Encouraging Dramatic encounters

Abstract

The introductory chapter to the book. These chapters ask us to think about the critical lessons (Noddings, 2006) that schools should teach. The work shows evidence of teachers with high levels of discipline expertise who take on the challenge of working aesthetically and with educational intent. Rather than being constrained by curriculum implementation models that remove the creative interpretation of teachers, these teacher-artists recognise that curriculum is, and should be, interpreted and enacted differently according to the context in which they are working. They have chosen to move beyond the prescriptive models that seem to be so prevalent in today’s schools because they recognise that no single model or approach provides “what works” in schools, despite the rhetoric of some of our educational leaders. Instead, these examples of outstanding practice are highly contextualised and situated firmly within location and community, responsive to the needs and interests of students, embracing of innovative and creative approaches, moving and challenging. They epitomise what education should be.