Dr Claire M Coleman

Senior Lecturer
Keywords
Arts and Language Education; Curriculum; Drama; Education; Education Research; Emotional Intelligence; Learning and Education; Pedagogy; Schools (Primary/Secondary); Teacher Education; Teaching
Process Drama Critical Pedagogy Arts based Methodology Drama in Education Collaborative learning
Qualifications: PhD, MEd(Res), PGDipEd, GradDipTchg(Prim), BA, DipPerformArts
Papers Taught
About Claire
I began my career in education as a puppeteer in a disability awareness education programme and taught in a variety of educational settings. I discovered process drama through my studies in the Postgraduate diploma in Education and went on to gain my Masters in Education at the University of Sydney. I remain deeply passionate about education and the potential for drama as both an aesthetic artform, effective pedagogy and catalyst for critical engagement.
My doctoral thesis ‘Dancing through the fourth wall’, explored the potential relationship between the principles of critical pedagogy and process drama. It interrogated the capability of process drama to provide an embodied form of critical pedagogy. Positing that the ambiguities and uncertainties available within the dramatic world provide a playful space within which social constructions of identity and power may be challenged.
I am passionate about embodied and creative pedagogies for transformative education. My other research examines the shift to ILE spaces within schools and the cultivation of learning cultures for collaboration and creativity. Currently, I am researching my workspace of Initial Teacher Education, my own practice as a teacher educator and developing the critical process drama framework.
Research Supervised
Completed Supervision
Mong Na Boon
Helen English: The Effect of Arts Education on Cognition in Community Settings MEd Completed February 2019
Current Supervision
PhD: Dawn Lawrence
Masters: Annette Thomson
Directed Study: Alaina Parkinson
Research Interests
Critical Pedagogy
Process Drama
Applied Theatre
Creativity
Embodied Learning
Recent Publications
Coleman, C. (2022). Critical process drama framework. In M. McAvoy, & P. O'Connor (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to Drama in Education (pp. 117-121). London: Routledge.. doi:10.4324/9781003000914
Coleman, C. (2022). Blurred lines but sharp focus: Crossing boundaries between teaching and teacher education. NZARE. Retrieved from https://nzareblog.wordpress.com/2022/02/03/teaching-ite/
Coleman, C. (2021). Exploring the possible in Arts Education. NZ Association for Research in Education. Retrieved from https://nzareblog.wordpress.com/2021/07/22/arts-education/
Coleman, C. (2021). Seal Wife saga: Rewriting O’Neill’s Melbourne workshop in role. NJ, 1-13. doi:10.1080/14452294.2021.1974679
Find more research publications by Claire Coleman