Facilitated action research : Enhancing the teaching of classroom drama

This paper argues for facilitated action research as an effective way of supporting teacher professional learning in drama. It also recognises that the need for support identified in a past study remains current resulting in the facilitated action research process still being relevant. Facilitated action research is advocated as a way of engaging with individual needs, beliefs and experiences of teachers resulting in a positive change in pedagogical understanding and drama practice. Consideration of two separate research studies, five years apart, reveal the growth of the facilitated action research process and highlight the significance of personal or contextual factors in facilitating or constraining the use of drama in primary school classrooms.