Content area
Full text
Educational Drama and Language Arts: what research shows
BETTY JANE WAGNER (Ed.), 1998
Portsmouth, NH, Heinemann
312 pp.
ISBN 0-325-00076-X
Not too long ago I was lamenting to some colleagues that there were no literature reviews about drama education available in the USA. Then I read B. J. Wagner's book, Educational Drama and Language Arts: what research shows, and I thought `Hallelujah! My prayers have been answered!' Wagner's book concentrates primarily on experimental studies which link drama to improved reading and writing skills. It is not the definitive literature survey, but it is a start. Moreover, Wagner effectively targets two fields of education-drama and language arts-two worlds which have much to offer each other.
Wagner herself sums up the purpose of the book:
My goal is to marshal evidence that will help drama educators with advocacy of drama in schools and that will provide a user-friendly resource for doctoral students and others who are jumping into the icy waters of research on drama. This book will also be useful for teachers of all subjects who might want to consider informal drama as an instructional strategy and for anyone who needs a compact overview of previous...