Drama for Schools: Impact of a Drama-Based Professional Development Program on Teacher Self-Efficacy and Authentic Instruction

Abstract

Drama for Schools (DFS) is a research-driven professional development program that uses drama-based instructional strategies to make sustainable improvements in the learning culture of a classroom, school, and school district. This article introduces the DFS program and reports findings on how 27 teachers experienced the program and worked with DFS strategies. Results show that authentic instruction improved as a result of the DFS program, with increases sustaining over time. Teacher evaluations indicate that DFS succeeded in efforts to integrate the arts into the curriculum, raise student engagement, encourage teacher collaboration, and develop hands-on instructional strategies. DFS teachers did not report much change in their own identities as teachers, perhaps due to the already high levels of instructional self-efficacy. Discussion includes consideration of research and pedagogical issues that arose in the evaluation of this drama-based professional development program.