Editorial – “Models for Change”: Dorothy Heathcote's Radical Vision for Schools and Society

Abstract

In this editorial, the guest editor reflects on Dorothy Heathcote's ethos that educators should use drama to bring about the kind of society they want to see. The editor then introduces this issue, in which our contributors document and reflect on innovative educational theatre practices. In 1983, Dorothy Heathcote stated that, as educators, we should be asking what sort of schools we want – but also, what sort of society we want. Her words are incredibly timely today: they challenge us to consider questions of purpose, curriculum, access, and stewardship.

Potential topics included: • Empowering learners: How can practitioners bring curriculum learning alive in ways that give children genuine voice and agency? • Drama and integration across the curriculum: How can practitioners draw links to history, humanities, and personal, social, health, and economic education (PSHE)? In what ways does this approach humanize teaching? • Building community through drama, in the classroom and in the school. • Reimaging Heathcote: In what ways can we draw on Dorothy Heathcote’s legacy? • Evaluation and assessment • Teaching political awareness through drama • Teaching challenging and sensitive subjects • Reinventing the curriculum, and challenging the neo-liberal educational agenda • Teacher as artist and teacher as technician • Using digital technology and AI in teaching

The editors encouraged article submissions from artists, educators, and scholars from different disciplines. Our goal was to motivate a dialogue among a wide variety of practitioners and researchers that would enrich the development of educational theatre in the years to come.