). Aesthetic literacy. Rajagiriya: Shiksha. Irugalbandara A. I. (August, 2016). A study on the effectiveness of the teaching- learning process of dance education teachers. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Scientific Methodical Conference in Dance Education Tendencies and Perspectives, Lithuania (pp.12-17) Irugalbandara, A.I. (October, 2019). Creativity as a right in drama education: Sri Lankan student experiences. Paper presented at the HDR conference, Griffith University, South Brisbane. Irugalbandara, A. I., Campbell, M. (2020). A new strategy for Sri Lankan drama education. Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 25, 256-262. doi: 10.1080/13569783.2020.1730173 Jackson, N. J. (2005). Making higher education a more creative place. Journal for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching, 2, 14-25. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266406217 Jacobs, R. (2014). Drama performance assessment in senior secondary years: A study of six Australian schools (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Western Sydney, Australia. Retrieved from: https://researchdirect.westernsydney.edu.au/islandora/object/uws:30268 Jarboe, K.P., & Olson, S. (2018). Adaptability of the US Engineering and Technical Workforce. Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25016.

References 221

Jayaweera, S. & Gunawardena, C. (2007). Social inclusion: Gender and equity in education swaps in South Asia. Sri Lanka Case Study. Kathmandu: UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/rosa/Unicef_Rosa%28Srilanka_case_study%29.pdf Jeffrey, B. (Ed.) (2006). Creative learning practices: European experiences. London: Tufnell. Jeffrey, B., & Craft, A. (2004). Teaching creatively and teaching for creativity: Distinctions and relationships. Educational Studies, 30, 77-87. doi:10.1080/0305569032000159750 Jeffrey, B., & Craft, A. (2006). Creative learning and possibility thinking. In B. Jeffrey (Ed.), Creative learning practices: European experiences (pp. 73-91). London: The Tufnell Press. Jeffrey, B., & Woods, P. (2009). Creative learning in the Primary School. London: Routledge. Jiliang, S., & Baoguo, S. (2007). Effects of gender and types of materials on creativity. Psychological Science, 30, 285–288. John-Steiner, V. (2015). Forward. In S. Davis, H. Grainger Clemson, B. Ferholt, S.M. Jansson, & A. Marjanovic-Shane. (2015). Dramatic interactions in education, Vygotskian and sociocultural approaches to drama, education and research (pp. XV – XXI). London, England: Bloomsbury. Jones, M. H., Audley-Piotrowski, S. R., & Kiefer, S. M. (2012). Relationships among adolescents′ perceptions of friends′ behaviours, academic self-concept, and math performance. Journal of Educational Psychology,104, 19–31. doi: 10.1037/a0025596 Jones, P. S., Lee, J. W., Philips, L. R., Zhang, X. E., & Jaceldo, K. B. (2011). An adaptation of Brislin’s translation model for cross-cultural research. Nursing Research, 50, 300–304. doi: 10.1097/00006199-200109000-00008 Jordanous, A., & Keller, B. (2016). Modelling creativity: Identifying key components through a corpus-based approach. PloS ONE, 11, 1-27. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0162959 Joronen, K., Häkämies, A., & Åstedt-Kurki, P. (2011). School-based drama, health and wellbeing: Challenges to studying its effectiveness. Education and Health, 30, 72-74. Retrieved from https://sheu.org.uk/sheux/EH/eh303kj.pdf Jurinović, M. R. (2016). Process drama as a form of cooperative learning. Croatian Journal of Education, 18, 239-253. doi: 10.15516/cje.v18i0.2107 Kampylis, P., & Berki, E. (2014). Nurturing creative thinking (Educational Practices Series -25). Paris, France: UNESCO International Bureau of Education. Karakelle, S. (2009). Enhancing fluent and flexible thinking through the creative drama process. Thinking Skills and Creativity. 4. 124-129. 10.1016/j.tsc.2009.05.002

222 References

Karwowski, M., & Soszynski, M. (2008). How to develop creative imagination? Assumptions aims and effectiveness of role-play training in creativity (RPTC). Thinking Skills and Creativity, 3, 163–171. doi: 10.1016/j.tsc.2008.07.001 Kashefpakdel, E., Newton, O., & Clark, J. (2018). Joint Dialogue: How are schools developing real employability skills? Retrieved from https://www.thecdi.net/write/JOINT-DIALOGUE-FINAL-REPORT-3.pdf Kathleen, G. L. (2007). Leap into Literacy: Teaching the tough stuff so it sticks. Ontario, Canada: Pembroke Publisher, Keller-Mathers, S. (2011). Building passion and potential for creative learning in higher education. In A. Wright, M. Wilson & D. Maclsaac (Eds.), Collected essays on learning and teaching (pp. 1-6). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Kellough, R. D., & Kellough, N. G. (2008). Teaching young adolescents: Methods and resources for middle grades teaching (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Kern, P., & Runge, J. (2008). KEA Briefing: Towards a European creativity index. In E. Villalba (Ed.), Measuring creativity (pp. 191- 2015). Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-policy/doc2082_en.htm Kim, K. H. (2006). Can we trust creativity tests? A review of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT). Creativity Research Journal, 18 (1), 3–14. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.587.3752&rep=rep1& type=pdf Kim, K. H. (2006a). Is creativity unidimensional or multidimensional? Analyses of the Torrance tests of creative thinking. Creativity Research Journal, 18, 251– 259. doi: 10.1207/ s15326934crj1803_2 Kim, K. H. (2006b). Can we trust creativity tests? A review of the Torrance tests of creative thinking (TTCT). Creativity Research Journal, 18, 3–14. doi: 10.1207/s15326934crj1801_2 Kim, K. H. (2011). Proven reliability and validity of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT). Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 5(4), 314– 315. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021916 Kim, K. H. (2011). The creativity crisis: The decrease in creative thinking scores on the Torrance tests of creative thinking. Creativity Research Journal, 23, 285– 295. doi: 10.1080/10400419.2011.627805 Kim, K. H., Cramond, B., & Bandalos, D. L. (2006). The latent structure and measurement invariance of scores on the Torrance tests of creative thinking - Figural. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 66, 459–477. doi: 10.1177/0013164405282456 Kim, K.H., & Pierce, R. A. (2013). Adaptive creativity and innovative creativity. In Carayannis E.G. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Creativity, Invention, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (213-234), New York, NY: Springer.

References 223

Kirschenbaum, R. J. (1989). Understanding the creative activity of students: Including an instruction manual for the creative behaviour inventory. Mansfield, CT: Creative Learning Press. Kleiman, P. (2005). Beyond the tingle factor: Creativity and assessment in higher education. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.576.6056&rep=rep1& type=pdf Konza, D. (2012). Researching in schools: Ethical issues. The International Journal of the Humanities: Annual Review, 9, 77–86. doi: 10.18848/1447- 9508/cgp/v09i06/43260 Kovács, Á. M., & Endress, A. D. (2014). Hierarchical processing in seven‐month‐old infants. Infancy, 19, 409-425. doi: 10.1111/infa.12052 Kovács, G. (2014). Applied drama and theatre – drama techniques in teaching English for specific purposes. Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Philologica, 6, 391- 409. doi: 10.1515/ausp-2015-0026 Krippendorff, K. (2004). Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications Inc. Krueger, K. R., Murphy, J. W., & Bink, A. B. (2019). Thera-prov: a pilot study of improv used to treat anxiety and depression. Journal of Mental Health, 28, 621- 626. doi: 10.1080/09638237.2017.1340629 Krumm, G., Lemos, V., & Filippetti, V. A. (2014). Factor structure of the Torrance tests of creative thinking figural form B in Spanish-speaking children: Measurement invariance across gender. Creativity Research Journal, 26, 72–81. doi: 10.1080/10400419.2013.843908 Ku, K. Y. L., Phillipson, S., & Phillipson, S. N. (2015). Educational learning theory. In J. D. Wright (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioural Sciences: Second Edition (pp. 238-245). Amsterdam Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.92150-0 Kumaranayake, N. (2010). Bringing up the problem child. Nugegoda: Sarasavi. Kyriakides, L., Christoforou, C., & Charalambous, C. Y. (2013). What matters for student learning outcomes: A meta-analysis of studies exploring factors of effective teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 36, 143–152. Doi: 1016/j.tate.2013.07.010 Labour Demand Survey, Sri Lanka (2017). Retrieved from http://www.statistics.gov.lk/industry/Labour_Demand_Survey_2017_Report.pdf Lancaster, G. A., Dodd, S., & Williamson, P. R. (2004). Design and analysis of pilot studies: Recommendations for good practice. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 10, 307–312. doi: 10.1111/j..2002.384.doc.x Laupacis, A. (2002). The Cochrane collaboration - How is it progressing? Statistics in Medicine, 21, 2815–2822. doi: 10.1002/sim.1285

224 References

Lavrakas, P. J. (2008). Encyclopedia of survey research methods (Vols. 1-0). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. doi: 10.4135/9781412963947 Lawton, B., & Brandon, P. R. (2005). Descriptive statistics on student achievement data collected for the ARTS FIRST Windward research project. Manoa, HI: Curriculum Research & Development Group. Retrieved from http://manoa.hawaii.edu/crdg/wp- content/uploads/Student_Achievement_Results_for_the_Second_Year_of_the_ ARTS_FIRST_Windward_Research_Project_%282005%29_.pdf Lee, B. K., Patall, E. A., Cawthon, S. W., Steingut, R. R. (2015). The effect of drama-based pedagogy on PreK–16 outcomes: A meta-analysis of research from 1985 to 2012. Review of Educational Research, 85, 3-49. doi: 10.3102/0034654314540477 Lee, C. S., Therriault, D. J., & Linderholm, T. (2012). On the cognitive benefits of cultural experience: Exploring the relationship between studying abroad and creative thinking. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 12, 1-11. doi: 10.1002/acp.2857 Levin, H. M. (2015). The importance of adaptability for the 21-st Century. Society, 52, 136–141. doi: 10.1007/s12115-015-9874-6 Liamputtong, P. (2010). Performing qualitative cross-cultural research. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Lim, W., & Plucker, J. (2001). Creativity through a lens of social responsibility: Implicit theories of creativity with Korean Samples. The Journal of Creative Behaviour. 35, 115 – 130. doi: 10.1002/j.2162-6057.2001.tb01225.x. Lin, Y. (2012). Adopting creative pedagogy into Asian classrooms - Case studies of primary school teachers’ responses and dilemma. Journal of Education and Learning, 1, 205- 216. doi: 10.5539/jel.v1n2p205 Lindqvist, G. (2003). Vygotsky's theory of creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 15(2-3), 245-251. Lippe, M., Johnson, B., & Carter, P. (2019). Protecting student anonymity in research using a subject-generated identification code. Journal of Professional Nursing, 35, 120-123. doi: 10.1016/j.profnurs.2018.09.006 Liu, F. X., & Maitlis, S. (2010). Non-participant observation. In Mills, A., Durepos, G., & Wiebe, E., (Eds.). Sage Encyclopedia of case study research (pp.236- 245). Los Angeles: SAGE. Lopez, G. I., Figueroa, M., Connor, S. E., & Maliski, S. L. (2008). Translation barriers in conducting qualitative research with Spanish speakers. Qualitative Health Research, 18, 1729–1737. doi:10.1177/1049732308325857 Lord, R., & Hall, R. (2005). Identity, deep structure and the development of leadership skill. The Leadership Quarterly, 16, 591–615. doi: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2005.06.003 Lubart, T. I. (2001). Models of the creative process: Past, present and future. Creativity Research Journal, 13, 295-308. doi: 10.1207/S15326934CRJ1334_07

References 225

Lubart, T. I., Barbot, B., & Besancon, M. (2015). Creative potential in educational settings: Its nature, measure, and nurture. Education 3, 1-11. doi: 10.1080/03004279.2015.1020643. Lucas, B. (2016). A five-dimensional model of creativity and its assessment in schools. Applied Measurement in Education, 29, 278-290. doi:10.1080/08957347.2016.1209206 Lucas, B., Claxton, G., & Spencer, E. (2013). Progression in creativity: Developing new forms of assessment (OCED Education Working Papers, No.86). Paris, France: OECD Publishing. Lüftenegger, M, Klug, J, Harrer, K, Langer, M, Spiel, C., & Schober, B. (2016). Students’ achievement goals, learning-related emotions and academic achievement. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1-13. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00603 Luthar, S. S., & Becker, B. E. (2002). Privileged but pressured? A study of affluent youth. Child Development, 73, 1593–1610. doi: 10.1111/1467-8624.00492 Luthar, S. S., Cicchetti, D., & Becker, B. (2000). The construct of resilience: A critical evaluation and guidelines for future work. Child Development, 71, 543– 562. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00164 Mages, W. K. (2006). Drama and imagination: A cognitive theory of drama's effect on narrative comprehension and narrative production. Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 11, 329-340. doi: 10.1080/13569780600900750 Magnus, M. J., & Viswesvaran, C. (2010). The role of pre-training interventions in learning: A meta-analysis and integrative review. Human Resource Management Review, 20, 261-282. doi: 10.1016/j.hrmr.2010.05.001. Maree, K., & Van der Westhuizen, C. (2009). Head start in designing research proposals in the social sciences. Cape Town: Juta & Company. Margetts, K. (2009). Early transition and adjustment and children’s adjustment after six years of schooling. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 17, 309–324. doi: 10.1080/13502930903101511 Marsh, H.W., & Lawrence, A. R. (1997). Making students' evaluations of teaching effectiveness effective - The critical issues of validity, bias, and utility. American Psychologist, 52, 1187-1197. doi: 10.1037/0003-066x.52.11.1187 Martin, A. J. (2004). The role of positive psychology in enhancing satisfaction, motivation, and productivity in the workplace. Journal of Organizational Behaviour Management, 24, 113- 133. doi: 10.1300/J075v24n01_07 Martin, A. J. (2005). Exploring the effects of a youth enrichment program on academic motivation and engagement. Social Psychology of Education, 8, 179- 206. doi: 10.1007/s11218-004-6487-0 Martin, A. J. (2006). Personal bests (PBs): A proposed multidimensional model and empirical analysis. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 803-825. doi: 10.1348/000709905X55389

226 References

Martin, A. J. (2017). Adaptability - what it is and what it is not. American Psychologist, 72, 696–698. doi: 10.1037/amp0000163 Martin, A. J., & Marsh, H. W. (2008a). Academic buoyancy: Towards an understanding of students’ everyday academic resilience. Journal of School Psychology, 46, 53– 83. doi:10.1016/j.jsp.2007.01.002 Martin, A. J., & Marsh, H. W. (2008b). Workplace and academic buoyancy: Psychometric assessment and construct validity amongst school personnel and students. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 26, 168–184. doi:10.1177/0734282907313767 Martin, A. J., & Marsh, H. W. (2009). Academic resilience and academic buoyancy: Multidimensional and hierarchical conceptual framing of causes, correlates and cognate constructs. Oxford Review of Education, 35, 353–370. doi:10.1080/03054980902934639 Martin, A. J., Colmar, S. H., Davey, L. A., & Marsh, H.W. (2010). Longitudinal modelling of academic buoyancy and motivation: Do the 5Cs hold up over time? British Journal of Educational Psychology, 80, 473-96. doi: 10.1348/000709910X486376 Martin, A. J., Anderson, J., Bobis, J., Way, J., & Vellar, R. (2012). Switching on and switching off in mathematics: An ecological study of future intent and disengagement among middle school students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104, 1–18. doi: 10.1037/a0025988. Martin, A. J., Nejad, H., Colmar, S., & Liem, G. A. D. (2012). Adaptability: Conceptual and empirical perspectives on responses to change, novelty and uncertainty. Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 22, 58–81. doi: 10.1017/jgc.2012.8 Martin, A. J., Mansour, M., Anderson, M., Gibson, R., Liem, G. A. D., & Sudmalis, D. (2013a). The role of arts participation in students’ academic and non- academic outcomes: A longitudinal study of school, home, and community factors. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105, 709–727. doi:10.1037/a0032795 Martin, A. J., Nejad, H. G., Colmar, S., & Liem, G. A. D. (2013b). Adaptability: How students’ responses to uncertainty and novelty predict their academic and non-academic outcomes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105, 728–746. doi: 10.1037/a0032794 Martin, A. J., Nejad, H., Colmar, S., Liem, G. A. D., & Collie, R. J. (2015). The role of adaptability in promoting control and reducing failure dynamics: A mediation model. Learning and Individual Differences, 38, 36–43. doi: 10.1016/j.lindif.2015.02.004 Marzano, R. J., & Marzano, J. S. (2003). The key to classroom management. Educational Leadership, 61, 6-13. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational- leadership/sept03/vol61/num01/The-Key-to-Classroom-Management.aspx

References 227

Massonnié, J., Rogers, C. J., Mareschal, D., & Kirkham, N. Z. (2019). Is classroom noise always bad for children? The contribution of age and selective attention to creative performance in noise. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1-12. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00381 Maulina, R. (2020). Innovation and creativity as capital in the creative economy sector. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 391, 1- 5. Retrieved from http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ McConnell, R., Stephanie, R., Saskia, K., Leslie, S., Sarah, V., …, & Jane, G. (2012). Randomised controlled trials: How to do them in MSF. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10144/213311 McCracken, S. (2010). Understanding arts training: Beyond 'soft' skills. Academic Advising Today, 33. Retrieved from https://nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Academic-Advising-Today/View- Articles/Understanding-Arts-Training-Beyond-Soft-Skills.aspx McGloin, J., Holcomb, S., & Main, D. S. (1996). Matching anonymous pre-posttests using subject-generated information. Evaluation Review, 20, 724–736. doi: 10.1177/0193841X9602000604 McKenna, J. W., & Parenti, M. (2017). Fidelity assessment to improve teacher instruction and school decision making. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 33, 331-346. doi: 10.1080/15377903.2017.1316334 McKenzie, V., & Frydenberg, E. (2004). Young people and their resources. In E. Frydenberg (Ed.), Thriving, Surviving or Going Under: Coping with Everyday Lives (pp.79-108). Greenwich: Information Age Publishing. McKeown, M. (2012). Adaptability: The act of wining in age of uncertainty. United States: Kogan Page. McNaughton, M. J. (2004). Educational drama in the teaching of education for sustainability. Environmental Education Research, 10, 139-155. doi: 10.1080/13504620242000198140 McNaughton, M. J. (2010). Educational drama in education for sustainable development: Ecopedagogy in action. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 18, 289- 308. doi: 10.1080/14681366.2010.505460 Mehta, R., Zhu, R. J., & Cheema, A. (2012). Is noise always bad? Exploring the effects of ambient noise on creative cognition. Journal of Consumer Research, 39, 784- 799. doi: 10.1086/665048 Merriam, S, B. (2016). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. (4th Edition). California: Jossey-Bass. Ministry of Education (2008). Education for all: Mid-decade assessment report Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka: Author. Ministry of Education (2013). Education first. Sri Lanka: Author. Ministry of Education (2016). School census preliminary reports. Sri Lanka: Author.

228 References

Ministry of Education (2018). Advancing 21-st Century Competencies in Singapore. Retrieved from https://asiasociety.org/sites/default/files/2017-10/advancing- 21st-century-competencies-in-singapore.pdf Mitchell, R.W., & Gallaher, M.C. (2001). Embodying music: Matching music and dance in memory, music perception. An Interdisciplinary Journal, 19, 65-85. doi:10.1525/mp.2001.19.1.65 Moskovsky, C., Alrabai, F., Paolini, S., & Ratcheva, S. (2013). The effects of teachers’ motivational strategies on learners’ motivation: A controlled investigation of second language acquisition. Language Learning, 63,34-62. 10.1111/j.1467-9922.2012.00717.x. Mowbray, C., Holter, M., Teague, G., & Bybee, D. (2003). Fidelity criteria: Development, measurement, and validation. American Journal of Evaluation, 24, 315–340. Munro, R. (2017). Creativity, organisation and entrepreneurship: Power and play in the ecological press of money. Organization Studies, 39, 209 -227. doi: 10.1177/0170840617717550 Nardi, P. M. (2003). Doing survey research: A guide to quantitative methods. Boston: Pearson. National Advocates for Arts Education (2017). Submission to the inquiry into innovation and creativity: Workforce for the new economy. file:///C:/Users/aiiru/Downloads/sub082%20Nat%20Advocates%20for%20Arts %20Education%20(1).pdf National Committee for Formulating A New Education Act for General Education (2008). New education act for general education in Sri Lanka: Context, issues and proposals- Final Report. Retrieved from http://nec.gov.lk/wp- content/uploads/2017/12/Towards-a-New-Education-Act.pdf National Council of Teachers of English (2014). Why class size matters today. Retrieved from https://ncte.org/statement/why-class-size-matters/print/ National Education Commission (2014a). Study on curriculum development in general education in Sri Lanka, Research Series, 1, 1-33. Nugegoda: National Education Commission. National Education Commission (2014b). Study on evaluation and the assessment system in general education in Sri Lanka. Research Series, 3, 1-45. Nugegoda: National Education Commission. National Endowment for the Arts (2012). Annual Report- 2011/12. Retrieved from https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/atta chment_data/file/246975/0352.pdf National Human Resources and Employment Policy for Sri Lanka (2012). Retrieved from http://www.nhrep.gov.lk/images/pdf/nhrep_final.pdf National Institute of Education (2016). Drama syllabus. Retrieved from http://nie.lk/pdffiles/tg/e7syl24.pdf

References 229

Nawastheen, F. M. (2019). Educational and curriculum changes in Sri Lanka: In light of literature. Muallim Journal of Social Science and Humanities, 3, 342-361. doi: 10.33306/mjssh/26 Neelands, J. (2009). Acting together: Ensemble as a democratic process in art and life. Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 14, 173-189. doi: 10.1080/13569780902868713 Neelands, J., & Goode, T. (2010). Theatre as a learning process. UK: Trentham. Nejad, H. G. (2014). Adaptability in youth: Components, predictors and consequences. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). The University of Sydney. Retrieved from https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/handle/2123/11548/Ghasemi_Nejad_% 20M%20N_Thesis.pdf;jsessionid=389AAB81328D67345573791208826C00?se quence=4 Nelson, J. K., Zaccaro, S. J. & Herman, J. L. (2010). Strategic information provision and experiential variety as tools for developing adaptive leadership skills. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 62, 131–142. doi: 10.1037/a0019989 Neuman, W. L. (2011). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Nikander, P. (2008). Working with transcripts and translated data. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 5, 225-231. doi: 10.1080/14780880802314346 O’Farrell, L., Saebo, A. B., McCammon, L.A., & Heap, B. (2009). Demystifying creativity: Progress in an international study of creativity in drama/theatre education. In J. Shu & P. Chan (Eds.), Planting trees of drama with global vision in local knowledge (pp. 422-439). Hong Kong: IDEA Publications.

OECD (2013). Education at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2013-en OECD (2015). PISA 2015 Results (Volume III). Paris, France: OECD. OECD (2018). The future of Education and skills: Education 2030. Paris, France: OECD. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/education/2030/E2030%20Position%20Paper%20(05.04. 2018).pdf OCED (2019). Working and learning together -Rethinking human resource policies for schools. doi: 10.1787/b7aaf050-en. Retrieved from https://read.oecd- ilibrary.org/education/working-and-learning-together_b7aaf050-en#page1 Ohly, S., & Fritz, C. (2010). Work characteristics, challenge appraisal, creativity, and proactive behaviour: A multi-level study. Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 31, 543–565. doi: 10.1002/job.633 O'Neill, C. (1995). Drama worlds: A framework for process drama. Canada: Pearson.

230 References

Orsmond, G. I., & Cohn, E. S. (2015). The distinctive features of a feasibility study: Objectives and guiding questions. OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health, 35, 169–177. doi: 10.1177/1539449215578649 Østern, A. (2006). Emerging research as a basis for developing a poetics of drama education. Drama Australia Journal, 30, 9–25. doi: 10.1080/14452294.2006.11649496 O'Toole, J. Stinson, M., & Moore, T. (2009). Drama and curriculum - A giant at the door. Netherlands: Springer. P21 (2007). P21’s framework for 21-st Century learning. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/our-work/p21-framework Park, H. (2010). Process drama in the Korean EFL secondary classroom: A case study of Korean middle school classrooms. In B. Tomlinson & H. Masuhara (Eds.), Research for Materials Development in Language Learning, (pp. 30-42). NY: Continuum. Park, H. (2013). Adapting classroom materials using process drama strategies. Foreign Languages Education, 20, 91-120. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280028640 Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods. Estados Unidos: SAGE. Paulus, P. B., & van der Zee, K. I. (2015). Creative processes in culturally diverse teams. In S. Otten, K. I. van der Zee, & M. Brewer (Eds.), Towards inclusive organisations: Determinants of successful diversity management at work (pp. 108–131). New York, NY: Psychology Press. Pearlman, K., & Barney, M. F. (2000). In J. F. Kehoe (Ed.), Managing selection in changing organizations: Human resource strategies (pp. 3-72). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Perera, H. (2009). Mental health of adolescent school children in Sri Lanka – A national survey. Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health, 33, 78 -88. doi: 10.4038/sljch.v33i3.642 Peterson, C., & Park, N. (2009). Character strengths: Research and practice. Journal of College and Character, 10, 1-10. doi: 10.2202/1940-1639.1042 Phillips, L. (2000). Storytelling-The seeds of children's creativity. Australasian Journal of early childhood, 25, 1-5. doi: : 10.1177/183693910002500302 Piasta, S., Justice, L., McGinty, A., Mashburn, A., & Slocum, L. (2015). A comprehensive examination of preschool teachers’ implementation fidelity when using a supplemental language and literacy curriculum. Child Youth Care Forum, 44, 731–755. Piazzoli, E. (2012). Engage or entertain? The nature of teacher/participant collaboration in process drama for additional language teaching. Scenario, 2, 29- 45. Retrieved from http://research.ucc.ie/scenario/2012/02/05-Piazzoli-2012-02- en.pdf

References 231

Piscitelli, B., & Penfold, L. (2015). Child-centred practice in museums: Experiential learning through creative play at the Ipswich art gallery. The Museum Journal, 58, 263-280. doi: 10.1111/cura.12113 Plucker, J. A., & Beghetto, R. A. (2004). Why creativity is domain general, why it looks domain specific, and why the distinction does not matter. In R. J. Sternberg, E. L. Grigorenko, & J. L. Singer (Eds.), Creativity: From potential to realization (pp. 153–167). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Plucker, J. A., & Renzulli, J. S. (1999). Psychometric approaches to the study of human creativity. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Handbook of creativity (pp. 35–61). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Plucker, J., Makel, M., & Qian, M. (2019). Assessment of Creativity. In J. Kaufman, & R. Sternberg (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity (12 -15). New York: Cambridge University Press. Polit, D. F., Beck, C. T. & Hungler, B. P. (2001). Essentials of nursing research: Methods, appraisal, utilisation. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Polly, D., Allman, B., Casto, A., & Norwood, J. (2018). Sociocultural perspectives of learning. In R. E. West, Foundations of learning and instructional design technology: The past, present, and future of learning and instructional design technology. EdTech Books. Retrieved from https://edtechbooks.org/lidtfoundations/sociocultural_perspectives_of_learning Pritchard, G. (July, 2004). In the eye of the beholder: Assessment of aesthetics. Paper presented at the transforming knowledge into wisdom: holistic approaches to teaching and learning, HERDSA Conference, Sarawak, Malaysia. Pulakos, E. D., Arad, S., Donovan, M. A., & Plamondon, K. E. (2010). Adaptability in the workplace: Development of a taxonomy of adaptive performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 612-624. doi: 10.1037//0021-9010.85.4.612 Puspitarini, I., Trisnantasari, I., Sriwulandari, N. (2017). Building students’ characters using hot seat teaching reading technique with children’s literature. International Seminar and Call for Paper 2017. Darul Ulum Islamic University of Lamongan. Retrieved from http://digilib.mercubuana.ac.id/manager/t!@file_artikel_abstrak/Isi_Artikel_420 774147212.pdf Putwain, D. W., Connors, L., Symes, W., & Douglas-Osborn, E. (2012). Is academic buoyancy anything more than adaptive coping? Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 25, 349–358. doi:10.1080/10615806.2011.582459 Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (2018). Enterprise and entrepreneurship education: Guidance for UK higher education providers. Retrieved from https://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaas/enhancement-and- development/enterprise-and-entrpreneurship-education- 2018.pdf?sfvrsn=15f1f981_8 Rahula, W. (1956). History of Buddhism in Ceylon. Colombo: Gunasena M.D.

232 References

Ranasinghe, R. (2013). Dramatherapy in Sri Lanka. Author publication. Raphael, L. M., & Burke, M. (2012) Academic, social, and emotional needs in a middle grades reform initiative. Research in Middle Level Education, 35, 1-13. doi: 10.1080/19404476.2012.11462089 Reed, M., & Michaud, C. (2010). Goal-driven lesson planning for teaching English to speakers of other languages. Retrieved from http://www.bu.edu/wheelock/files/2010/11/reed-lesson-driven-planning- intro.pdf Richards, J. C. (1998). Beyond training: Perspectives on language teacher education. New York: Cambridge University Press. Richards, J. C., & Farrell, T. S. C. (2011). Practice teaching: A reflective approach. New York: Cambridge University Press. Richards, R. (2007). Everyday creativity: Our hidden potential. In R. Richards (Ed.), Everyday creativity and new views of human nature: Psychological, social, and spiritual perspectives (pp. 25–53). American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/11595-001 Robert P. G., François, M., Kenton, Z., Christopher, K., Kyungah, I., …. & Peter, S. (2017). Cognitive function in a randomized trial of evolocumab. The New England Journal of Medicine, 377, 633-643. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1701131 Roberts, P., Boivin, N., & Petraglia, M. (2015). The Sri Lankan ‘Microlithic’ tradition c. 38,000 to 3,000 years ago: Tropical technologies and adaptations of homo sapiens at the southern edge of Asia. Journal of World Prehistory. 28. 69- 112. doi: 10.1007/s10963-015-9085-5 Robinson, K. (2011). Out of our minds: Learning to be creative. Oxford: Capstone Publishing. Robinson, K., & Aronica, L. (2015). Creative Schools: Revolutionizing Education from the Ground Up. United Kingdom: Penguin Books. Robles, M. M. (2012). Executive perceptions of the top 10 soft skills needed in today's workplace. Business Communication Quarterly, 75 (4) 453–465. Rogoff, B. (1990). Apprenticeship in thinking: Cognitive development in social context. New York: Oxford University Press. Ruch, W., Platt, T., Proyer, R. T., & Chen H. C. (2019). Editorial: Humor and laughter, playfulness and cheerfulness: Upsides and downsides to a life of lightness. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1-6. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00730 Rudowicz, E., & Yue, X. D. (2000). Concepts of creativity: Similarities and differences among mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwanese Chinese. The Journal of Creative Behaviour, 34, 175–192. doi: 10.1002/j.2162-6057.2000.tb01210.x Runco, M. A. (2004b). Everyone has creative potential. In R. J. Sternberg, E. L. Grigorenko, & J. L. Singer, (Eds.), Creativity: From potential to realization (pp. 21-30). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

References 233

Runco, M. A. (2014). Creativity. theories and themes: Research, development and practice. London: Elsevier. Runco, M. A., & Acar, S. (2012). Divergent thinking as an indicator of creative potential. Creativity Research Journal, 24, 66 -75. doi: 10.1080/10400419.2012.652929 Runco, M. A., & Dow, G. (1999). Problem finding. In M. A. Runco and S. R Pritzker, (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Creativity (433–435). New York, NY: Academic Press. Runco, M. A., & Jaeger, G. J. (2012). The standard definition of creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 24, 92-96. doi: 10.1080/10400419.2012.650092 Runco, M., Noble, E., Reiter-Palmon, R., Acar, S., Ritchie, T., & Yurkovich, J. (2011). The genetic basis of creativity and ideational fluency. Creativity Research Journal, 23, 376-380. doi: 10.1080/10400419.2011.621859 Rutland, A., & Killen, M. (2015). A developmental science approach to reducing prejudice and social exclusion: Intergroup processes, social‐cognitive development, and moral reasoning. Social Issues and Policy Review, 9, 121 – 154. doi: 10.1111/sipr.12012 Ryan, A. M., & Patrick, H. (2001). The classroom social environment and changes in adolescents’ motivation and engagement during middle school. American Educational Research Journal Summer, 38, 437–460. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/250184842 Sacramento, C., Fay, D., West, M. (2013). Workplace duties or opportunities? Challenge stressors, regulatory focus, and creativity. Organizational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes, 121, 141–157. doi: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2013.01.008 Sakız, H., Sart, Z. H., Börkan, B., Korkmaz, B., & Babür, N. (2015). Quality of life of children with learning disabilities: A comparison of self‐reports and proxy reports. Learning Disability, Research and Practice, 30, 114-126. doi: 10.1111/ldrp.12060 Saltelli, A., & Villalba, E. (2008). How about composite indicators? In Villalba, E. (Ed.), Measuring creativity (pp. 17-24). Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-policy/doc2082_en.htm Saracutu, M., Edwards, D. J., Davies, H., & Rance, J. (2018). Protocol for a feasibility and acceptability study using a brief ACT-based intervention for people from Southwest Wales who live with persistent pain. British Medical Journal, 8, 1-9. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2018-021866 Sarıca, H. Ç., & Usluel, Y. K. (2016). The effect of digital storytelling on visual memory and writing skills. Computers & Education, 94, 298–309. doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2015.11.016 Saunders, J. N. R. (2019). Dramatic Interventions: A multi-site case study analysis of student outcomes in the School Drama program (Unpublished doctoral

234 References

thesis). The University of Sydney. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/2123/21249 Sawyer, R. K. (2012). Explaining creativity: The science of human innovation (2nd Ed.). New York: Oxford University Press Sawyer, S. M., Afifi, R. A., Bearinger, L. H., Blakemore, S. J., Dick, B., Ezeh, A. C., & Patton, G. C. (2012). Adolescence: A foundation for future health. The Lancet, 379, 1630–1640. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60531-5 Scales, P. C. (2010). Characteristics of young adolescents. In P.C Scales (Ed.), This we believe: Keys to educating young adolescents (pp. 63-62). Westerville, OH: National Middle School Association. Schafer, W. D. (2005). Technical documentation for alternate assessments. Practical Assessment Research & Evaluation, 10, 1-9. Retrieved from http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=10&n=10 Scherer, R. (2015). Is it time for a new measurement approach? A closer look at the assessment of cognitive adaptability in complex problem solving. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 16- 64. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01664 Schmoker, M. (2006). Results now: How we can achieve unprecedented improvements in teaching and learning. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. ERIC: ED494304 Schunk, D. H. (2008). Metacognition, self-regulation, and self-regulated learning: Research recommendations. Educational Psychology Review, 20, 463–467. doi:10.1007/s10648-008-9086-3 Scott, G., Leritz, L. E., & Mumford, M. D. (2004). The effectiveness of creativity training: A quantitative review. Creativity Research Journal, 16, 361–388. doi: 10.1207/s15326934crj1604_1 Sedera, U. M. (2016). Educational reforms beyond Kannangara for 21-st Century. Dr. C.W.W. Kannangara memorial lecture. 27, 1-45. Sedgwick, M., & Spiers, J. (2009). The use of videoconferencing as a medium for the qualitative interview. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 1, 11- 19. doi: /10.1177/160940690900800101 Segarra, V. A., Natalizio, B., Falkenberg, C. V., Pulford, S., & Holmes, R. M. (2018). STEAM: Using the Arts to Train Well-Rounded and Creative Scientists. Journal of microbiology & biology education, 19(1), 19.1.53. https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.v19i1.1360 Sekhon, M., Cartwright, M., & Francis, J. J. (2017). Acceptability of healthcare interventions: an overview of reviews and development of a theoretical framework. BMC Health Services Research, 88, 1-13. doi: 10.1186/s12913-017- 2031-8 Selby, E. C., Shaw, E. J., & Houtz, J. C. (2005). The creative personality. Gifted Child Quarterly, 49, 300–314. doi: 10.1177/001698620504900404

References 235

Seligman, M., Steen, T., Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive psychology progress: Empirical validation of interventions. The American psychologist, 60, 410-21. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.60.5.410. Senarath, S. A. C. L., Patabendige, S. S. J. (2014). Job-education mismatch among the graduates: A Sri Lankan perspective. Ruhuna Journal of Management and Finance, 1, 1-16. Retrieved from http://www.mgt.ruh.ac.lk/rjmf/pdfs/RJMF0102_JA_p1.pdf Senarath, S. A. C. L., Patabendige, S. S. J., & Amarathunga, S. (2017). Sri Lankan graduate labour market: A status mismatch. Journal of Economics, Business and Management, 5, 63-68. doi: 10.18178/joebm.2017.5.1.487 Silvia, P. J. (2008). Discernment and creativity: How well can people identify their most creative ideas? Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 2, 139 - 146. doi: 10.1037/1931-3896.2.3.139 Simonton, D. (2003). Expertise, competence, and creative ability. In R. J. Sternberg & E. L. Grigorenko (Eds.), The psychology of abilities, competencies, and expertise (pp. 213-240). New York: Cambridge University Press. Siniscalco, M. T., & Auriat, N. (2005). Questionnaire design. Quantitative research methods in educational planning. Retrieved from https://raharjo.staff.telkomuniversity.ac.id/files/2015/05/Questionnaire- Design.pdf Sloman, K., & Thompson, R. (2010). An example of large-group drama and cross- year peer assessment for teaching science in higher education. International Journal of Science Education, 32, 1877–1893. doi:10.1080/09500690903229312 Smagorinsky, P. (2011). Vygotsky's stage theory: The psychology of art and the actor under the direction of perezhivanie. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 18, 319- 341. doi:10.1080/10749039.2010.518300 Smith, J., & Noble, H. (2014). Bias in research. Evidence Based Nursing, 17, 100- 101. doi: 10.1136/eb-2014-101946 Soares, D., Vannest, K., & Harrison, J. (2009). Computer aided self-monitoring to increase academic production and reduce self-injurious behaviour in a child with autism. Behavioural Interventions. 24. 171-183. doi: 10.1002/bin.283. Soliman, S. (2005). Systems and creative thinking. Cairo, Egypt: Center for Advancement of Postgraduate Studies and Research in Engineering Sciences. Son, J. (2018). Back translation as a documentation tool. The International Journal for Translation & Interpreting Research, 10, 89-100. doi: 10.12807/ti.110202.2018.a07 Spencer, E., Lucas, B., & Claxton, G. (2012). Progression in creativity - Developing new forms of assessment: A literature review. Newcastle: CCE. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272178028_Progression_in_Creativity _-_developing_new_forms_of_assessment_a_literature_review

236 References

Spriggs, M., & Gillam, L. (2019). Ethical complexities in child co-research. Research Ethics, 15, 1–16. doi: 10.1177/1747016117750207 Squires, A. (2009). Methodological challenges in cross-language qualitative research: A research review. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 46, 277 - 287. doi:10.1016/j. ijnurstu.2008.08.006 Steckler, A., & Linnan, L. (Eds.). (2002). Process evaluation for public health interventions and research. California: Jossey-Bass. Stevenson, C. (2002). Teaching ten to fourteen-year olds (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Stinson, M. (2009). Drama is like reversing everything: Intervention research as teacher professional development. Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 14, 225-243.doi: 10.1080/13569780902868820 Stojanova, B. (2010). Development of creativity as a basic task of the modern educational system. Procedia - Social and Behavioural Sciences, 2, 3395–3400. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.03.522 Suto, I. & Nadas, R. (2008). What determines GCSE marking accuracy? An exploration of expertise among maths and physics markers. Research Papers in Education, 23, 477- 497. Retrieved from https://www.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/Images/111565-towards-a-new- model-of-marking-accuracy-an-investigation-of-igcse-biology.pdf Tanaka, R., Ozawa, J., Kito, N., & Moriyama, H. (2016). Effects of exercise therapy on walking ability in individuals with knee osteoarthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Clinical Rehabilitation, 30, 36–52. doi: 10.1177/0269215515570098 Taylor, P., & Warner, C. (2006). Structure and spontaneity: The process drama of Cecily O'Neill. London: Trentham Books. Teijlingen, E. R. V., Rennie, A. M., Hundley, V., & Graham, W. (2001). The importance of conducting and reporting pilot studies: The example of the Scottish births survey. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 34, 289–295. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2648.2001.01757.x Temple R., & Ellenberg, S. S. (2000). Placebo-controlled trials and active-control trials in the evaluation of new treatments. part 1: Ethical and scientific issues. Annals of Internal Medicine, 133, 455-463. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-133-6- 200009190-00014 Thabane, L., Ma, J., Chu, R., Cheng, J., Ismaila, A., . . ., & Goldsmith, C. H. (2010). A tutorial on pilot studies: The what, why and how. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 10, 1-10. doi:10.1186/1471-2288-10-1 Thayer, T. (2018). Five habits of creativity. https://entreassess.com/2018/05/29/five- habits-of-creativity/ The Arts in the New Zealand Curriculum (2012). Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/aiiru/Documents/Downloads/TheArtsCurriculum%20(2).pdf

References 237

The National Curriculum in England (2013). Key stages 1 and 2 framework documents. Retrieved from https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/atta chment_data/file/425601/PRIMARY_national_curriculum.pdf Theodorou, F., & Nind, M. (2010). Inclusion in play: A case study of a child with autism in an inclusive nursery. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 10, 99-106. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-3802.2010.01152.x Toivanen, T. (2016). Drama education in the Finnish school system - past, present and future. H. Niemi et al. (Eds.), Miracle of education, (pp. 229–240). Boston: Sense Publishers. Torgerson, C. J., & Torgerson, D. J. (2001). The need for randomized controlled trials in educational research. British Journal of Educational Studies, 49, 316- 328. doi: 10.1111/1467-8527.t01-1-00178

Torrance, E. P. (1962). Guiding Creative Talent. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice- Hall. Creative Talent. Torrance, E. P. (1963). Education and the creative potential. Minneapolis: The University of Minnesota Press. Torrance, E. P. (1966). The Torrance tests of creative thinking–norms technical manual research edition–verbal tests, forms A and B - figural tests, forms A and B. Princeton, NJ: Personnel Press. Torrance, E. P. (1974). The Torrance tests of creative thinking-norms-technical manual research edition-verbal tests, forms A and B- figural tests, forms A and B. Princeton, NJ: Personnel. Torrance, E. P. (1990). The Torrance tests of creative thinking norms-technical manual figural (streamlined) forms A & B. Bensenville: Scholastic Testing Service. Torrance, E. P. (2008). The Torrance tests of creative thinking: Norms-technical manual figural (streamlined) forms A & B. Bensenville, IL: Scholastic Testing Service. Treffinger, D. J. (2002). Assessing creativity: a guide for educators. Storrs, CT: National Research Centre on the Gifted and Talented. Treffinger, D. J., Young, G., Selby, E., & Shepardson, C. (2002). Assessing creativity: A guide for educators. National Research Centre on the Gifted and Talented. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED505548.pdf Tudge, J., & Scrimsher, S. (2003). The teaching/learning relationship in the first years of school: some revolutionary implications of Vygotsky’s theory. Early Education & Development, 14, 293 – 312. doi: 10.1207/s15566935eed1403_3 Turner, H., Mayall, B., Dickinson, R., Clark, A., Hood, S., Samuels, J., & Wiggins, M. (2004). Children engaging with drama: An evaluation of the National Theatre's drama work in primary schools 2002-2004. Retrieved from https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/83058.pdf

238 References

UNESCO (2006). Education for all: literacy for life; EFA global monitoring report. Retrieved from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/search/N-EXPLORE-c1282cae- b140-4a16-bea8-2641db357e52 UNESCO (2014). Global education monitoring report team. Paris: UNESCO. Retrieved from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000218003 UNESCO (2018). Fulfilling our collective responsibility: Financing global public goods in education. Retrieved from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000261530 UNICEF Annual Report (2011). Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/nutrition/files/UNICEF_Annual_Report_2011_EN_060 112.pdf UNICEF Sri Lanka (2004). National survey on emerging issues among adolescents in Sri Lanka. Colombo: Author. UNICEF Sri Lanka (2013). Out-of-school children in Sri Lanka: Country study. Colombo: Author. United Nations (1948). Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Retrieved from http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Documents/UDHR_ Translations/eng.pdf United Nations (1989). The Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved from www.ohchr.org/Documents/ProfessionalInterest/crc.pdf United Nations Development Programme Report (2018). Retrieved from https://annualreport.undp.org/assets/UNDP-Annual-Report-2018-en.pdf Universities UK (2018). Solving Future Skills Challenges. London: Universities UK. Retrieved from https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/policy-and- analysis/reports/Documents/2018/solving-future-skills- challenges.pdf#search=solving%20future%20skills%20challenges Urban, K. K. (2005). Assessing creativity: The Test for Creative Thinking - Drawing Production (TCT-DP). International Education Journal, 6, 272-280. ERIC Number: EJ854980 Valentine, J. C., DuBois, D. L., & Cooper, H. (2004). The relation between self- beliefs and academic achievement: a meta-analytic review. Educational Psychology, 39, 111–133. doi: 10.1207/s15326985ep3902_3 VandenBos, G. (2007). APA dictionary of psychology. Washington: American Psychological Association. Verenikina, I. M. (2003). Vygotsky's socio-cultural theory and the zone of proximal development. In H. M. Hasan, I. M. Verenikina & E. L. Gould (Eds.), Expanding the Horizon. Information Systems and Activity Theory (pp. 4-14). Wollongong: University of Wollongong Press. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/8d41/6f331b56cc328c19a7a1858ad32b1a6eb3c 7.pdf

References 239

Villalba, E. (2008). On creativity towards an understanding of creativity and its measurements. Luxembourg: Publications of the European Communities. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242710922 Vygotsky, L. S (1930/2004). Imagination and creativity in childhood. Journal of Russian and East European Psychology, 42, 7 -97. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2753/RPO1061-0405280184 Vygotsky, L. S. (1926/1992). Esthetic Education (Silverman, R., Trans.). In Educational Psychology. Florida: St. Lucie Press. Retrieved from http://www.marxists.org/archive/vygotsky/works/1926/educational- psychology/index.htm Vygotsky, L. S. (1971). The psychology of art. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press. Vygotsky, L. S. (1986). Thought and language, revised edition. Cambridge, MA: MIT press. Vygotsky, L. S. (1998). Infancy. In Rieber R. W. (Ed.), The collected works of L.S. Vygotsky (207-241). Vol. 5. Plenum Press, New York. Vygotsky, L. S. (2004). Imagination and creativity in childhood. Journal of Russian & East European Psychology, 42, 7-97. doi: 10.1080/10610405.2004.11059210

Wagner, B. J. (1976). Dorothy Heathcote: Drama as a learning medium. ERIC - ED130362 Wallach, M. A., & Kogan, N. (1965). A new look at the creativity-intelligence distinction. Journal of Personality, 33, 348–369. doi: 10.1111/j.1467- 6494.1965.tb01391.x Wallas, G. (1926). The Art of Thought. New York, NY: Harcourt, Brace and Company. Watson, S. L., & Reigeluth, C., M. (2008). The learner-centred paradigm of education. Educational Technology, 137, 42-48. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234617886 Wearmouth, J. (2010). Reasons for underachievement and every child matters. In F. Hallett & G. Hallett (Eds.). Transforming the role of the SENCO: Achieving the National Award for SEN Coordination (pp. 77-90). UK: Open University Press. Wessel, J. L., Ryan, A. M., & Oswald, F. L. (2008). The relationship between objective and perceived fit with academic major adaptability, and major-related outcomes. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 72, 363–376. doi: 10.1016/j.jvb.2007.11.003 White, M. D., & Marsh, E. E. (2006). Content analysis: A flexible methodology. Library Trends, 55, 22–45. Retrieved from https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/3670/WhiteMarch551.pdf ?sequence=2&isAllowed=y

240 References

Wittber, Z. (2017). Primary students’ engagement with the visual arts and their transition into Year 7 (Unpublished Master of Education thesis). Edith Cowan University. Retrieved from https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1986 World Bank (2008). Building the Sri Lankan knowledge economy. The Word Bank South Asia. Colombo: Sri Lanka World Bank (2011a). Learning for all: Investing in people’s knowledge and skills to promote development. Prepared by the World Bank Group Education Strategy 2020. Washington DC: The World Bank. World Bank (2011b). Transforming school education in Sri Lanka: From cut stones to polished jewels. Washington DC: The World Bank. World Bank (2016). Sri Lanka: Promoting equitable access to education. Retrieved from https://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2016/03/16/sri-lanka-equitable- access-education. World Bank (2017). Annual report. Retrieved from http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/908481507403754670/Annual-Report-2017- WBG.pdf World Bank Enterprise Survey (2014). Skills for growth and competitiveness in Sri Lanka. Retrieved from https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2014/07/10/skills-for-growth-and- competitiveness-in-sri-lanka World Health Organization - Annual report Sri Lanka (2016). A journey of commitment, passion and dedication. Retrieved from https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:hlIKBiPIenAJ:https:// apps.who.int/iris/rest/bitstreams/1081777/retrieve+&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl= au World Health Organization (2001). Regional framework for introducing life-skills education to promote the health of adolescents. Retrieved from http://apps.searo.who.int/pds_docs/B3352.pdf Wu, H. F. (2014). Effects of process drama-assisted intervention on oral communication strategies (Unpublished doctoral thesis). Griffith University, Australia. Retried from: http://hdl.handle.net/10072/367224 Zhang, D., Cui, Y., Zhou, Y., Cai, M., & Liu, H. (2018). The role of school adaptation and self-concept in influencing Chinese high school students’ growth in math achievement. Frontiers in Psychology, 29. 1-11. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02356 Zhao, X., Selman, R. L., & Haste, H. (2015) Academic stress in Chinese schools and a proposed preventive intervention program. Cogent Education, 2, 1-14. doi: 10.1080/2331186X.2014.1000477 Zorzie, M. (2012). Individual adaptability: Testing a model of its development and outcomes. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Michigan State University. Retrieved from https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:L4MW8p_GQksJ:http

References 241

s://d.lib.msu.edu/etd/1354/datastream/OBJ/download/Individual_adaptability__ _testing_a_model_of_its_development_and_outcomes.pdf+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=c lnk&gl=au&client=avast

242 References

Appendices

Appendix A: Ethical approval for pilot study

University Human Research Ethics Committee March 017 (UHREC)

APPLICATION FOR REVIEW OF NEGLIGIBLE / LOW RISK RESEARCH

INVOLVING HUMAN PARTICIPANTS

NOTE • All answers should be written in simple and non-technical language that can be easily understood by the lay reader.

• You must provide an answer to each question – N/A is not acceptable.

SECTION A: RESEARCH PROPOSAL OVERVIEW A1 Summary Information A1.1 Project title (200-character limit including spaces)

A pilot study to assess a drama teacher’s manual and assessment rubrics of creativity and adaptability skills in one Australian secondary school drama classroom.

A1.2 Brief project summary in LAY LANGUAGE

(i.e. in plain English and ensure when using acronyms, you spell them out in the first instance)

I am conducting this pilot study to test four lesson plans and two assessment rubrics of creativity and adaptability skills for my main study in Sri Lanka. My main aim here is to get the feedback of students and teachers on lesson outlines, approaches to the lessons, steps in the lessons, teaching techniques, and activities of the lesson plans that I have developed to assess creativity and adaptability skills. In addition, a teacher would be asked to complete the reflective notes after completing each lesson and I will also be observing one lesson as a non-participant observer. I would be conducting two interviews with a teacher at the completion of the second lesson and last lesson. This pilot study would take five weeks. The drama lessons will be conducted for 4 consecutive weeks with 80 minutes for a lesson. Student group discussion and teacher’s second interview will occur in the fifth week.

A1.3 Provide an overview of your research participants and their involvement (max 250 words)

The purpose of this question is to gain a sense of who the participants will be, and what you expect them to do within the research.

Appendices 243

A drama teacher from inner Brisbane city school who teaches drama for grade 7 students and her drama students from the grade 7 class would be the participants in this study. This pilot study would need the co-operation of a drama teacher and the parental and student permission of 6-8 students who would give feedback on the lessons. Furthermore, the teacher would be asked to complete the reflective notes according to the format I have provided after completing each lesson. This would assist me to explore the teachers’ perception quality in each context. I would be conducting two interviews with the teacher at the completion of the second lesson and the fourth lesson. Each recorded interview would be for 30 minutes. After transcription of the teacher interviews, the transcript will be returned to the teacher for proofing.

I will also be observing the first lesson. While I am observing this lesson, I would also use a lesson outline/plan as drama teacher would be using in the lesson. I would be making notes in this outline/plan while I am observing drama teacher which would include some steps, interaction with students, and students’ reaction during the lesson.

Students in the class will not experience a difference in their routine life and classroom learning. They will be engaging in their normal work as a student in the drama classroom during the stipulated time for drama lessons. There would be no extra organizing or preparation as these activities are connected to drama class. However, At the end of all four lessons, I would like 6-8 students as chosen by the teacher, with parental permission and their own consent to participate in a 30-minute recorded focus group. Pseudonyms will be used to report the data from this transcription. The discussion would only be on their opinions of the four lessons.

• Project overview

Late October 1st week – 2nd week – 3rd week – 4th week – N November 2017 November November 2017 2017 2017 2017

• Obtaining • Beginning of • Beginning of the • Beginning of • Beginning permission the first lesson second lesson the third lesson the final from school • • Writing reflective • Writing lesson principal for Writing notes at end of reflective notes • Writing conduct pilot reflective notes the second lesson at end of the reflective study. at end of the • Observing second third lesson at end of t • Meet drama first lesson lesson as a non- fourth les teacher in participant person before observer commencing • First interview the pilot study. with drama • Submitting of teacher (30 participation minutes) information • Interview will be sheets and audio recorded. consent forms to the

244 Appendices

principal and • Second the drama intervie teacher. with tea • Meeting of (30 grade 7 drama minutes students with • Intervie drama teacher. will be • Handing over audio student and recorde parents’ participation information sheets and consent forms through drama teacher. • Expecting to collect student and parents’ participation information sheets and consent forms within 5 days.

A1.4a Provide a summary of the merits of this proposed research (in LAY LANGUAGE) including the aims / hypotheses / research questions (refer to Section 1 of the National Statement, NS1.1, when preparing your response). • Include potential contributions to the body of knowledge and methodological rigor (max 250 words).Briefly provide evidence that the proposed research is based on knowledge of the relevant literature, and provide a list of key references. You may also attach a research plan / methodology which does not substitute for the summary above – this attachment should be no longer than 6 pages. NOTE: Unless proposed research has merit (and the researchers who are to carry out the research have integrity) the involvement of human participants in the research cannot be ethically justified.

This pilot study aims to assess the suitability of the teacher manual and the instrument for the learner-teacher needs in the drama classroom. All teaching techniques used in the teacher manual are creativity oriented. The usefulness of these techniques in a drama classroom could only be assessed only after learning them, thus all ideas and information provided by students and teachers after the teaching has been completed would assist to develop my study.

Every lesson is planned for 80 minute period. After the interviews with the teacher and the focus group discussion the initial step for engagement in the lesson taken by me, the activities used for that, the teaching aids I would use to complete the lesson and the question I have prepared to ask while teaching the lesson, would be assessed by thinking about the needs, the levels and the affinity towards the activities. This feedback from teachers and the

Appendices 245

students will be significant in my main study when preparing lessons. As there will be two ways in collecting feedback which will enhance my experience.

The main component is the teacher in this process. The teacher’s experience and problems he/she encountered during the teaching process (e.g. time management, organizing activities and asking question etc.) would be a focal point in my study when considering the lesson from the teacher’s viewpoint. The second component is the student in the classroom. Their positive and the negative experience felt by the student and the feedback by students on the overall lessons would be significant in this study when considering the lesson from the learner’s viewpoint.

Furthermore, I would intend assess the usefulness and the practicality of the assessment rubrics, which I have created to measure creativity, and critical thinking skills of students. I would also like to know whether these instruments can be easily utilized in this process, how long will it take, and does it really encourage student participation etc. These benefits are significant findings in my pilot study.

As I will be observing one lesson out of the four lessons, student- teacher interaction and student-student interaction would be visible in this process. This would assist me to assess whether these lessons are student –centred and the achievement of the objectives of drama studies.

A1.4b Has the scientific or academic merit of the research project been evaluated?

Review of the scientific or academic merit of the research project should be robust, formal and independent of the researcher team (e.g. a peer review of the protocol/proposal/research plan may have occurred at confirmation of candidature, or the researcher may have sought peer review from an independent scientist).

Yes. This research project was evaluated by Stage 2 research degree committee and has approved admission for study in the PhD program and pilot study has been peer reviewed.

A1.5 Why should this be considered a negligible OR low risk application? Refer to Chapter 2.1 of the National Statement when preparing your response and note that: • ‘Negligible risk research’ describes research in which there is no foreseeable risk of harm or discomfort; and any foreseeable risk is no more than inconvenience (e.g. filling in a form, participating in a street survey, or giving up time to participate in research).

• ‘Low risk research’ describes research in which the only foreseeable risk is one of discomfort (e.g. minor side-effects of medication, the discomforts related to measuring blood pressure, and anxiety induced by an interview).

• Research in which the risk for participants is more serious than discomfort (e.g. where a person’s reactions include pain or becoming distressed) the research cannot be considered low risk.

246 Appendices

This study is low risk since the predictable risks are minor for all the participants and can be easily managed/reduced as explained in A 2.2.

By participating in the study, the following mild discomforts would be experienced by the student without any major discomfort.

• Experiencing that they are participating in a study

• As I would be observing them only in one lesson while they are learning their activities, habits and presentations connected to lessons they learn, they would feel that it would be my overall perception or point of view of them.

• There would be some kind of inhibition among the students in the focus group discussion as I am a foreigner and as I would be recording the whole discussion.

As an experienced drama teacher, the following mild discomforts would be experienced by the drama teacher without any major discomforts.

• Teaching the lesson not according to his/her own style but in a different style

• Observation by an external party even though his/her is an experienced teacher

• The recording of the formal interviews by the researcher

• After completion of the study, the teacher would not be identified his/her true name

Hence, “Researcher should have enough experience or access to expertise to enable them to engage with participants in ways that accord them due respect and protection” as clause 4.8.7 of the National Statement says. The researcher has experience as a teacher educator and teaching practice evaluator in public schools (more than 15 years). All these may contribute to reduce risk involved the study.

A2 Potential Risks and Benefits (refer to Chapter 2.1 of the National Statement when preparing your response) A2.1 Describe ALL the identified potential risks and who may be affected by these risks e.g. researchers, participants, participant community and / or the wider community. Ensure all risks mentioned at A2.1 are addressed, and that the risks and their management are consistent throughout the application and are addressed where applicable in the Participant Information Sheet and Consent Form.

When gauging the level of risk ensure you take into account:

• The kinds of harm, discomfort or inconvenience that may occur.

• The likelihood of these occurring.

• The severity of any harm that may occur.

• The choices, experience, perceptions, values and vulnerabilities of different populations of participants will also be relevant.

Students - Risk - Discomfort and inconvenience

Appendices 247

Students may feel discomfort about their lessons being observed and focus group discussion being recorded. Furthermore, students may experience inconvenience due to researcher’s presence during group discussion. However, the students will be in their usual drama class with their usual drama teacher. Teachers - Risk - Discomfort and inconvenience The teacher may feel discomfort during the interviews in answering some questions. The teacher may feel inconvenient to participate in interviews due to their busy schedules and responses being recorded. A2.2 How are the risks to be minimised? And how will they be managed if they were to occur during the study or arise after the completion of the study? NOTE: The greater the risk to participants in any research for which ethical approval is given, the more certain it must be both that the risks will be managed as well as possible, and that the participants clearly understand the risks they are taking on. Ensure all risks mentioned at A2.1 are addressed here, that the risks and their management are consistent throughout the application and relevant information is included in the Participant Information Sheets and Consent Forms. Before collecting data, school students and the teacher in the pilot study will be informed about the study, objectives, and benefits as well potential risks. Moreover, they will be informed about what measures will be taken by the researcher to minimise such risks. Students will be informed that their participation in the focus group is voluntary and their responses will be anonymous in the final report of the project. They will be assured that they will not be identifiable in any way.

Students - Minimising Risk - Discomfort and inconvenience To reduce the discomfort that students may feel during the focus group discussion period the researcher will maintain a friendly, natural atmosphere with students and the focus group discussion will start with a pleasant opening. While they are gathering to discuss the researcher serve refreshments to students to reduce their discomfort. They will be informed that there are no right or wrong answers and that they are free to give their own views. Focus group time will be organised with student input and they will be free to withdraw at any time during the discussion. Teachers - Minimising Risk Discomfort and inconvenience To reduce the discomfort that teacher may feel during the interviews, the researcher will make the participant comfortable at the start of the interviews by informing about the research. She will be informed that there are no right or wrong answers and that she is free to give his/her own views. To reduce the inconvenience that the teacher may feel time management problems in the interviews, the researcher giving up time to teacher to be considered by discussing with him/her and finding suitable time as per his/her convenience. The teacher will be assured that he/she will not be identifiable in any way. A2.3 What are the potential benefits of the research and who would benefit from these? • Benefits of research may include, e.g. gains in knowledge, insight and understanding, improved social welfare and individual wellbeing, and gains in skill or expertise for individual researchers, teams or institutions.

248 Appendices

• Some research may offer direct benefits to the research participants, their families, or particular group/s with whom they identify. Where this is the case, participants may be ready to assume a higher risk than otherwise.

The study forms a part of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and, as such, findings will be significantly contribute to the development of the main study in Sri Lanka.

A2.4 How do the benefits justify the risks? • Research is ethically acceptable only when its potential benefits justify any risks involved in the research.

The low risk identified in A2.1 and such risk can be minimised are shown in A2.2. The potential benefits of the study are given A2.3. Thus, it is evaluated that the benefits justify the negligible and low risks because of the significance of the knowledge produced.

A3 Other General Information A3.1 Where will the data be collected? (e.g. on site at QUT or other location) NOTE: If you would like to conduct your study at the premises of an external organisation/association please ensure you provide a copy of your intended approach letter which requests their support/permission for this, or provide evidence of this if already gained. Q X Other – details: Pilot, inner Brisbane city school in U Australia T

A3.2 Is the QUT Human Research Ethics Committee (UHREC) the primary or only ethics committee reviewing this proposal? If NO, provide details of any other institutional HREC involved and the role of each institution (including QUT) in the project. If the project involves more than one institution that also has a HREC, please provide details on the role of QUT UHREC; whether arrangements can be put in place for to minimise multiple review; arrangements for communication of the roles/responsibilities between the institutions HRECs, e.g. who will monitor etc. Yes.

A3.3 What are the estimated timeframes for the project? (mm / yyyy) NOTE: Data collection cannot commence until you have received formal written UHREC approval. Start of project Feb.2017 Start of 1st week of data November collection 2017 End of project Feb.2020 End of Last week of data November collection 2017 A3.4 Describe the qualifications and relevant experience of the researcher team NOTE: Include the training and experience student researchers have in the relevant research methodologies. This study supervised by two QUT academics who were in level 3. Principal Supervisor is Professor Marilyn Campbell and Associate Supervisor is Associate Professor Bree Hadley. I, the researcher, also a Senior Lecturer in Aesthetic Education, attached to the Department of Secondary and Tertiary Education, Faculty of Education, The Open University of Sri

Appendices 249

Lanka. I have been a Drama and Theatre educationist in Sri Lanka for over 15 years and have used innovative theatrical interventions for social awareness creation in addition to be a lecturer at a national university. My main subject area of specialization is Aesthetic and Drama Education. I, therefore, conducted lectures on Teaching Methodologies in Aesthetic Studies in Post Graduate Diploma in Education program, which serves the largest teacher clientele in the country in mu university. Also, I conducted lectures on Educational Technology for Teaching Drama & Theatre and Aesthetic and Creative Studies in Bachelor of Education (Drama and Theatre) Degree program. These students in return, are expected to teach in secondary class level in the government schools of Sri Lanka. I have been involved in classroom observations of teaching practicum of teachers in in-service and pre service, teacher educator in master teachers as well. I also extend my work as a visiting lecturer for Drama Education, in the Department of Humanities Education of the Faculty of Education, University of Colombo and Department of Language and Cultural Studies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Sri Jayawardenapura, Sri Lanka. The stepping stone to my career was my Bachelor of Arts Degree in Cultural and Aesthetic Studies in which I obtained a First-Class pass. Thereafter, I followed a Post Graduate Diploma in Education Course, in which I obtained a Distinction pass. I completed the Master of Education Degree Programme in the same university in 2010. In 2011, I successfully completed Certificate of Teaching in Higher Education, Teacher Orientation & Skills Development for ODL at the Staff Development Centre of The Open University of Sri Lanka. Research is part and parcel of my career as an academic. All of the above experience, I believe, will contribute significantly to the ethical conduct of my data collection and reporting of the present research. SECTION B: PARTICIPANT OVERVIEW (refer to Chapter 2.2 of the National Statement when preparing your response) B1.1 Who will be approached to participate? Clearly outline each participant group. Provide details of the potential participant pool. If you are accessing secondary data please provide full details, including whether permission has been sought. If you are accessing confidential health information e.g. Queensland Health data, the Public Health Act specifies the approvals required (see link below) and QUT requires a Hospital Access Agreement. Contact the Division of Research & Commercialisation for assistance. http://www.health.qld.gov.au/ohmr/html/regu/aces_conf_hth_info.asp One Year seven drama teacher at an inner city Brisbane school and her class.

B1.2 How many participants do you need for your study and approximately how many will you need to approach? A school from inner Brisbane, a drama teacher and a group of students who are studying drama in grade 7 are necessary for the pilot study. It could be hypothesized that there are 25 students and all these students take part in the pilot study but only 6-8 are involved in the focus group discussion.

How will potential participants be identified and approached? NOTE: If you would like to recruit participants via an external organisation/association please ensure you provide a copy of your intended approach letter which requests their support/permission, or provide evidence of this if already gained.

250 Appendices

Dr Bree with her connections with schools will find an inner Brisbane school and a suitable drama teacher for this study. Prior to commencement of the pilot study, Dr Bree and I will enlighten the participants on the structure, aims and time duration of the pilot study. As soon as Dr Bree has completed the orientation of the pilot study, I would like to thank the Principal of the chosen school and the drama teacher by e-mail. In the same email, I would request a time and a place for me to meet them. I would meet the drama teacher firstly before meeting anyone.

I would like to enlighten the drama teacher on myself, the study I am engaged in, my country of origin and drama studies in my country so that I could build up a cordial relationship with the drama teacher. I would like to familiarize myself with the school, the school culture and its rules by engaging in conversation with the drama teacher, as I am a foreigner to this country. Finally, I would meet the principal with the drama teacher and give a brief introduction about myself and the study I am engaged in. After discussion with the principal, I would provide a written document about the pilot study and its aims, my expectations from the school and my context in this study to him/her. This will be followed by me providing the consent form and participation information sheet to the drama teacher.

The next step would be to meet the students who are selected for the participation. I would meet the students according to the teacher’s and the principal’s preference. As I meet the students, I would give a brief introduction about myself and welcome them to the study. Then I would ask the drama teacher to give an introduction to my study. With the drama teacher’s introduction, I would hand over the participation information sheet to all students and ask them to bring a consent letter from their parents and students sign own consent form within a week. All parents give consent for focus group participation, and teacher will choose 6-8 students. I would ask them to hand the letters to the respective drama teacher.

Finally, after receiving consent letters from the principal, the drama teacher, the students and the parents, the study will commence.

How will the participants provide their consent to participate? Outline the consent process you will use, what type of consent will be requested (i.e. specific, extended or unspecified – see NS2.2.14), what material will be provided to participants, how long participants will have to consider their decision to participate and what discussion will occur with participants. NOTE: • A person’s decision to participate in research must be voluntary and informed i.e. not forced, coerced or obtained by improper inducements AND based on sufficient information and adequate understanding of both the proposed research and the implications of participation in it (the purpose, methods, demands, risks and potential benefits of the research).

• The process of communicating information to participants and seeking their consent should not be merely a matter of satisfying a formal requirement. The aim is mutual understanding between researchers and participants. This aim requires an opportunity

Appendices 251

for participants to ask questions and to discuss the information and their decision with others if they wish.

As stated above, the teacher will provide their own consent as will the principal. I would hand over the participation information sheet to all students and ask them to bring a consent letter from their parents and students sign own consent form within a week. All parents give consent for focus group participation, and teacher will choose 6-8 students. I would ask them to hand the letters to the respective drama teacher.

B1.5 Will the project involve participants who are unable to give voluntary or informed consent?

If YES, what special arrangements will be put in place to protect your participants’ interests/welfare?

These questions refer to research involving: • Children and young people whose particular level of maturity has implications for whether their consent is necessary and/or sufficient to authorise participation (see Chapter 4.2 of the National Statement).

• Persons with a cognitive impairment, and intellectual disability, or a mental illness (permanent or temporary) which impacts upon their ability to supply voluntary and informed consent (see Chapter 4.5 of the National Statement).

• Persons who are highly dependent on medical care, e.g. unconscious or unable to communicate their wishes (see Chapter 4.4 of the National Statement).

• Covert observation of behaviour, particularly if this relates to sensitive, contentious or illegal activity consent (see Chapter 2.3 and Chapter 4.6 of the National Statement).

NOTE: Where participants are unable to make their own decisions or have diminished capacity to do so, respect for them involves empowering them where possible and providing for their protection as necessary. Yes, as students are under 18 years old I will give parent/guardian consent form attached with parent information sheet.

B1.6 Do you propose to screen or assess the suitability of the participants for the project? If YES, clearly state and explain the criteria (inclusion and exclusion, as applicable) for selecting potential participants. No

B1.7 Will participants be offered reimbursements, payments or incentives? If YES, also provide the specific details (type and value), how and when it will be provided and whether its offer could compromise the voluntary nature of the consent obtained from participants. See Guidance on prize draws. NOTE: • Details of these should be provided on the Participant Information Sheet.

• It is generally appropriate to reimburse the costs to participants of taking part in research, including costs such as travel, accommodation and parking. Sometimes participants may also be paid for time involved. However, payment that is disproportionate to the time involved, or any other inducement that is likely to encourage participants to take risks, is ethically unacceptable (NS2.2.10)

252 Appendices

• Decisions about payment or reimbursement in kind, whether to participants or their community, should take into account the customs and practices of the community in which the research is to be conducted (NS2.2.11)

No

B1.8 Do you, or others involved in facilitating or implementing the research, have a pre- existing relationship with the proposed participants? Could this result in the proposed participants feeling obliged or coerced into participation? Refer to Chapter 4.3 of the National Statement and the QUT Research Data Collection in Classrooms or Lecture Theatres guidance when considering/preparing your response. If YES, describe this relationship and how you will address the special ethical issues this raises (e.g. potential coercion in recruitment). Also outline what special arrangements will be put in place to protect the interests / welfare of potential participants. NOTE: • Pre-existing relationships may compromise the voluntary nature of participants’ decisions, as they typically involve unequal status, where one party has or has had a position of influence or authority over the other.

• Examples may include relationships between employers or supervisors and their employees; teachers and their students; carers and people with chronic conditions or disabilities or people in residential care or supported accommodation; etc (see Chapter 4.3 of the National Statement for more examples).

• While this influence does not necessarily invalidate the decision, it does mean that particular attention should be given to the process through which consent is negotiated.

Yes. Dr Bree and she use her contacts. However, a number of teachers will be approached to participate. Now will be expected to select someone who voluntary wishes to participate.

B1.9 Will you conduct a debriefing session at the end of the research or at the end of each participant’s involvement? If YES, please provide the details of this session. NOTE: Such a session is required for research involving deception (see Chapter 2.3 of the National Statement), and may be appropriate if the research is likely to cause discomfort to participants. Yes. At the end of the data collection at pilot school, researcher will summarise sessions for students and teachers. In this briefings, researcher like to express her gratitude to them and the importance of their contribution to the main study.

B1.10 Consider providing feedback to participants as this is encouraged by the National Statement. Will feedback and/or the research results be reported to participants? • If YES, explain how this will be done and in what form this reporting will occur.

• If NO, explain why the participants are not to be provided with such a report.

Yes, a brief report will be created (include with their viewpoints about drama manual) and it would be presented to the teacher. I would be asked it share with her students.

SECTION C: DATA MANAGEMENT C1 Future Use of Data

Appendices 253

C1.1 Is it likely / possible that any of the data collected will be used by you, or others, for any research other than that outlined in this application? See Chapter 2.2 and Chapter 3.2 when preparing your response.

If YES, describe below and ensure this is outlined in all your participant information sheets and consent forms.

• Participants should be fully informed of the possibility of any future use of data collected and their ‘extended’ or ‘unspecified’ consent gained. Failure to do this may restrict the future use of the data.

• Any restrictions on the use of participants’ data should be recorded and the record kept with the collected data so that it is always accessible to researchers who want to access those data for research.

• Please note that data sharing is increasingly being encouraged to gain maximum benefit from research, so a YES response is encouraged in most cases. If YES, describe below and ensure this is outlined in all your Participant Information Sheets and Consent Forms.

No

C2 Procedures & Protection C2.1 What data collection procedures will be utilised? Place an ‘X’ in the relevant boxes below AND provide a copy (draft or finalised, labelled as such) of the relevant instrument, protocol or other written form used to guide (e.g. interview questions/guide) or collect data (e.g. survey) or include an explanation of the method by which the data will be collected. Clinical experimental measures / tools or creative works are considered “Other Instrument”. Questionnaires/Surveys Archival records

X Interviews X Focus groups

X Other instrument – provide details: Manual

(If there is insufficient space below, provide details in an additional separate document.)

After completion of each lesson, the teacher is asked to provide reflective notes in the given area in the lesson plan. This consists of a full page at the end of the lesson. This is for all negative and positive feedback of the teacher. For example: Are you satisfied with the overall lesson plan; If you are satisfied what is the reason; If you are not satisfied what is the reason; Should this lesson be developed more; If so, how should it be?.

C2.2 Have the data collection procedures been previously approved by QUT or are they an academic standard instrument?

If YES, provide brief details on prior approval or where instruments have been used previously, e.g. under a similar research context

Not approved previously by QUT

C2.3 In what form will the human data be collected, stored and used/reported?

254 Appendices

In each row, indicate which form of data (eg. interviews, questionnaires etc) applies for your study.

At least one column must be completed in each row but if different data are in different forms, you will need to complete more than one box in each column or row.

Individually Identifiable Re-Identifiable or Non-Identifiable Potentially Re- i.e. Data from which the i.e. Data that has never Identifiable identity of a specific been labelled with individual can be i.e. Data from individual identifiers OR reasonably ascertained which identifiers from which identifiers eg. name, image, date of have been have been permanently birth, and/or address. removed and removed such that no replaced by specific individual can be codes, but it identified by the remains possible researchers. to re-identify individuals, eg. by using the code or linking different data sets.

Collected x

Stored x

Used/Rep x orted

C2.4 How is this project funded? Outline what rights the funder of the study will have to data obtained from the study, and in what format e.g. aggregate reports only, access to raw data or other. NOTE: Any access by the funder should be made clear to participants. No funding

C2.5 How will confidentiality of the study records be protected during the study and in the publication of results?

NOTE: If you intend to identify participants or organisations, this needs to be made clear on the Participant Information Sheet.

I will give pseudonym name for drama teacher and students in the focus group.

C2.6 Is this a collaborative project? If YES, also provide brief detail on data-sharing arrangements e.g. open – all parties have access to each other’s data; partial – data held by collaborator completing particular component. No.

C2.7 Who will own the resulting research data and the created intellectual property?

Place an ‘X’ in the relevant box/es below – at least one box must be checked. If relevant you can check more than one box, ie QUT and an external organisation. Please refer to the D/3.1 Intellectual property (IP) policy for further information.

Appendices 255

QUT – QUT is the owner of IP created by staff members in the course of their employment.

STUDENT/S –The IP generated is personally owned by the student if not assigned to QUT or other organisation.

x BOTH QUT & STUDENT/S – If the IP for a student project has been assigned to QUT, ownership of data and IP is shared.

(see Student IP protocol)

EXTERNAL ORGANISATION – Give details:

NOTE: QUT requires an IP agreement to be in place if IP ownership is to deviate from that described in D/3.1 Intellectual property (IP) policy. If you require any further assistance, please contact the relevant section of the Division of Research & Commercialisation.

C3 Storage & Security

Ensure you have completed your QUT Data Management Plan BEFORE completing this section.

• Data should be stored in a locked filing cabinet at QUT and/or electronically on a QUT mainframe drive.

• Data must not be stored solely at home.

C3.1 X YES Confirm that your research data and other records will be stored for the required period.

Refer to the Management research data.

C3.2 HARD/PAPER COPIES... (e.g. Signed consent forms are required to be kept securely for 15 years as per the Qld State Archives Schedule) Qld State Archives: http://www.archives.qld.gov.au/Recordkeeping/Governance/Pages/Default.aspx University Sector: http://www.archives.qld.gov.au/Recordkeeping/GRKDownloads/Documents/Universities. pdf C3.2. What is the location/s of At QUT- Data will be locked storage in the researcher’s room storage? (B338) located in B block of Faculty of Education, Kelvin Grove Campus. (i.e. QUT room/building location and/or offsite storage location)

C3.2. How will access to the Researcher and her supervisors have the locked cabinet key stored data be where the data will be stored. controlled?

C3.2. Who will have access to Student- A.I.Irugalbandara the stored data? Supervisors - Professor Marilyn Campbell and Associate Professor Bree Hadley.

256 Appendices

C3.3 ELECTRONIC DATA...

C3.3. What is the location/s of At QUT RESTORE storage and back-up? Researcher’s H drive on her password secured QUT computer (i.e. a secure at the office of PhD students. In a secured backup hard drive computer/server stored in a locked filing drawer. and/or offsite storage location)

C3.3. How will access to the Password protection that will only be held by the researcher. stored data be controlled?

C3.3. Who will have access to Researcher and her supervisors, when requested. 3 the stored data?

Appendices 257

Appendix A1: Principal Information Sheet (Pilot)

PARTICIPANT INFORMATION FOR QUT RESEARCH PROJECT – PRINCIPAL –

A pilot study to assess a drama teacher’s manual and measures to use of creativity and adaptability skills in one Australian secondary school drama classroom

QUT Ethics Approval Number 1700001046 RESEARCH TEAM Principal Researcher: Mrs Ayomi Indika Irugalbandara PhD student Associate Researchers: Professor Marilyn Campbell Principal Supervisor Faculty of Education Associate Professor Bree Hadley Associate Supervisor Creative Industries Faculty Queensland University of Technology (QUT)

DESCRIPTION This research project is being undertaken as part of PhD study of Ayomi Indika Irugalbandara.

This study investigates how drama-based methods improve creativity and adaptability skills. The main aim of this pilot study is to measure the effectiveness of four lessons developed as research instruments and validate the two assessment rubrics. This pilot study will take five weeks. The drama lessons will be conducted for 4 consecutive weeks with 80 minutes for each lesson. In addition, a teacher will be asked to complete the reflective notes after completing each lesson and I will also be observing one lesson as a non-participant observer. I will conduct two interviews with a teacher at the completion of the second lesson and last lesson. Student group discussion and teacher’s second interview will occur in the fifth week. After using the instruments during the four lessons, I will be able to use teacher experience and the students experience to improve the main study, which will be carried out in Sri-Lanka.

REQUEST TO GAIN PERMISSION AND PARTICIPATION INVOLVEMENT I request permission to undertake a pilot study which focuses on enhancing the students’ creativity and adaptability skills in your school. Further, I am seeking your permission to invite a drama teacher who teaches in grade 7 and her/his class to take part in the pilot study, to use institutional facilities, and to carry out the research in scheduled class time. Engaging in the pilot study will not harm the quality of the teacher’s teaching or the students’ learning. The drama teacher will teach lessons as normal using the outline I have provided to the drama teacher. A teacher at your school will be invited to participate in this pilot study because of his/her valuable experience and expertise related to my research topic. A consent form will be signed by you as principal. The teacher participant will be informed that you as principal have signed a consent form stating that whether or not he/she is willing to participate in this project will in no way affect his/her standing at the school and will not affect his/her employment. In addition, students participating in the study will be assured that participation or nonparticipation will not affect their grades. I would like to meet the drama teacher in person before commencing the pilot study, as I would like to build up a cordial relationship with him/her. This will enhance clear communication about the study between us. In addition, I will be able to enhance my knowledge of school culture and school procedures from him/her. After commencement of the pilot study formally on the stipulated date, I would like to meet with the drama teacher a number of times as outlined below. I would like to observe one lesson of the four I have included in the manual. I will make an appointment with the drama teacher prior to observing this lesson. I will act as an external observer and will make sure that I do not interfere with teaching and learning. While I am observing this lesson, I will use the lesson outline/plan the drama teacher is using in the lesson. I will make notes in this outline/plan

258 Appendices

while I am observing the drama teacher. These notes will include some steps, interactions with students, and students’ reactions during the lesson. In addition to this lesson observation, I would like to conduct two interviews with the drama teacher. The first interview will be after the completion of the first 2 lessons and the second interview would be after completing the pilot study. I wish to audio record the two interviews. After completing both the interviews I will transcribe the interviews and give copies to the drama teacher. If the drama teacher detects any inaccuracies, I will alter the transcript. The drama teacher’s participation in this study is voluntary. In order to participate in the study, the drama teacher will give h/his consent by signing a consent form. Further, I am requesting your permission to interact with the students in the drama teacher’s Year 7 class. I would like to meet students for a very short time, which will help them understand their involvement in this study and answer any questions they may have about the study. After that, I will distribute student participant information sheets and consent forms, parental information sheets also with consent forms. The students will then give the consent form to their drama teacher. Further, I would like to meet eight students in a focus group discussion after completing all the lessons. The drama teacher will select students for this focus group discussion. I will audio record this discussion. I will not influence the selection of students for this group. I would like to conduct the focus group discussion in a place selected by the drama teacher or recommended by the school authority. The focus group discussion would least for 30 minutes take place in class time.

EXPECTED BENEFITS By engaging in this pilot study, the drama teacher and the students of your school would gain new teaching and learning experiences. The teacher may develop additional knowledge and strategies to develop students’ creativity and adaptability skills and the school may learn additional knowledge and pedagogies to develop creativity and adaptability skills in students in Year 7. The students would receive a new learning experience which would assist in enhancing their creativity and adaptability skills.

RISKS It is not envisaged that there would not be any problems to your professional life caused by giving permission for this study. The information would be used only for the development of my main study. As I mentioned before, your school, the drama teacher or the students can withdraw from this study. The name of your school, the name of the drama teacher and the names of students will not be divulged at any time.

PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY All comments and responses will be treated confidentially unless required by law. Participants’ anonymity will be protected by using pseudonyms. The teacher participant will be given the opportunity to check transcripts for editing before finalising. He/she is entitled to change or add comments.

You are asked to sign the attached Consent Form to undertake that: • Whether or not teacher and students are willing to participate in this project will in no way affect their standing in your school or students’ grades, and • Teacher responses will not be used in any employment discussion or dispute. Overall, privacy and confidentiality will be preserved as much as possible throughout the entire project.

QUESTIONS / FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE RESEARCH PROJECT If you have any questions or require further information please contact one of the listed researchers:

Marilyn Campbell [email protected] +61 7 3138 3806 Bree Hadley [email protected] +61 7 3138 3225

CONCERNS / COMPLAINTS REGARDING THE CONDUCT OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT QUT is committed to research integrity and the ethical conduct of research projects. However, if you do have any concerns or complaints about the ethical conduct of the research project you may contact the QUT Research Ethics Advisory Team on +61 7 3138 5123 or email [email protected]. The QUT Research Ethics Advisory Team is not connected with the research project and can facilitate a resolution to your concern in an impartial manner.

Appendices 259

Appendix A2: Principal Consent Form (Pilot)

CONSENT FORM FOR QUT RESEARCH PROJECT – PRINCIPAL –

A pilot study to assess a drama teacher’s manual and measures to use of creativity and adaptability skills in one Australian secondary school drama classroom

QUT Ethics Approval Number 1700001046 RESEARCH TEAM Ayomi Indika Irugalbandara [email protected] Marilyn Campbell [email protected] +61 7 3138 3806 Bree Hadley [email protected] +61 7 3138 3225

STATEMENT OF CONSENT • I have read the Participant Information Sheet and understand the nature of the research. I have had the opportunity to ask questions and have them answered to my satisfaction. • I give permission for Ayomi Indika Irugalbandara to carry out a research project at my school as described in the Participant Information Sheet, and give her an approval to access teacher and students about drama education during class hours. • I understand that teacher participation in this study is entirely voluntary and the teacher can withdraw at any stage without giving a reason. • I understand that participants’ and organisation names will not be used in any written or oral presentation, and that no opinions will be attributed to participants in any way that will identify them. • I consent as the school’s principal that whether or not teachers and students are willing to participate in this project will in no way affect their standing in the school or their grades. • I understand the researcher will make every effort to ensure the study does not disrupt the working environment or student lessons and any data collected will remain confidential. • I understand that if I have concerns about the ethical conduct of the research project, I can contact the Research Ethics Advisory Team on +61 7 3138 5123 or email [email protected]. • I understand that the research project will include an audio recording. • I agree to participate in the research project. • I give permission for Ayomi Indika Irugalbandara to undertake this project in my school.

Name Sig. Date

PLEASE RETURN THE SIGNED CONSENT FORM TO THE RESEARCHER.

260 Appendices

Appendix A3: Teacher Information Sheet (Pilot)

PARTICIPANT INFORMATION FOR QUT RESEARCH PROJECT – TEACHER –

A pilot study to assess a drama teacher’s manual and measures to use of creativity and adaptability skills in one Australian secondary school drama classroom QUT Ethics Approval Number 1700001046 RESEARCH TEAM Principal Researcher: Mrs Ayomi Indika Irugalbandara PhD student Associate Researchers: Professor Marilyn Campbell Principal Supervisor Faculty of Education Associate Professor Bree Hadley Associate Supervisor Creative Industries Faculty Queensland University of Technology (QUT) DESCRIPTION This research project is being undertaken as part of a PhD study of Ayomi Indika Irugalbandara. This study investigates how drama-based methods improve creativity and adaptability skills. The main aim of this pilot study is to measure the effectiveness of four lessons developed as research instruments and validate the two assessment rubrics. This pilot study will take five weeks. The drama lessons will be conducted for 4 consecutive weeks with 80 minutes for each lesson. In addition, a drama teacher will be asked to complete the reflective notes after completing each lesson and I will also be observing one lesson as a non-participant observer. I will conduct two interviews with you at the completion of the second lesson and last lesson. Student group discussion and yours second interview will occur in the fifth week. After using the instruments during the four lessons, I will be able to use your experience and the students experience to improve the main study, which will be carried out in Sri-Lanka.

PARTICIPATION Your Principal has given permission for this study to take place in the school and has suggested you might be interested in taking part, so I would like to invite you to participate in the activities as outlined below. I expect that you will teach drama for one month according to the teacher manual provided by me. I would like to emphasize that there will be no obstacles/hindrances for your professional life or to the teaching –learning process as you will be engaging in the same drama classroom – grade 7, with the required lessons you have to teach students using the outline I have provided here. I believe that using this process will not hinder your teaching or the learning of the students who study drama with you. Prior to the implementation, I would be happy to meet you as the drama teacher in order to develop a positive/friendly relationship. This meeting may help to bridge my communication gaps between us. Interaction with you will help me to understand the school culture. For this meeting I will request an appointment without disturbing your routine work in school. Even though I have included 4 lessons in the teacher manual, I would like to observe one lesson only. I will make an appointment prior to observing you before I observe this lesson. I will be as an external observer and will make sure that I do not interfere with you, your students or your teaching. (While I am observing this lesson, I will also use the lesson outline/plan you will be using in the lesson. I will be making notes in this outline/plan while I am observing you. The notes will include some steps, interaction with students, and students’ reaction during the lesson) I would like to conduct two interviews with you. The first interview would be after the completion of the first 2 lesson plans and the second interview would be after completing the pilot study. I will make appointment with you for times that suit you before we meet. I would like to gather information on the following in the first interview. I. What was the response/feedback by students after your lessons using the lesson plans provided? II. Do students respond positively for the lesson you taught using the lesson plans provided? III. Did you gain any special experience during the teaching process? What are they? IV. Was it easy to teach the lessons? If so why? V. Was it difficult to teach the lessons? If so why?

Appendices 261

VI. As I discussed before according to the outline I provided, you had to make the reflective notes and I would like to these with you at the first interview I would like to gather information on the following in the second interview. I. After completing the four lessons, did you observe a difference in creativity and adaptability skills of students? II. Were the instruments I provided useful in measuring the difference in creativity and adaptability skills of students? III. What is your overall view on the lesson plans, and do you have any feedback to develop these ideas in the classroom? My intention is to audio record the two interviews, thus during the stipulated time, I will record the entire interview. I will provide you with a transcript of this interviews. If there are any sections, which you are not satisfied about, I will delete them. After completing both interviews, I would analyses them and provide my analysis to you. The reason for this is to see if there are differences between your interpretation and mine. If you detect any differences, I will definitely alter them. Your participation in this study is voluntary, thus you can withdraw from this study at any time. You can also refuse to do anything, which I ask for during the study. You are able to withdraw from the teaching and the interview process at any time you desire. When I observe your lessons, if you feel that I am a hindrance to your teaching, you can ask me to leave at any time. Our professional relationship, your relationship with Dr Hadley or the connections with the university will not be harmed whether you participate or not participate in this pilot study. EXPECTED BENEFITS My experience as a teacher educator for 15 years will be shared by me with you in this pilot study. This may be a benefit for your professional life. I am always willing to assist you in developing your professional skills as a drama teacher. As you would be the main person who would be handling this, you may reflection on your learning and teaching style at the end of each lesson. This pilot study may be a stimulator for you to enhance your learning too. RISKS There would not be any problems to your professional or personal life by participating in this study. The information you provide will be used only for the development of my main study. As I mentioned before, you can withdraw from this study at any time. When analysing the data, your name, the name of your college and the name of students will not be divulged at any time. PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY All comments and responses will be treated confidentially unless required by law. I will give you a pseudonym in my data analysis. You are asked to sign the attached Consent Form to indicate your willingness to participate in this research project. I would like to inform you that you will have an opportunity to verify your comments and responses prior to final inclusion in the transcript of the audio recording. Also, this audio recording will not be used for any other purpose and only myself my supervisors will have access to the audio recording. I would like to inform you it is not possible to participate in the research project without being audio recorded. Overall, privacy and confidentiality will be preserved as much as possible throughout the entire project. QUESTIONS / FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE RESEARCH PROJECT If you have any questions or require further information please contact one of the listed researchers:

Marilyn Campbell [email protected] +61 7 3138 3806 Bree Hadley [email protected] +61 7 3138 3225

CONCERNS / COMPLAINTS REGARDING THE CONDUCT OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT QUT is committed to research integrity and the ethical conduct of research projects. However, if you do have any concerns or complaints about the ethical conduct of the research project you may contact the QUT Research Ethics Advisory Team on +61 7 313 85123 or email [email protected]. The QUT Research Ethics Advisory Team is not connected with the research project and can facilitate a resolution to your concern in an impartial manner.

THANK YOU FOR HELPING WITH THIS RESEARCH PROJECT. PLEASE KEEP THIS SHEET FOR YOUR INFORMATION.

262 Appendices

Appendix A4: Teacher Consent Form (Pilot)

CONSENT FORM FOR QUT RESEARCH PROJECT – TEACHER –

A pilot study to assess a drama teacher’s manual and measures to use of creativity and adaptability skills in one Australian secondary school drama classroom QUT Ethics Approval Number 1700001046

RESEARCH TEAM Ayomi Indika Irugalbandara [email protected] Marilyn Campbell [email protected] +61 7 3138 3806 Bree Hadley [email protected] +61 7 3138 3225

STATEMENT OF CONSENT I have read the Participant Information Sheet. I understand the nature of the research and why I have been selected. I have had the opportunity to ask questions and have them answered to my satisfaction. o I have the right to withdraw from the project any time without giving a reason. o I understand that every effort will be made to respect my privacy. o I understand that the findings will be used for main study and will not be used for any purpose other than those outlined in the information sheet or released to others without my written consent. o I understand that my responses will be given confidentially and cannot be used in any employment discussion or dispute. o I understand that my principal has signed a consent form undertaking that whether or not I am willing to participate in this project will in no way affect my standing in the institute. o I understand that I can refuse to answer any questions in the interview and can have the audio recorder turned off at any stage. o I understand that I can stop classroom observation in the observation session at any stage. o I understand that a third party who has signed a confidentiality agreement will transcribe the tapes. o I understand that select students for focus group, I have not been pressured by anyone to take part and I will use random sampling method for that. o I have not been pressured by anyone to take part in this research and I freely give my informed consent. o I wish/do not wish (delete one) to receive the summary of findings. o I understand that I have concerns about the ethical conduct of the research project I can contact the Research Ethics Advisory Team on +61 7 3138 5123 or email [email protected]. o I agree to participate in this research.

Name

Signature

Date

PLEASE RETURN THE SIGNED CONSENT FORM TO THE RESEARCHER.

Appendices 263

Appendix A5: Student Information Sheet (Pilot)

PARTICIPANT INFORMATION FOR QUT RESEARCH PROJECT – STUDENT –

A pilot study to assess a drama teacher’s manual and measures to use of creativity and adaptability skills in one Australian secondary school drama classroom QUT Ethics Approval Number 1700001046

RESEARCH TEAM Principal Researcher: Mrs Ayomi Indika Irugalbandara PhD student Associate Researchers: Professor Marilyn Campbell Principal Supervisor Faculty of Education Associate Professor Bree Hadley Associate Supervisor Creative Industries Faculty Queensland University of Technology (QUT) DESCRIPTION This research project is being undertaken as part of a PhD study of Ayomi Indika Irugalbandara. I am conducting this pilot study for my main study in Sri Lanka. The study aims to measure the effectiveness of four lesson plans and two assessment rubrics. The lessons concern creativity and adaptability skills. My main aim here is to get your feedback and your drama teacher’s feedback on the drama lesson plans which I have developed to assess creativity and adaptability skills. This pilot study will take five weeks. The drama lessons will be conducted for 4 consecutive weeks with 80 minutes for each lesson. After each lesson I wish to obtain your feedback about the lesson. I will adhere to the procedure mentioned below. PARTICIPATION You have been chosen by the principal and the drama teacher with their permission. Your teacher will teach the designed lesson plan in the regular class and you will not be expected to do any extra preparation for the lessons. While your teacher is teaching the lesson, I will observe one lesson as a non-participant observer. This means I will not take any part in the lesson. The observation made by me will not hinder your learning process, your routine work in the classroom or the discipline of the class. Your personal attitudes, behavior or any other activities during the teaching/learning process will not be considered by me and will not be reported to your teacher. I would like to meet you after completing all the lessons. The meeting will be in a place assigned by your drama teacher. It may be your classroom, or any other place chosen by the teacher. I expect to meet 8 students to conduct a focus group discussion. Selection of students will be done by your drama teacher. I will not interfere in the selection process. This discussion will run for 30 minutes and I would like to know the following details from you. I. What are your thoughts about the lessons taught by your drama teacher? II. What would you suggest as changes to be incorporated in to the lesson? III. What are your suggestions to develop the lesson? IV. Did you see any shortcomings in the lessons? If so, what are they? V. What did you feel about these lessons? VI. Did you think that this lesson could be taught in a different way? If so, how? Your drama teacher will not participate in this discussion. I will not influence you in any manner to control your ideas. Therefore, I expect you to give honest and straightforward answers in this context. I intend to record this discussion. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, I would not be able to document everything while you are talking. Furthermore; I would not be able to comprehend your answer at once. In addition, your accent might be an obstacle for me in comprehending the discussion. This recording would never be shared with anyone except my research supervisors and myself. Therefore, your views will not harm yourself, your teacher or your school. EXPECTED BENEFITS I would like to mention to you that you will be gaining new learning experience within this

264 Appendices

period. Your drama teacher will teach you four lessons with a novel approach, which has been designed by me to develop your creativity and adaptability skills. Your teacher will organize a variety of activities to reach the objectives of the four lessons. Thus, you may benefit by experiencing these lessons which will use a novel approach. RISKS I assure you that by being a part of this pilot study, you would not engage in any activity, which will be a risk for your education or your routine life. In addition, the students who are be involved in the group discussion will not receive any benefits, gifts or any other thing. I can assure you that you will not be harmed by engaging in this communication activity.

PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY All comments and responses will be treated confidentially unless required by law. You are asked to sign the attached Consent Form to indicate whether you are willing to or not willing to participate in this project. Your decision will in no way affect your grades. Also, selected students for focus group discussion, I would like to say only myself and my research supervisors will have access to the audio recording. It is possible to participate in the lessons of the research project without being audio recorded. Overall, privacy and confidentiality will be preserved as much as possible throughout the entire project. Data collected as part of this research project will be stored securely as per QUT’s Management of Research Data policy.

QUESTIONS / FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE RESEARCH PROJECT If you have any questions or require further information please contact one of the listed researchers:

Marilyn Campbell [email protected] +61 7 3138 3806 Bree Hadley [email protected] +61 7 3138 3225

CONCERNS / COMPLAINTS REGARDING THE CONDUCT OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT QUT is committed to research integrity and the ethical conduct of research projects. However, if you do have any concerns or complaints about the ethical conduct of the research project you may contact the QUT Research Ethics Advisory Team on +61 7 3138 5123 or email [email protected]. The QUT Research Ethics Advisory Team is not connected with the research project and can facilitate a resolution to your concern in an impartial manner.

THANK YOU FOR HELPING WITH THIS RESEARCH PROJECT. PLEASE KEEP THIS SHEET FOR YOUR INFORMATION.

Appendices 265

Appendix A6: Student Consent Form (Pilot)

STUDENT CONSENT FORM FOR QUT RESEARCH PROJECT

A pilot study to assess a drama teacher manual and instruments to measure creativity and adaptability skills in an Australian secondary school drama classroom.

QUT Ethics Approval Number

RESEARCH TEAM

Principal Researcher: Ayomi Indika Irugalbandara Student PhD

Associate Researcher(s): Prof. Marilyn Campbell Principal Supervisor School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education Faculty of Education Queensland University of Technology.

Associate Professor Bree Hadley Associate Supervisor Head of Postgraduate Coursework Studies Faculty Research Ethics Advisor Creative Industries Faculty Queensland University of Technology.

STATEMENT OF CHILD CONSENT Your parent/ guardian has given their permission for you to be involved in this research project. This form is to seek your consent to participate in the research. I have read the Participant Information Sheet and understand the nature of the research and why I have been selected. I have had the opportunity to ask questions and have them answered to my satisfaction. o I have the right to withdraw any time without giving a reason. o I agree to take part in the focus group discussion. o I agree to take part in a classroom observation. o I understand that the focus group discussion will be digitally recorded and transcribed. o I understand that my principal and teachers have signed consent forms undertaking that whether or not I am willing to participate in this project will in no way affect my grades. o I have not been pressured by anyone to take part in this research and I freely give my informed consent. o I understand that any additional questions that I have, I can contact the research team. o I understand that if I have concerns about the ethical conduct of the research project I can contact the Research Ethics Advisory Team on 07 3138 5123 or email [email protected]. o I agree to participate in the research project.

Please tick the relevant box below: I agree for the focus group to be audio recorded. I do not agree for the focus group to be audio recorded.

Name

Signature

Date PLEASE RETURN THIS SIGNED CONSENT FORM TO THE DRAMA TEACHER

266 Appendices

Appendix A7: Parent Information Sheet (Pilot)

INFORMATION FOR QUT RESEARCH PROJECT – PARENT –

A pilot study to assess a drama teacher’s manual and measures to use of creativity and adaptability skills in one Australian secondary school drama classroom QUT Ethics Approval Number 1700001046 RESEARCH TEAM Principal Researcher: Mrs Ayomi Indika Irugalbandara PhD student Associate Researchers: Professor Marilyn Campbell - Principal Supervisor Faculty of Education Associate Professor Bree Hadley Associate Supervisor Creative Industries Faculty Queensland University of Technology (QUT) DESCRIPTION This research project is being undertaken as part of PhD study of Ayomi Indika Irugalbandara. This study investigates how drama-based methods improve creativity and adaptability skills . The main aim of this pilot study is to measure the effectiveness of four lessons developed as research instruments and validate the two assessment rubrics. This pilot study will take five weeks. The drama lessons will be conducted for 4 consecutive weeks with 80 minutes for each lesson. Student group discussion will occur in the fifth week. After using the instruments during the four lessons, I will be able to use teacher experience and the students’ experience to improve the main study, which will be carried out in Sri-Lanka. Administering the pilot study in Australia will assist me to validate the research instruments prior to the actual data collection. The actual data collection will be in Sri Lanka in May 2018. PARTICIPATION You are invited to permit your child to participate in the above pilot study which aims to enhance students’ creativity and adaptability skills. The school principal and the drama teacher in the school have identified your child as possible participants in this study. The designed lesson plan will be implemented by the drama teacher in the regular drama class. Your child is not expected to prepare anything prior to the class. If you decide to allow your child to participate in this study, he/she will be asked to do the following: Your child will be observed by me and will be a member of the focus group discussion. The focus group discussion will be audio recorded. Observation carried out by me will not hinder the classroom learning process, your child’s routine work in the classroom or the discipline of the class. The Researcher will not consider the behaviour and the attitudes exhibited by your child within the teaching/ learning process and nothing will be reported to the class teacher or to the principal. A focus group discussion will be conducted with only 8 students selected by the drama teacher as it is not feasible to have all students in this discussion. I will not an influence the choice of students for this group. Therefore, I don’t know if your child will be selected or not for this discussion. This discussion will be conducted in a suitable place, which has been organized by drama teacher in class time. The drama teacher will not attend the focus group discussion. I will maintain a friendly, natural atmosphere with students and will start with a pleasant opening, to reduce any discomfort that your child may feel. In addition, while they are gathering to discuss I will serve refreshments (chocolate and biscuits) to students to reduce any discomfort they may feel. They will be informed that there are no right or wrong answers and that they are free to give their own view points for the questions asked at the focus group discussion. During this discussion period I would like to know about their viewpoints about drama activities, positive and negative aspects in relation to the lesson plan implemented by the teacher and their suggestions for further improvements. I will not discuss any personal matters while conducting the focus group discussion. Your child has the right not to answer any single question, as well as to withdraw completely from the discussion at any point during the process. I will intend to record this discussion. This discussion will run for 30 minutes and I would like to know the following details from your child.

Appendices 267

I. What are your thoughts about the lessons taught by your drama teacher? II. What would you suggest as changes to be incorporated in to the lesson? III. What are your suggestions to develop the lesson? IV. Did you see any shortcomings in the lessons? If so, what are they? V. What did you feel about these lessons? VI. Did you think that this lesson could be taught in a different way? If so, how?

EXPECTED BENEFITS Taking part in these activities will stimulate and enhance your child’s creativity and adaptability skills .

RISKS I assure you that your child’s participation in this pilot study he/she will not engage in any activity, which would be a risk for his/her education or his/her routine life. The decision to participate in this study is entirely up to you and your child.

PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY All comments and responses will be treated confidentially unless required by law.

You are asked to sign the attached Consent Form to indicate whether or not you give permission to your child to participate in this study. I will not collect or retain any information about your child’s identity.

The records of this study will be kept strictly confidential. Research records will be kept in a locked file, and all electronic information will be coded and secured using a password protected file.

QUESTIONS / FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE RESEARCH PROJECT If you have any questions or require further information please contact one of the listed researchers:

Marilyn Campbell [email protected] +61 7 3138 3806 Bree Hadley [email protected] +61 7 3138 3225 Ayomi Indika Irugalbandara [email protected]

CONCERNS / COMPLAINTS REGARDING THE CONDUCT OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT QUT is committed to research integrity and the ethical conduct of research projects. However, if you do have any concerns or complaints about the ethical conduct of the research project you may contact the QUT Research Ethics Advisory Team on +61 7 3138 5123 or email [email protected]. The QUT Research Ethics Advisory Team is not connected with the research project and can facilitate a resolution to your concern in an impartial manner.

THANK YOU FOR HELPING WITH THIS RESEARCH PROJECT. PLEASE KEEP THIS SHEET FOR YOUR INFORMATION.

268 Appendices

Appendix A8: Parent Consent Form (Pilot)

CONSENT FORM FOR QUT RESEARCH PROJECT – PARENT –

A pilot study to assess a drama teacher’s manual and measures to use of creativity and adaptability skills in one Australian secondary school drama classroom QUT Ethics Approval Number 1700001046 RESEARCH TEAM Ayomi Indika Irugalbandara [email protected] Marilyn Campbell [email protected] +61 7 3138 3806 Bree Hadley [email protected] +61 7 3138 3225 STATEMENT OF PARENT/GUARDIAN CONSENT Your signature below indicates that you have decided to allow your child to participate in this study, and that you have read and understood the information provided above. • I/We have read the Participant Information Sheet and understand the nature of the research and why my/our child have been selected. I/We have had the opportunity to ask questions and have them answered to my/our satisfaction. • I/We understand details of procedures and any risks have been explained to our/my satisfaction. • I/We agree to audio recording of my child’s participation. • Am/Are aware that I/We should retain a copy of the Information Sheet and Consent Form for future reference. • I/We understand that: o My/Our child may not directly benefit from taking part in this research. o My/Our child is free to withdraw from the project at any time and is free to decline to answer particular questions. o While the information gained in this study will be published as explained, my/our child will not be identified, and individual information will remain confidential. o Whether my/our child participates or not, or withdraws after participating, will have no effect on his/her progress in his/her grade of study, or results gained. o My/Our child may ask that the recording/observation be stopped at any time, and he/she may withdraw at any time from the session or the research without disadvantage. • I/We understand that my/our child will take part in a focus group and as this is a discussion it will not be possible to exclude individual data once the session has commenced. • I/We understand that I/We have any additional questions I/We can contact the research team. PLEASE TURN OVER • I/We understand that if I/We have concerns about the ethical conduct of the research project I/We can contact the Research Ethics Advisory Team on +61 7 3138 5123 or email [email protected].. • I/We have discussed the research project with my/our child and what is required of them if participating. • I/We agree to my child participating in the research project. Please tick the relevant box below: I agree for the focus group to be audio recorded. I do not agree for the focus group to be audio recorded. I consent to the participation of my child in the above pilot project.

Name of child:

Name and signature of Parent/Guardian 1: Name and signature of Parent/Guardian 1: Date:

PLEASE RETURN THIS SIGNED CONSENT FORM TO THE DRAMA TEACHER

Appendices 269

Appendix B: Approval letter for the main study from Ministry of Education

270 Appendices

Appendix C: Ethics for Main Study

University Human Research Ethics Committee (UHREC) March 017 APPLICATION FOR REVIEW OF NEGLIGIBLE / LOW RISK RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN PARTICIPANTS

QUT Ethics Approval Number 1800000245 NOTE • All answers should be written in simple and non-technical language that can be easily understood by the lay reader. • You must provide an answer to each questions – N/A is not acceptable. SECTION A: RESEARCH PROPOSAL OVERVIEW A1 Summary Information A1.1 Project title (200 character limit including spaces) Investigating Process Drama for the Development of Creativity and Adaptability in Junior Secondary School Students in Sri Lanka. A1.2 Brief project summary in LAY LANGUAGE (i.e. in plain English and ensure when using acronyms you spell them out in the first instance) The objective of this thesis is to investigate whether process drama techniques improve creativity and adaptability in junior secondary school students in Sri Lanka. The intervention program will run in six schools in second term 2018 in Sri Lanka. The research will utilise a non-randomised controlled trial (NRCT) design. The intervention will take twelve consecutive weeks, which will consist of a weekly 2-hour process drama approach throughout the ten weeks. All the lessons will be carried out in the regular drama periods in each school. Of the six schools, (a) two schools will be in the intervention group and will teach process drama from the supplied manual; (b) two schools will be the control group who have teachers teaching drama by the traditional lecture method; and (c) two schools will be the active control group who have teachers teaching drama by the traditional lecture method and also will make props for a traditional performance. The process drama approach to teaching and learning will be conducted using an intervention manual. The intervention manual comprises of 20 drama lessons with assessment rubrics; including (a) improvisation; (b) role play; and (c) storytelling techniques. Further, the intervention manual is divided into three main sections: pre-text; context; and evaluation. All lessons have been designed to be met with time periodical requirements of 40 minutes and 80 minutes. The intervention group teachers will receive one day of an intervention training workshop prior to the intervention. Two intervention group drama teachers and two university drama teachers and fifteen undergraduate (Drama and Theatre) students will participate in the training workshop. The duration of the workshop will be 4 hours. At the end of the day for 1 hour the control group and active control group teachers (n x 2 = n4) will attend the workshop with the drama lecturers and the students to explain the data collection method to them. The workshop will be conducted by the researcher on the weekend before schools commence for second term. During the first week and the last week of the second term, the pre-and post-test will be conducted. Those tests are (1) Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT); (2) Watson-Glaser Critical- thinking Appraisal (WGCTA); and (3) Martin’s Adaptability Scale (MAS). The tests will be administered in the six schools on three different dates in the first and last week. One district will be covered in one day. Mixed methods will be used to measure the effectiveness of the intervention. To measure the effectiveness of process drama to develop Creativity and Adaptability , the following data will be collected: (1) records of selected teaching methodologies used by drama teachers and students’ engagement activities in learning in process drama; (2) interviews with teachers; (3) focus group discussion with students; (4) observation notes

Appendices 271

taken by the researcher; and (5) reflection and reflective notes of the teachers and students (6) the pre and post student tests. The following table describes the overview of the study. Pre-intervention workshop -21st April 2018 • The workshop will be conducted on Saturday, in the Open University premises in Sri Lanka. The works - detailing the theory of process drama and its effectiveness - (1 hour) - selected process drama techniques associated with classroom practice - (3 hours) - practicing reflection and reflective notes for the teacher development and student development ( • Small group discussions will be held for sharing knowledge and experience with selected process drama • At the end of the day for 1 hour the control group and active control group teachers (n x 2 = n4) will atte • Each participant role in the study will be explained about keeping records and allowing the researcher an test the students’ pre and post-performance. • The active control group will then stay for another hour to discuss how they will continue to teach as usu props in the practical part of their drama lessons. 1st week – 23rd April 2018 • Beginning of the first week of second term 23rd April 2018, pre-test will be conducted in all six schoo

2nd week – 30th April 2018 • End of the second week two lessons will be completed in each intervention school. • Two classroom observations will be completed by researcher in each intervention school. • First audio recorded teacher semi –structured interview will be completed by researcher in each interv • First student focus group discussion will be completed by researcher in each intervention school. • One classroom observation will be completed by researcher in each active control school. 3rd week – 7th May 2018 • End of the third week four lessons will be completed in each intervention school. • Four classroom observations will be completed by researcher in each intervention school. • Second audio recorded teacher semi –structured interview will be completed by researcher in each inte • Second student focus group discussion will be completed by researcher in each intervention school. • Two classroom observations will be completed by researcher in each active control school. 4th week- 14th May 2018 • End of the fourth week six lessons will be completed in each intervention school. • Six classroom observations will be completed by researcher in each intervention school. • Third audio recorded teacher semi –structured interview will be completed by researcher in each in • Third student focus group discussion will be completed by researcher in each intervention school. • Three classroom observations will be completed by researcher in each active control school. 5th week – 21st May 2018 • End of the fifth week eight lessons will be completed in each intervention school. • Eight classroom observations will be completed by researcher in each intervention school. • Fourth audio recorded teacher semi –structured interview will be completed by researcher in each in • Fourth student focus group discussion will be completed by researcher in each intervention school. • Four classroom observations will be completed by researcher in each active control school. 6th week- 28th May 2018 • First classroom observations will be completed by the senior mentor in each intervention school. • First classroom observations will be completed by the senior mentor in each active control school. • First Skype interview will be completed by researcher with each intervention school teacher. Summary • End of the sixth week ten lessons will be completed in each intervention school. • Ten classroom observations will be completed in each intervention school. • Five classroom observations will be completed in each active control school. • Five teacher semi –structured interviews will be completed with each intervention school teacher. 7th week – 4th June 2018 • Second classroom observation will be completed by the senior mentor in each intervention school. • Second classroom observation will be completed by the senior mentor in each active control school • Second Skype interview will be completed by researcher with each intervention school teacher. Summary • End of the seventh week twelve lessons will be completed in each intervention school. • Twelve classroom observation will be completed in each intervention school. • Six classroom observation will be completed in each active control school.

272 Appendices

• Six teacher semi –structured interviews will be completed with each intervention school teacher. 8th week –11th June 2018 • Third classroom observation will be completed by the senior mentor in each intervention school. • Third classroom observation will be completed by the senior mentor in each active control school. • Third Skype interview will be completed by researcher with each intervention school teacher. Summary • End of the eighth week fourteen lessons will be completed in each intervention school. • Fourteen classroom observations will be completed in each intervention school. • Seven classroom observation will be completed in each active control school. • Seven teacher semi –structured interviews will be completed with each intervention school teacher. 9th week – 18th June 2018 • Fourth classroom observation will be completed by the senior mentor in each intervention school. • Fourth classroom observation will be completed by the senior mentor in each active control school. • Fourth Skype interview will be completed by researcher with each intervention school teacher. Summary • End of the ninth week sixteen lessons will be completed in each intervention school. • Sixteen classroom observations will be completed in each intervention school. • Eight classroom observations will be completed in each active control school. • Eight teacher semi –structured interviews will be completed with each intervention school teacher. 10th week – 25th June 2018 • Fifth classroom observation will be completed by the senior mentor in each intervention school. • Fifth classroom observation will be completed by the senior mentor in each active control school. • Fifth Skype interview will be completed by researcher with each intervention school teacher. Summary • End of the tenth week eighteen lessons will be completed in each intervention school. • Eighteen classroom observations will be completed in each intervention school. • Nine classroom observations will be completed in each active control school. • Nine teacher semi –structured interviews will be completed with each intervention school teacher.

11th week - 2nd July 2018 • Sixth classroom observation will be completed by the senior mentor in each intervention school. • Sixth classroom observation will be completed by the senior mentor in each active control school. • Sixth Skype interview will be completed by researcher with each intervention school teacher. Summary • End of the eleventh week twenty lessons will be completed in each intervention school. • Twenty classroom observations will be completed in each intervention school. • Ten classroom observations will be completed in each active control school. • Ten teacher semi –structured interviews will be completed with each intervention school teacher. 12th week – 9th July 2018 • Beginning of the twelveth week post-test will be conducted in all six schools.

A1. Provide an overview of your research participants and their involvement (max 3250 words) The purpose of this question is to gain a sense of who the participants will be, and what you expect them to do within the research. 1. The target sample for the intervention will be 150 students from Grade 7 and six drama teachers from six schools (Type 1AB) in the Western Province in Sri Lanka. Allocation to study conditions will be in three districts purposely selected, based on non-randomised sampling method. Six schools, two schools from each district will be selected in the study.

2. Classroom observations and field notes will be carried out in an intervention group and the active control group throughout the term

3. Two drama teachers from intervention schools will be interviewed individually throughout the ten weeks. This semi –structured interview will be conducted face to face for one month of each week. Other interviews will be conducted via Skype, at later stage in the research process. The total of interviews for one teacher will be ten.

4. Four focus group discussions will be conducted with the intervention students in each week throughout the month within school time period. Each students need to have equal chance to connect with the focus

Appendices 273

group within one month. Therefore, I will use systematic allocation in support with the teacher. I will interview each group in one by one basis in each week.

5. I will collect reflection notes from the teacher as well as students. The teacher needs to write his/her own post-lesson reflections throughout the intervention at the end of each lesson. Students also ask to write their post-lesson reflections, but only if they want. It is not necessary to write more than 3 or 4 sentences.

A1.4 Provide a summary of the merits of this proposed research (in LAY LANGUAGE) including the aims / a hypotheses / research questions (refer to Section 1 of the National Statement, NS1.1, when preparing your response). • Include potential contributions to the body of knowledge and methodological rigor (max 250 words).Briefly provide evidence that the proposed research is based on knowledge of the relevant literature, and provide a list of key references. You may also attach a research plan / methodology which does not substitute for the summary above – this attachment should be no longer than 6 pages. NOTE: Unless proposed research has merit (and the researchers who are to carry out the research have integrity) the involvement of human participants in the research cannot be ethically justified. This study will be the first non-randomised controlled trial of a teacher-delivered process drama intervention in Sri Lankan schools. Therefore, this study is significant as it will contribute to the theoretical, experimental, and methodological aspects of junior secondary schools’ drama units in Sri Lanka. Theoretically, this study is based on a combination of two theories; Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory and Csikzentmihalyi’s system model of creativity, to provide a deeper understanding of children's Creativity and Adaptability development. Research that focuses on both theories, as well as the impact of process drama techniques on Creativity and Adaptability is very limited. Moreover, this study will add knowledge about children's creative process and practices that could be improved for teaching and learning in a drama education context. Overall, the findings will inform drama education practitioners, Sri Lankan policymakers, administrators, researchers, and drama teachers about promoting children’s Creativity and Adaptability skills for demands of the 21st century employment market. A1.4 Has the scientific or academic merit of the research project been evaluated? b Review of the scientific or academic merit of the research project should be robust, formal and independent of the researcher team (e.g. a peer review of the protocol/proposal/research plan may have occurred at confirmation of candidature, or the researcher may have sought peer review from an independent scientist). Yes. This research project was evaluated by confirmation degree committee and has approved admission for study in the PhD program and pilot study has been approved. (QUT Ethics Approval Number 1700001046)

A1.5 Why should this be considered a negligible OR low risk application? Refer to Chapter 2.1 of the National Statement when preparing your response and note that: • ‘Negligible risk research’ describes research in which there is no foreseeable risk of harm or discomfort; and any foreseeable risk is no more than inconvenience (e.g. filling in a form, participating in a street survey, or giving up time to participate in research). • ‘Low risk research’ describes research in which the only foreseeable risk is one of discomfort (e.g. minor side-effects of medication, the discomforts related to measuring blood pressure, and anxiety induced by an interview). • Research in which the risk for participants is more serious than discomfort (e.g. where a person’s reactions include pain or becoming distressed) the research cannot be considered low risk.

This study is low risk since the predictable risks are minor for all the participants and can be easily managed/reduced as explained in A 2.2. Furthermore, given my experience as a teacher educator in similar context I have a thorough understanding about the education system of the country and its stakeholders. By participating in the study, the following mild discomforts would be experienced by the student without any major discomfort. • Experiencing that they are participating in a study.

274 Appendices

• As I would be observing them during lessons while they are doing their activities, habits and presentations connected to lessons they learn, they would feel that it would be my overall perception or point of view of them. • There would be some kind of inhibition among the students in the focus group discussions as I would be recording the whole discussion. As an experienced drama teacher, the following mild discomforts would be experienced by the drama teachers without any major discomforts. • Teaching the lesson not according to his/her own style but in a different style • Observation by an external party even though his/her is an experienced teacher • The recording of the formal interviews by the researcher • After completion of the study, the teacher would not be identified by his/her true name Moreover, as explained in A 3.4, through my involvement in research and teacher education, I have acquired knowledge and competencies required for a classroom observer/researcher (more than 15 years). Further, being a person from the same culture and community (Sri Lanka) I have a substantial understanding about participants and how their individuality should be respected. Hence, “Researcher should have enough experience or access to expertise to enable them to engage with participants in ways that accord them due respect and protection” as clause 4.8.7 of the National Statement says. All these may contribute to reduce risk involved the study. A2 Potential Risks and Benefits (refer to Chapter 2.1 of the National Statement when preparing your response) A2.1 Describe ALL the identified potential risks and who may be affected by these risks e.g. researchers, participants, participant community and / or the wider community. Ensure all risks mentioned at A2.1 are addressed, and that the risks and their management are consistent throughout the application and are addressed where applicable in the Participant Information Sheet and Consent Form. When gauging the level of risk ensure you take into account: • The kinds of harm, discomfort or inconvenience that may occur. • The likelihood of these occurring. • The severity of any harm that may occur. • The choices, experience, perceptions, values and vulnerabilities of different populations of participants will also be relevant. STUDENTS Risk 1: Discomfort Students may feel discomfort about their lessons being observed and focus group discussion being recorded. As a further consideration, my attendance may be a negative impact on teaching and learning because as a person, I will not be a familiar person to them. Furthermore, students may feel discomfort when writing self- reflective notes. However, the students will be in their usual drama class with their usual drama teacher. Risk 2: Inconvenience Students may experience inconvenience due to my presence during classroom observation and audio recording. It is expected that inconvenience and distraction that may take place during the initial stage of observation will be substantially reduced when my presence becomes a familiar occurrence. Further, when a senior mentor starts classroom observation it might be a more reliable impact than when I do. The students who will volunteer to participate in the focus group discussion and write reflective notes may feel inconvenience due to giving up time to participate (30 minutes).

TEACHERS Risk 1: Discomfort The teacher may feel discomfort due to their teaching being observed and audio recorded. It is natural that the teachers will constantly be monitoring themselves whether their teaching is up to the ‘standard’ because of my

Appendices 275

presence during their teaching. This will possibly make them feel discomfort. Nevertheless, this discomfort which will most likely be moderate at the beginning and may reduce when observation sessions continue and my presence becomes familiar. Further, during semi –structured interviews teachers may feel discomfort in answering some questions since there is potential for teachers to implicate themselves, and responses being recorded. Teachers may also feel discomfort in the semi –structured interviews continue with Skype technology, interviews may assume that inability and without having sufficient knowledge and confidence about technology for participation and maintaining internet connection.

Risk 2: Inconvenience Teachers may feel inconvenient to participate in semi –structured interviews in face to face and Skype in answering some questions. Also, they may feel inconvenient to participate in interviews due to their busy schedules and responses being recorded. A2.2 How are the risks to be minimised? And how will they be managed if they were to occur during the study or arise after the completion of the study? NOTE: The greater the risk to participants in any research for which ethical approval is given, the more certain it must be both that the risks will be managed as well as possible, and that the participants clearly understand the risks they are taking on. Ensure all risks mentioned at A2.1 are addressed here, that the risks and their management are consistent throughout the application and relevant information is included in the Participant Information Sheets and Consent Forms. Before collecting actual data, school students and the teachers in an intervention and active control groups will be informed about the study, objectives, and benefits as well potential risks separately. Moreover, they will be informed about what measures will be taken by me as a researcher to minimise such risks. They will also be informed that participation in the study is completely voluntary, and that they can withdraw if they feel discomfort or inconvenience or for any other reason. This approach will make the participants well aware of the study, its risks and what actions will be taken by the researcher to minimise such risks. All participants will be assured of confidentially and that their identity is not reported on. Pseudonyms will be assigned to each school and participants at the time of data collection and transcription. For an example, in the pre- intervention test phase, three data instruments viz: TTCT, WGCTA, and MAS will be administered in six schools on three different dates. One district will be covered in one day. I will explain the purpose of my visit and my intention to students in selected classes before the test administration. All students have been given the test answer sheets and given instruction to how to code their names in the beginning of the test. I will instruct them to use first three letters in her/his mother’s name ending with two digits of the date of birth their own for a pseudonym. After that, I will distribute the test booklets with all necessary directions. The students will be asked to get the answer sheet back along with the test booklet after a period of forty minutes. On achievement of pre-intervention data collection, the data sheets will be filed in district wise. Each file consists of TTCT, WGCTA and MAS answer sheets. All responses will be taken from mother tongue and all responses will be translated to English by the researcher. In addition to that, it will be crosschecked with the official translator of the Open University of Sri Lanka. The following steps that will be taken to minimise risk involved for each group of participants. Students - Minimising Risk - Discomfort and inconvenience To reduce the discomfort that students in the intervention may feel during the observation and focus group discussion, I will maintain a friendly, natural atmosphere with students and the focus group discussion will start with a pleasant opening. While they are gathering to discuss the researcher serve refreshments to students to reduce their discomfort. They will be informed that there are no right or wrong answers and that they are free to give their own views. Focus group time will be organised with student input and they will be free to withdraw at any time during the discussion. The location that will be selected to hold focus group discussions will be a room that can be closed so that privacy is maintained. The room will have a chairs and tables for the students

276 Appendices

to be seated comfortably. Moreover, all students will be made aware of the probability of disclosure, so that participants will be mindful of their own views. In case of discomfort that may be felt by students writing self- reflective notes, I will inform the students that they have a choice not to do it. If students may feel inconvenience caused by being observed and audio recorded. To minimise this possible inconvenience and distraction I hope to meet them and engage in an informal chatting will take place with them to make a friendly rapport at least twice a week before classroom observation to avoid the discomfort that can be developed themselves. Furthermore, to minimise distraction I will be sitting at the back of the classroom during my observations. As I have mentioned, I believe that my experience as a teaching practice examiner will assist me in minimising student discomfort and inconvenience. I will also clearly inform students that I am not there in the classroom to assess them and I am not going to report any disciplinary problems in class or involve in any sort of classroom management activities. The participants in this study will be volunteers who will have chosen to freely provide personal and sensitive information and share their learning, perhaps beyond what they have shared with others. Therefore, I need to be very sensitive to not only assure the participants of my confidentiality and their pseudonyms but to carefully represent their views feelings and perceptions about issues in the analysis and reporting of the data. Teachers - Minimising Risk Discomfort and inconvenience The discomfort that teachers in the intervention may feel during the observation, will be reduced when observation sessions continue on regular basis and my presence becomes familiar to them. However, I intend to make a maximum effort to build up a friendly rapport between myself and the teachers to mitigate any feelings of discomfort that may be experienced by the teachers. I will also clearly explain to the teachers, before the actual commencement of observation, that there will not be any assessment or evaluation in the observation process. Furthermore, to minimise any feeling of discomfort after completion of the study or data collection I intend to have an informal post-observation discussion mainly to inform teachers about the data collected and how data will be analysed and presented. To reduce the discomfort that teacher participants may feel the semi-structured interviews, I will try my best to maintain friendly and polite atmosphere throughout. Also, if a participant feels a question asked during the interviews makes him/her uncomfortable they will be offered the option of avoiding answering such questions. Moreover, in Skype interviews participants may feel that discomfort for the cost of internet, I will top-up their data cards monthly around AUD75 for each participant. To reduce the inconvenience that the participants may feel time management problems in the semi- structured interviews, I will agree a time and location preferred by the participants as per his/her convenience. A2.3 What are the potential benefits of the research and who would benefit from these? • Benefits of research may include, e.g. gains in knowledge, insight and understanding, improved social welfare and individual wellbeing, and gains in skill or expertise for individual researchers, teams or institutions. • Some research may offer direct benefits to the research participants, their families, or particular group/s with whom they identify. Where this is the case, participants may be ready to assume a higher risk than otherwise. According to National Statement Chapter 1.6, “The likely benefit of the research must justify any risks of harm or discomfort to participants. The likely benefit may be to the participants, to the wider community, or to both”. In this research even though a direct and immediate benefit to its immediate participants will not occur, the results of the study will be of vital national importance to participants’ society as well as internationally. Sri Lanka is looking at 21st century demands which is a frame work for aesthetic education. This study will be the first non-randomised controlled trial of a teacher-delivered process drama intervention in Sri Lankan schools. Therefore, this study is significant as it will contribute to the theoretical, experimental, and methodological aspects of junior secondary schools’ drama units in Sri Lanka. Moreover, this study will add knowledge about children's creative process and practices that could be improved for

Appendices 277

teaching and learning in a drama education context. Overall, the findings will inform drama education practitioners, Sri Lankan policymakers, administrators, researchers, and drama teachers about promoting children’s Creativity and Adaptability skills for the 21st century demand. A2.4 How do the benefits justify the risks? • Research is ethically acceptable only when its potential benefits justify any risks involved in the research. The low risk identified that may occur in this study are given in A2.1. How such risks can be managed and minimised are shown in A2.2. The potential benefits of the study for Sri Lanka as well as other countries are given A2.3. Thus, it is evaluated that the benefits justify the negligible and low risks because of the significance of the knowledge produced. There is no requirement in Sri Lanka for ethical approval. The Ministry of Education (MOE) in Sri Lanka will be provided all the facilities that are needed for doing this study and also it has been mentioned by the letter issued by the MOE in Sri Lanka (Please refer the letter attached – Appendix 1). A3 Other General Information A3.1 Where will the data be collected? (e.g. on site at QUT or other location) NOTE: If you would like to conduct your study at the premises of an external organisation/association please ensure you provide a copy of your intended approach letter which requests their support/permission for this, or provide evidence of this if already gained. QUT X Other – details: Western Province, A,B & C schools in Sri Lanka. A3.2 Is the QUT Human Research Ethics Committee (UHREC) the primary or only ethics committee reviewing this proposal? If NO, provide details of any other institutional HREC involved and the role of each institution (including QUT) in the project. If the project involves more than one institution that also has a HREC, please provide details on the role of QUT UHREC; whether arrangements can be put in place for to minimise multiple review; arrangements for communication of the roles/responsibilities between the institutions HRECs, e.g. who will monitor etc. Yes. I know that no ethics approval is needed. I inquired about ethics from the Director of Drama and Theatre of the Ministry of Education (MOE) of Sri Lanka, who informed me no ethics application is necessary. He will select and organize all voluntary schools and participants for the study and provide an official permission letter in this regard (Appendix 1). Therefore, in this study, I do not need any consent forms or information sheets for principals, teachers, students or parents. A3.3 What are the estimated timeframes for the project? (mm / yyyy) NOTE: Data collection cannot commence until you have received formal written UHREC approval. Start of project Feb.2017 Start of data collection 23rd April 2018 End of project Feb.2020 End of data collection 3rd August 2018 A3.4 Describe the qualifications and relevant experience of the researcher team NOTE: Include the training and experience student researchers have in the relevant research methodologies. This study is supervised by two QUT academics who are accredited level 3 supervisors. Principal Supervisor is Professor Marilyn Campbell and Associate Supervisor is Associate Professor Bree Hadley. I, the researcher, am also a senior lecturer in Aesthetic Education, attached to the Department of Secondary and Tertiary Education, Faculty of Education, The Open University of Sri Lanka. I have been a Drama and Theatre educationist in Sri Lanka for over 15 years and have used innovative theatrical interventions for social awareness creation in addition to being a lecturer at a national university. My main subject area of specialization is Aesthetic and Drama Education. I, therefore, conduct lectures on Teaching Methodologies in Aesthetic Studies in the Post Graduate Diploma in Education program, which serves the largest teacher clientele in the country in my university. Also, I conduct lectures on Educational Technology for Teaching Drama & Theatre and Aesthetic and Creative Studies in Bachelor of Education (Drama and Theatre) Degree program. These students in return, are expected to teach in secondary class level in the government schools of Sri Lanka. I have been involving in classroom observations of teaching practicum of teachers in in-service and

278 Appendices

pre-service, a teacher educator in master teachers as well. I also extend my work as a visiting lecturer for Drama Education, in the Department of Humanities Education of the Faculty of Education, University of Colombo and Department of Language and Cultural Studies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Sri Jayawardenapura, Sri Lanka. The stepping stone to my career was my Bachelor of Arts Degree in Cultural and Aesthetic Studies in which I obtained a First-Class pass. Thereafter, I followed a Post Graduate Diploma in Education Course, in which I obtained a Distinction pass. I completed the Master of Education Degree Programme at the same university in 2010. In 2011, I successfully completed Certificate of Teaching in Higher Education, Teacher Orientation & Skills Development for ODL at the Staff Development Centre of The Open University of Sri Lanka. Research is part and parcel of my career as an academic. All of the above experience, I believe, will contribute significantly to the ethical conduct of my data collection and reporting of the present research. SECTION B: PARTICIPANT OVERVIEW (refer to Chapter 2.2 of the National Statement when preparing your response) B1.1 Who will be approached to participate? Clearly outline each participant group. Provide details of the potential participant pool. If you are accessing secondary data please provide full details, including whether permission has been sought. If you are accessing confidential health information e.g. Queensland Health data, the Public Health Act specifies the approvals required (see link below) and QUT requires a Hospital Access Agreement. Contact the Division of Research & Commercialisation for assistance. http://www.health.qld.gov.au/ohmr/html/regu/aces_conf_hth_info.asp The following participant pools will be approached and invited. 1. Six 1AB schools in the Western province who have Drama in grade seven, an average class size of at least 25 students. 2. Teachers in those schools who professionally qualified in drama (Bachelor’s degree in drama or post graduate diploma in education in drama and more than five years’ teaching experience) 3. The students in one grade seven class from each school. B1.2 How many participants do you need for your study and approximately how many will you need to approach? 1. Drama subject teachers who teach drama in junior secondary classrooms from six 1AB schools (n-6) 2. All students who followed drama as a subject in the above six 1AB grade seven (n- 25 x6 =n-150) How will potential participants be identified and approached? B1.3 NOTE: If you would like to recruit participants via an external organisation/association please ensure you provide a copy of your intended approach letter which requests their support/permission, or provide evidence of this if already gained. I will invite the participants in a purposeful way in selecting research sites “which aims at the selection of information-rich cases relevant to the research question [s]” as stated in National Statement on Ethical Conduct on Human Research (2007). This study requires drama classrooms where students in grade seven. These classrooms will be selected in collaboration with the Ministry of Education of Sri Lanka. There are several steps to select participants. 1. Firstly, I have contacted Director of Drama Education in Ministry of Education (MOE) of Sri Lanka by phone, informed that the design of my study and nature of data I need to in order to complete my degree. 2. The Director of drama education in MOE will provide 6 schools out of 199 schools and he will officially arrange with the school principals and the drama teachers. At this initial level he will explain the main objective of this study and the inclusion criteria for schools’ participation. 3. Based on that letter (Please refer the letter attached - Appendix 1) I would like to thank the Principals of the chosen schools and the drama teachers by e-mail. In the same email, I would request a time and a place for me to meet them. I would meet the principal and drama teacher in each school prior to the pre intervention workshop. (I will request my preferred dates, because I will plan to go Sri Lanka on 7th April 2018. Therefore suitable dates for my appointment will be April 9th to 20th period).

Appendices 279

4. Thirdly, with the permission of the teacher and the principal in each school, I will approach the students in the intervention and the active control respectively. After introducing me and having a small chat, I will explain my study, its intentions and the nature of their involvement in the study to all students in the selected two classes in the intervention schools. As the same process, I will follow for all students in the selected two classes in the active control school, but I will not lengthily be discussed about my study intentions. I will introduce only myself and aim of the test to control group students on the same date pre- test conduct. Therefore, no participant will “be subject to coercion or pressure” when they decide on participation in this study but will be on mutual understanding between me and the participant after thoroughly knowing the study’s aim and participant’s involvement in the study. How will the participants provide their consent to participate? B1.4 Outline the consent process you will use, what type of consent will be requested (i.e. specific, extended or unspecified – see NS2.2.14), what material will be provided to participants, how long participants will have to consider their decision to participate and what discussion will occur with participants. NOTE: • A person’s decision to participate in research must be voluntary and informed i.e. not forced, coerced or obtained by improper inducements AND based on sufficient information and adequate understanding of both the proposed research and the implications of participation in it (the purpose, methods, demands, risks and potential benefits of the research). • The process of communicating information to participants and seeking their consent should not be merely a matter of satisfying a formal requirement. The aim is mutual understanding between researchers and participants. This aim requires an opportunity for participants to ask questions and to discuss the information and their decision with others if they wish. No need any consent forms for any participants. B1.5 Will the project involve participants who are unable to give voluntary or informed consent? If YES, what special arrangements will be put in place to protect your participants’ interests/welfare? These questions refer to research involving: • Children and young people whose particular level of maturity has implications for whether their consent is necessary and/or sufficient to authorise participation (see Chapter 4.2 of the National Statement). • Persons with a cognitive impairment, and intellectual disability, or a mental illness (permanent or temporary) which impacts upon their ability to supply voluntary and informed consent (see Chapter 4.5 of the National Statement). • Persons who are highly dependent on medical care, e.g. unconscious or unable to communicate their wishes (see Chapter 4.4 of the National Statement). • Covert observation of behaviour, particularly if this relates to sensitive, contentious or illegal activity consent (see Chapter 2.3 and Chapter 4.6 of the National Statement). NOTE: Where participants are unable to make their own decisions or have diminished capacity to do so, respect for them involves empowering them where possible and providing for their protection as necessary. As this study is to be conducted in Sri Lanka there is no need for any consent forms for school students. B1.6 Do you propose to screen or assess the suitability of the participants for the project? If YES, clearly state and explain the criteria (inclusion and exclusion, as applicable) for selecting potential participants. No B1.7 Will participants be offered reimbursements, payments or incentives? If YES, also provide the specific details (type and value), how and when it will be provided and whether its offer could compromise the voluntary nature of the consent obtained from participants. See Guidance on prize draws. NOTE: • Details of these should be provided on the Participant Information Sheet. • It is generally appropriate to reimburse the costs to participants of taking part in research, including costs such as travel, accommodation and parking. Sometimes participants may also be paid for time involved. However, payment that is disproportionate to the time involved, or any other inducement that is likely to encourage participants to take risks, is ethically unacceptable (NS2.2.10) • Decisions about payment or reimbursement in kind, whether to participants or their community, should take into account the customs and practices of the community in which the research is to be conducted (NS2.2.11)

280 Appendices

The participants in this study will participate totally voluntarily. But the only problem that I have to face in this study is getting support from technology. Because Sri Lanka connecting internet facility is rather difficult and the cost of internet use is very expensive. Therefore, I will top-up their data cards monthly around AUD75 for two teachers in the intervention for Skype interviewing. B1.8 Do you, or others involved in facilitating or implementing the research, have a pre-existing relationship with the proposed participants? Could this result in the proposed participants feeling obliged or coerced into participation? Refer to Chapter 4.3 of the National Statement and the QUT Research Data Collection in Classrooms or Lecture Theatres guidance when considering/preparing your response. If YES, describe this relationship and how you will address the special ethical issues this raises (e.g. potential coercion in recruitment). Also outline what special arrangements will be put in place to protect the interests / welfare of potential participants. NOTE: • Pre-existing relationships may compromise the voluntary nature of participants’ decisions, as they typically involve unequal status, where one party has or has had a position of influence or authority over the other. • Examples may include relationships between employers or supervisors and their employees; teachers and their students; carers and people with chronic conditions or disabilities or people in residential care or supported accommodation; etc (see Chapter 4.3 of the National Statement for more examples). • While this influence does not necessarily invalidate the decision, it does mean that particular attention should be given to the process through which consent is negotiated. With some stakeholder participants, I have a pre-existing professional relationship. For instance, the Director of Drama Education in MOE, is one of my former students in Post Graduate Diploma in the Education Programme. Some teachers can also be a former student or whom I may have had met in my workshops or lectures. Yet, this does not mean that they will be a coerced into since participation is entirely voluntary. For example, Director of Drama Education, I or principal of schools cannot nominate teachers as participants for the study, instead, the final decision is teachers’ own. Also, given the official capacities of principals in schools and additional stakeholders who hold high official authority, the researcher ability to coerce them into participation is not possible. B1.9 Will you conduct a debriefing session at the end of the research or at the end of each participant’s involvement? If YES, please provide the details of this session. NOTE: Such a session is required for research involving deception (see Chapter 2.3 of the National Statement), and may be appropriate if the research is likely to cause discomfort to participants. Yes. At the end of the data collection at each school in the intervention and active control, I will create a brief report and it would be presented to the Director of Drama Education and principals in each school separately by email. I will ask principals to share with the teacher and her/his students. Further, this debriefing is also to express my gratefulness to them and importance of their contribution to the study as participants, which is a national contribution. B1.1 Consider providing feedback to participants as this is encouraged by the National Statement. 0 Will feedback and/or the research results be reported to participants? • If YES, explain how this will be done and in what form this reporting will occur. • If NO, explain why the participants are not to be provided with such a report. There is no particular intention to provide feedback to participants. One reason is that it is believed that the study’s mainly demand a broader educational policy level feedback than a micro-level contingency. Nevertheless, one the results of the study are disseminated and used for subject content planning at university level it will have a feedback on the stakeholders of the drama education, especially teachers, teacher educators and educational administrators. SECTION C: DATA MANAGEMENT C1 Future Use of Data

Appendices 281

C1.1 Is it likely / possible that any of the data collected will be used by you, or others, for any research other than that outlined in this application? See Chapter 2.2 and Chapter 3.2 when preparing your response. If YES, describe below and ensure this is outlined in all your participant information sheets and consent forms. • Participants should be fully informed of the possibility of any future use of data collected and their ‘extended’ or ‘unspecified’ consent gained. Failure to do this may restrict the future use of the data. • Any restrictions on the use of participants’ data should be recorded and the record kept with the collected data so that it is always accessible to researchers who want to access those data for research. • Please note that data sharing is increasingly being encouraged to gain maximum benefit from research, so a YES response is encouraged in most cases. If YES, describe below and ensure this is outlined in all your Participant Information Sheets and Consent Forms. No, the data will only be used to write conference papers and journal articles about this project. C2 Procedures & Protection C2.1 What data collection procedures will be utilised? Place an ‘X’ in the relevant boxes below AND provide a copy (draft or finalised, labelled as such) of the relevant instrument, protocol or other written form used to guide (e.g. interview questions/guide) or collect data (e.g. survey) or include an explanation of the method by which the data will be collected. Clinical experimental measures / tools or creative works are considered “Other Instrument”. Questionnaires/Surveys Archival records X Interviews X Focus groups X Other instrument – provide Manual details: (If there is insufficient space below, provide details in an additional separate document.) 1. Classroom Observation Classroom observation will be done by the researcher as a non- participant observer in each visit to the classroom of the two intervention schools. The text will be recorded during the observations is a classic means of documenting observational data (Creswell, 2012; Flick 2009). I am supposed to sit in the back corner of the classroom because my presence will be minimal. I observe the lesson with a copy of the lesson plan which is used by the drama teacher for utilising to teach. I will use observation worksheet for collecting data (Please refer the observation worksheet attached – Appendix 2). This information helps me to analyse quantitative and qualitative data and valuable evidence for the point of construction a complete picture of the intervention study. Moreover, observation reflect viewpoint of the students contribute to learning as a social practice from a sociological perspective and weaving of creativity from a creative flow perspective. Soon after each observation, I will write reflective notes as a researcher (Please refer the post-observation reflection form attached – Appendix 3). It will help me to find my own critical way of understanding and examine the data which may be useful in order to continue the inquiry and keeping the validity and credibility of the findings (Neal & Brodsky, 2008; Creswell, 2012). 2. Audio Recording The lessons which have been allocated for intervention students will be recorded for two hours on each week throughout the term. The setting up of audio equipment will take place before the students enter the classroom. Further, discussions which will be held with two intervention teachers and students’ groups once a week in the month which I will spend in Sri Lanka will be audio recorded. 3. Semi-structured Interviews Semi structured interviews with teachers will be used to highlight the individual’s experience and move the inquiry closer to the experience (Diefenbach, 2009). Two drama teachers from the intervention schools will be interviewed individually throughout the term (Please refer the interview schedule attached – Appendix 4). This interview will be conduct for one month of each week face to face. Other interviews will be conducted via Skype, at a later stage in the research process. The total of interviews for one teacher will be ten. 4. Skype Interviewing

282 Appendices

When I am back in Australia, the study will be taken over by drama teachers who will be involved in the study. However, I will continuously connect with them on modern communication technology, such as Skype (Please refer the interview schedule attached – Appendix 4). Skype is a software and modern communication tool which can be downloaded free and provides a variety of communication options, including audio and video calls among other Skype users. This software has file transfer capabilities and greater international recognition than other online software applications that are available (Deakin & Wakefield, 2013). Skype facility connects between researcher and interviewer with the option of using video calls. It supports the researcher with an opportunity to not just talk to their respondent but also to watch them in real time. Sometimes online interviews may assume that inability and without having sufficient knowledge and confidence about technology for participation, obtaining software and to maintaining Internet connection makes some participants disqualify to the discussion within the duration. Therefore, a negative issue can be recognized that addressing to the certain groups for representativeness may be a problem (O’Connor et al., 2008). I will maintain a friendly atmosphere to overcome aforesaid disputes while I am making interviews with teachers. As most of the drama teachers are talented stage role players, then, it is unfair to assume that they have any lethargic feeling to face video recording. All teachers in the sample are in the age range between 25 -30 years and because of this factor, there is no need to think that they lack confidence in technology. Only problem that I have to face in this technology will be the cost of the internet. Because Sri Lanka connecting internet facility rather difficult and charges much high. Therefore, I will top-up their data cards monthly around AUD75 each intervention teacher. 5. Focus Group Discussions Four focus group discussions will be conducted with the intervention students in each week throughout the month within school time period. The duration will be 30 minutes and it will be conducted in school time (Please refer the discussion schedule attached – Appendix 5). Interviewing the students in this study is much important to enquire of their thinking and experience about new teaching strategies for learning drama subject incorporate with Creativity and Adaptability skills. Also, it is important to look at differences between the way of students practically engage with lesson and what can be seen in their demonstrating. The focus group discussion therefore will be important to explore techniques of process drama connecting with their day to day activities, such as, creative thinking and creative judgments along with the Gibson’s reflective theory. Have the data collection procedures been previously approved by QUT or are they an academic standard instrument? If YES, provide brief details on prior approval or where instruments have been used previously, e.g. under a similar research context Yes, the data collection instruments utilised in this study will be piloted in near future in selected school in inner Brisbane. C2.3 In what form will the human data be collected, stored and used/reported? In each row, indicate which form of data (eg. interviews, questionnaires etc) applies for your study. At least one column must be completed in each row but if different data are in different forms, you will need to complete more than one box in each column or row. Individually Identifiable Re-Identifiable or Potentially Re- Non-Identifiable i.e. Data from which the identity Identifiable i.e. Data that has never been of a specific individual can be i.e. Data from which identifiers labelled with individual reasonably ascertained eg. name, have been removed and replaced identifiers OR from which image, date of birth, and/or by codes, but it remains possible to identifiers have been address. re-identify individuals, eg. by using permanently removed such that the code or linking different data no specific individual can be sets. identified by the researchers. Collected x Stored x Used/Rep x orted C2.4 How is this project funded?

Appendices 283

Outline what rights the funder of the study will have to data obtained from the study, and in what format e.g. aggregate reports only, access to raw data or other. NOTE: Any access by the funder should be made clear to participants. My PhD study is funded by the National Centre for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Science of Sri Lanka (NCAS). However, expect for general progress report on my performance signed by the supervisors, NCAS does not have any particular requirement regarding my study about data collected. C2.5 How will confidentiality of the study records be protected during the study and in the publication of results? NOTE: If you intend to identify participants or organisations, this needs to be made clear on the Participant Information Sheet. Use pseudonym name and codes for all participants and schools. No bio data from which individual participant could be identified will be obtained throughout the present study. C2.6 Is this a collaborative project? If YES, also provide brief detail on data-sharing arrangements e.g. open – all parties have access to each other’s data; partial – data held by collaborator completing particular component. No. This project is individual PhD research. C2.7 Who will own the resulting research data and the created intellectual property? Place an ‘X’ in the relevant box/es below – at least one box must be checked. If relevant you can check more than one box, ie QUT and an external organisation. Please refer to the D/3.1 Intellectual property (IP) policy for further information. QUT – QUT is the owner of IP created by staff members in the course of their employment. STUDENT/S –The IP generated is personally owned by the student if not assigned to QUT or other organisation. x BOTH QUT & STUDENT/S – If the IP for a student project has been assigned to QUT, ownership of data and IP is shared. (see Student IP protocol) EXTERNAL ORGANISATION– Give details: NOTE: QUT requires an IP agreement to be in place if IP ownership is to deviate from that described in D/3.1 Intellectual property (IP) policy. If you require any further assistance, please contact the relevant section of the Division of Research & Commercialisation. C3 Storage & Security Ensure you have completed your QUT Data Management Plan BEFORE completing this section. • Data should be stored in a locked filing cabinet at QUT and/or electronically on a QUT mainframe drive. • Data must not be stored solely at home. C3.1 X Y Confirm that your research data and other records will be stored for the required period. E Refer to the Management research data. S

C3.2 HARD/PAPER COPIES...(e.g. Signed consent forms are required to be kept securely for 15 years as per the Qld State Archives Schedule) Qld State Archives: http://www.archives.qld.gov.au/Recordkeeping/Governance/Pages/Default.aspx University Sector: http://www.archives.qld.gov.au/Recordkeeping/GRKDownloads/Documents/Universities.pdf C3.2 What is the location/s of storage? At QUT- Data will be locked storage in the researcher’s room (i.e. QUT room/building location (B338) located in B block of Faculty of Education, Kelvin Grove and/or offsite storage location) Campus. C3.2 How will access to the stored data be Researcher and her supervisors have the locked cabinet key where controlled? the data will be stored.

C3.2 Who will have access to the stored Student- A.I.Irugalbandara, Professor Marilyn Campbell and data? Associate Professor Bree Hadley.

C3.3 What is the location/s of storage and At QUT RESTORE. Researcher’s H drive on her password back-up? secured QUT computer at the office of PhD students. In a secured (i.e. a secure computer/server backup hard drive stored in a locked filing drawer. and/or offsite storage location) C3.3 How will access to the stored data be Password protection that will only be held by the researcher. controlled?

C3.3 Who will have access to the stored Researcher and her supervisors, when requested. .3 data?

284 Appendices

Appendix C1: Principal Information Sheet (Group A)

PARTICIPANT INFORMATION FOR QUT RESEARCH PROJECT PRINCIPAL – GROUP 1

Investigating Process Drama for the Development of Creativity and Adaptability Skills in Junior Secondary School Students in Sri Lanka.

QUT Ethics Approval Number 1800000245 RESEARCH TEAM Principal Researcher: Mrs Ayomi Indika Irugalbandara PhD Student Associate Researchers: Professor Marilyn Campbell Principal Supervisor School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education, Faculty of Education Associate Professor Bree Hadley Associate Supervisor Head of Postgraduate Coursework Studies, Creative Industries Faculty Dr Carly Lassig Associate Supervisor School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education, Faculty of Education Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Brisbane, Australia DESCRIPTION This research project is being undertaken as part of a PhD study by Ayomi Indika Irugalbandara. The purpose of this study is to explore how teaching drama in different ways affects Grade 7 students’ creativity. Creativity is an important 21st century skill that students will need when they leave school and go to university or to work.

One of your school’s Year 7 drama classes, with a drama teacher who has valuable experience and expertise related to the research topic, will be invited to participate in this project.

PARTICIPATION Your school’s participation will involve: • The drama teacher participating in an introductory workshop of 4 hours to train them in process drama, then teaching their regular 2-hour drama lessons over 12 weeks using a process drama approach. A teacher manual with all lesson plans, resources and instructions will be provided to them. The teacher will write reflections on their lessons each week, and 20 lessons will be observed by the researcher or her colleague. The teacher will also participate in 10 individual interviews (1 per week for 10 weeks), either in person at school or via Skype, which will be audio recorded. • Students will participate in their regular drama lessons, with 20 of the lessons being observed. The students will complete pre- and post-tests at the beginning and end of the study, which will be administered by the drama teacher. Each student participant will be invited to participate in 1 focus group discussion, to be held at the school, which will be audio recorded. Students will also be invited to write reflections on the lessons, but these are not compulsory. • The students will complete pre- and post-tests in the first drama lesson and last drama lesson (Week 1 and 12), which will be administered by the drama teacher. • The students who do not have parental consent will be completed a questionnaire about why they choose drama as an elective instead of the survey. This questionnaire will be handed to the drama teacher and is only to give the students a writing task which will be similar to the students taking the research survey. The same type of questionnaire will be given to them about drama while the other students do the research survey. Small pre- and post-survey in the first drama lesson and last drama lesson (Week 1 and 12), which will be administered by the drama teacher.

Appendices 285

The teacher’s and students’ participation in this study is voluntary and they can withdraw from this study at any time without comment or penalty. All participants – the teacher, and students and their parents – will be required to sign consent forms. In addition, students participating in the study will be assured that participation or nonparticipation will not affect their grades.

Your schools participation in this study is voluntary. Your decision to allow your school to participate or not participate will in no way impact upon your current or future relationship with QUT.

EXPECTED BENEFITS By engaging in this study, the drama teacher and the students of your school would gain new teaching and learning experiences. The teacher will benefit by receiving training on process drama that they can continue to apply after the research. The student may develop additional knowledge and experience with creative drama processes and practices.

The study is also expected to inform drama education practitioners, Sri Lankan policymakers, administrators, researchers, and drama teachers more broadly about using process drama to improve students’ creativity.

RISKS There are minimal risks to the school for their participation in the study. There is the potential for inconvenience and minor discomfort for the teacher and students participating in the study. The details of these risks and how they have been minimised will be explained to the invited participants.

PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY All comments and responses will be treated confidentially unless required by law. The teacher’s and students’ anonymity will be protected by using pseudonyms and removing any identifying information. All data will be destroyed 5 years after the last publication.

QUESTIONS / FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE RESEARCH PROJECT If you have any questions or require further information please contact one of the listed researchers:

Ayomi Irugalbandara [email protected] 07 1346 0322 (Sri Lanka) +61 4 2425 1973 (Australia) Marilyn Campbell [email protected] +61 7 3138 3806 (Australia)

CONCERNS / COMPLAINTS REGARDING THE CONDUCT OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT QUT is committed to research integrity and the ethical conduct of research projects. However, if you do have any concerns or complaints about the ethical conduct of the research project you may contact the QUT Research Ethics Advisory Team on +61 7 3138 5123 or email [email protected]. The QUT Research Ethics Advisory Team is not connected with the research project and can facilitate a resolution to your concern in an impartial manner.

THANK YOU FOR HELPING WITH THIS RESEARCH PROJECT. PLEASE KEEP THIS SHEET FOR YOUR INFORMATION.

286 Appendices

Appendix C2: Principal Consent Form (Group A)

CONSENT FORM FOR QUT RESEARCH PROJECT PRINCIPAL – GROUP 1

Investigating Process Drama for the Development of Creativity and Adaptability Skills in Junior Secondary School Students in Sri Lanka.

QUT Ethics Approval Number 1800000245

RESEARCH TEAM Ayomi Irugalbandara [email protected] 071 346 0322 (Sri Lanka) +61 4 2425 1973 (Australia) Marilyn Campbell [email protected] +61 7 3138 3806 (Australia)

STATEMENT OF CONSENT • I have read the Participant Information Sheet and understand the nature of the research. I have had the opportunity to ask questions and have them answered to my satisfaction. • I give permission for researcher to carry out a research project at my school as described in the Participant Information Sheet, and give approval to access the teacher and students during class hours. • I understand that teacher and student participation in this study is entirely voluntary and they can withdraw at any stage without comment or penalty. • I understand that participants’ and organisation names will not be used in any written or oral presentation, and that no opinions will be attributed to participants in any way that will identify them. • I agree as the school’s principal that teachers’ and students’ willingness to participate in this project will in no way affect their standing in the school or their grades. • I understand the researcher will make every effort to ensure the study does not disrupt the working environment or student lessons and any data collected will remain confidential. • I understand that if I have concerns about the ethical conduct of the research project, I can contact the QUT Research Ethics Advisory Team on +61 7 3138 5123 or email [email protected].

Please tick the relevant box below: I agree to participate in the study. I do not agree to participate in the study.

Name

Signature

Date

PLEASE RETURN THE SIGNED CONSENT FORM TO THE RESEARCHER.

Appendices 287

Appendix C3: Teacher Information Sheet (Group A)

PARTICIPANT INFORMATION FOR QUT RESEARCH PROJECT TEACHER – GROUP 1

Investigating Process Drama for the Development of Creativity and Adaptability Skills in Junior Secondary School Students in Sri Lanka.

QUT Ethics Approval Number 1800000245 RESEARCH TEAM Principal Researcher: Mrs Ayomi Indika Irugalbandara PhD Student Associate Researchers: Professor Marilyn Campbell Principal Supervisor School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education, Faculty of Education Associate Professor Bree Hadley Associate Supervisor Head of Postgraduate Coursework Studies, Creative Industries Faculty Dr Carly Lassig Associate Supervisor School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education, Faculty of Education Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Brisbane, Australia

DESCRIPTION This research project is being undertaken as part of a PhD study by Ayomi Indika Irugalbandara. The purpose of this study is to explore how teaching drama in different ways affects Grade 7 students’ creativity. Creativity is an important 21st century skill that students will need when they leave school and go to university or to work. You are invited to participate in this project because you are a drama teacher of a Year 7 class. PARTICIPATION Your participation will involve: • Participating in an introductory workshop of 4 hours, where you will be introduced to the researcher and her colleagues, the study, and the process drama approach. • Teaching your regular 2 hour drama classes for 12 weeks using a process drama approach. A teaching manual with all lesson plans, resources and instructions will be provided to you and explained in the introductory workshop. • Administering pre- and post-tests to students in the first drama lesson and last drama lesson (Week 1 and 12). • Distributing pre and post-questionnaires to students who do not have parental consent in the first drama lesson and last drama lesson (Week 1 and 12). Collecting students’ reflections on the drama lessons. • Writing your own post-lesson reflections each week for the 10 weeks of the process drama lessons. • Observations of 20 drama lessons over 10 weeks, which will be conducted by the researcher or her colleague. The main researcher’s personal circumstances prevent her from staying in Sri Lanka for all of second term. She will conduct the observations in Week 2 to 6, and her colleague will conduct the observations in Week 7 to 11. While observing, the researchers will not participate or intervene in the lessons. They will stand at the back of the room and note aspects such as the steps in the lessons and students’ responses. You can ask them to leave at any point during the observation if they are disrupting the class. • Participating in 10 individual interviews over the 10 weeks of the process drama lessons (1 per week) in person (while the researcher is in Sri Lanka) and via Skype (when the researcher has left Sri Lanka). Each interview will take approximately 30 minutes and will be audio recorded. Example questions include: 1. What is your understanding of the term “process drama”? Could you please explain this concept by your own words? 2. What did students learn? How did you know that students learned this? 3. What challenges did you have with the process drama?

288 Appendices

Your participation in this study is voluntary, thus you can withdraw from this study at any time without comment or penalty. Your decision to participate or not participate will in no way impact upon your current or future relationship with QUT or your school. EXPECTED BENEFITS It is expected that the research will benefit you directly by providing training on process drama that you can continue to apply after the research. The study is also expected to inform drama education practitioners, Sri Lankan policymakers, administrators, researchers, and drama teachers more broadly about using process drama to improve students’ creativity. RISKS By participating in this study, you may experience some potential discomfort teaching lessons in a different style to your own; however, you will receive training and experience at the introductory workshop and will have ongoing support available. The introductory workshop will be conducted at a mutually convenient time for all teachers. You will also receive training on simple techniques to write reflection notes. There is potentially an inconvenience of administering the pre- and post-tests. These only need to be done twice: once at the beginning and once at the end of the study. Potential discomfort from being observed by an external party during the study will aim to be minimised by the observer remaining unobtrusive and developing familiarity with you as the study progresses. To minimise potential inconvenience and discomfort of the interviews and their recording, they will be conducted a time and location of your preference, we will maintain a friendly atmosphere, and you are not required to answer any questions that you don’t feel comfortable answering. For Skype interviews, given the high cost of internet in Sri Lanka, to prevent any financial inconvenience, the researcher will top-up your internet data cards monthly with around $75 (AUD).

PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY All comments and responses will be treated confidentially unless required by law. Your confidentiality will be protected by using a pseudonym and by removing any identifying information. You will have an opportunity to verify your comments and responses prior to final inclusion in the research. The interview audio recordings will not be used for any other purposes and only the researchers will have access. It is not possible to participate in the research project without interviews being audio recorded. All data will be destroyed 5 years after the last publication. CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE You will need to sign the written consent form to confirm your agreement to participate. QUESTIONS / FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE RESEARCH PROJECT If you have any questions or require further information please contact one of the listed researchers:

Ayomi Irugalbandara [email protected] 07 1346 0322 (Sri Lanka) +61 4 2425 1973 (Australia) Marilyn Campbell [email protected] +61 7 3138 3806 (Australia)

CONCERNS / COMPLAINTS REGARDING THE CONDUCT OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT QUT is committed to research integrity and the ethical conduct of research projects. However, if you do have any concerns or complaints about the ethical conduct of the research project you may contact the QUT Research Ethics Advisory Team on +61 7 3138 5123 or email [email protected]. The QUT Research Ethics Advisory Team is not connected with the research project and can facilitate a resolution to your concern in an impartial manner.

THANK YOU FOR HELPING WITH THIS RESEARCH PROJECT. PLEASE KEEP THIS SHEET FOR YOUR INFORMATION.

Appendices 289

Appendix C4: Teacher Consent Form (Group A)

CONSENT FORM FOR QUT RESEARCH PROJECT TEACHER – GROUP 1

Investigating Process Drama for the Development of Creativity and Adaptability Skills in Junior Secondary School Students in Sri Lanka.

QUT Ethics Approval Number 1800000245

RESEARCH TEAM Ayomi Irugalbandara [email protected] 071 346 0322 (Sri Lanka) +61 4 2425 1973 (Australia) Marilyn Campbell [email protected] +61 7 3138 3806 (Australia)

STATEMENT OF CONSENT I have read the Participant Information Sheet. I understand the nature of the research and why I have been selected. I have had the opportunity to ask questions and have them answered to my satisfaction. • I have the right to withdraw from the project any time without giving a reason. • I understand that every effort will be made to respect my privacy. • I understand that the findings will be used for the study and will not be used for any purpose other than those outlined in the information sheet or released to others without my written consent. • I understand that my responses will be given confidentially and cannot be used in any employment discussion or dispute. • I understand that my principal has signed a consent form indicating that whether or not I am willing to participate in this project will in no way affect my standing in the school. • I understand that the interviews will be audio recorded. • I understand that I can refuse to answer any questions in the interviews. • I understand that I can ask the researcher to stop a classroom observation at any stage during a lesson. • I have not been pressured by anyone to take part in this research and I freely give my consent. • I understand that if I have concerns about the ethical conduct of the research project I can contact the Research Ethics Advisory Team on +61 7 3138 5123 or email [email protected].

Please tick the relevant box below: I agree to participate in the study. I do not agree to participate in the study.

Name

Signature

Date

PLEASE RETURN THE SIGNED CONSENT FORM TO THE RESEARCHER.

290 Appendices

Appendix C5: Student information: sheet (Group A)

PARTICIPANT INFORMATION FOR QUT RESEARCH PROJECT STUDENT – GROUP 1

Investigating Process Drama for the Development of Creativity and Adaptability Skills in Junior Secondary School Students in Sri Lanka.

QUT Ethics Approval Number 1800000245 RESEARCH TEAM Principal Mrs Ayomi Indika Irugalbandara PhD Student Researcher: Associate Professor Marilyn Campbell Principal Supervisor Researchers: School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education, Faculty of Education Associate Professor Bree Hadley Associate Supervisor Head of Postgraduate Coursework Studies, Creative Industries Faculty Dr Carly Lassig Associate Supervisor School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education, Faculty of Education Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Brisbane, Australia DESCRIPTION This research project is being undertaken as part of a PhD study by Ayomi Indika Irugalbandara. The purpose of this study is to explore how teaching drama in different ways affects your creativity. Creativity is an important 21st century skill that you will need when you leave school and go to university or to work.

You are invited to participate in this project because you are a student in a Year 7 drama class. Your class has been chosen with your school principal’s and the drama teacher’s permission for this study.

PARTICIPATION Your participation will involve: • Participating in your regular drama lessons for 10 weeks. You do not need to prepare anything prior to class. • Completing two tests at the beginning and end of the study. These surveys will have no effect on your school grades.

Appendices 291