Overview
A global blueprint for arts-integrated education that turns schools into laboratories of transformation and collective growth. How can drama and the arts reshape classrooms, empower teachers, and foster meaningful learning? Drama for Schools and Beyond: Transformative Learning Through the Arts explores two decades of research and practice from the Drama for Schools professional development model at The University of Texas at Austin. Through real-world stories, critical reflections, and global case studies, the authors reveal how arts integration can create more equitable, engaged, and inquiry-driven educational spaces. This work is both a practical guide and a call to action for educators, teaching artists, and administrators seeking to transform learning environments. By centering collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking, it challenges readers to examine their roles in shaping the future of education. Suitable for those invested in humane, democratic, and arts-based approaches to teaching, Drama for Schools and Beyond proves that learning through the arts is not just an enhancement—it's a revolution.
Full Product Details
Author: Kathryn Dawson ,
Beth Link ,
Stephanie Cawthon ,
Lara Dossett
Publisher: Intellect
Imprint: Intellect Books
ISBN: 9781835951880
ISBN 10: 1835951880
Pages: 300
Publication Date: 31 October 2025
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming
Availability: Awaiting stock
Reviews
""This book offers teachers, teaching artists, students, and school administrators with exemplary approaches to meaningfully integrate the arts in learning environments. Through global case studies the authors vividly demonstrate how and why the arts can be a powerful vehicle to address social issues to generate positive change. Grounded in current arts education literature and thinking, the book centers on empowering youth and teachers to engage in critical conversations through creative and purposeful means."" -- Professor George Belliveau, University of British Columbia ""This compelling Drama for Schools and Beyond volume brings together a rich collection of diverse international partnership case studies and action research. Kathryn Dawson and her co-authors explore new understandings of deep learning through the transformative potential of arts integration in education. Grounded in strong theoretical foundations, this important book invites readers to reimagine practice and embrace the power of the arts to foster meaningful change in schools and communities."" -- Dr. Jeff Meiners, University of South Australia
Author Information
Kathryn Dawson is a teaching artist and associate professor of theatre at The University of Texas at Austin, USA, where she uses the arts to create more equitable and just learning environments for all. She is the head of the graduate program in Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities, a Provost's Teaching Fellow, head of Creative Collaborations for the Planet Texas 2050 transdisciplinary research initiative, and Director of Drama for Schools. Beth Link is an Assistant Professor of Art Education at the University of North Texas, USA, where she investigates how the arts can explore multiple perspectives, dismantle hierarchies, and enable students to bridge differences. She has nearly two decades of teaching experience in schools, communities, and museums and has facilitated arts-integrated professional development for teachers across the globe. Stephanie Cawthon is the Catherine Mae Parker Centennial Professor in Education and Graduate Advisor in the Department of Educational Psychology, University of Austin, USA, with a courtesy appointment in the Special Education. She serves as the Director of Research and Evaluation for Drama for Schools as well as the Executive Director of the National Disability Center for Student Success. Lara Dossett is an Assistant Professor of Instruction at The University of Texas at Austin, USA, in the Department of Theatre and Dance. Through her practice-based research Lara is committed to building intentional communities of practice and systems that support art-based teaching and learning in K-12 contexts.
