Andy Kempe

University of Reading · Institute of Education

Families living with autism often feel unable to attend social and cultural events, largely due to the fear of their child attracting negative or even aggressive reactions from others. The ‘joint attention’ that is part of the theatre experience, however, may be a powerful factor in the development of social and communication skills for such childr...

This paper reports on research into what may have influenced trainees on four post-graduate teacher training courses in England to become specialist drama teachers rather than pursue careers in the world of professional entertainment. In doing so it raises questions regarding the value of considering teaching as a performing art. The paper goes on...

For children with autism, social challenges may be both part of the disability and a barrier to accessing education. This article reports on a project that used drama to address such challenges by drawing on the social skills of non-autistic peers in a special school setting. The article demonstrates how drama's flexibility may be harnessed in orde...

The use of drama in the curriculum for children with special needs is sometimes automatically equated with dramatherapy. Such an assumption may arise from the mistaken belief that if a child has some kind of learning disability, the only type of drama of any value for them must be designed to help them with their particular individual need. Dramath...

This paper reports on research undertaken into the processes through which student teachers begin to formulate an identity as a professional teacher. Using Fuller's investigations into the attitudes of trainee teachers towards their courses (1969) as a baseline, a discussion is established on the place of the student voice in contemporary initial t...

This paper reports on research undertaken by the author into what secondary school drama teachers think they need to possess in terms of subject knowledge in order to operate effectively as subject specialists. ‘Subject knowledge’ is regarded as being multi faceted and the paper reports on how drama teachers prioritise its different aspects. A disc...

Few accounts of drama projects and their value for pupils with moderate learning difficulties and other types of special educational needs have appeared in the journal. Andy Kempe, lecturer in drama in education, Reading University, helps to fill this gap by giving an evaluative account of a TVEI-funded drama project which he coordinated.

This paper explores how the concept of 'social capital' relates to the teaching of speaking and listening. The argument draws on Bourdieu's notion that a common language is an illusion but posits that an understanding of the grammar of speech can be productive in the development of both an understanding of what constitutes effective speech and the...