This thesis explores the contrast between the learning processes in drama-based education and conventional classroom education, addressing the foundational disconnect between students’ practical senses and abstract curriculum. It begins with a synthesis of the core principles of Drama-Based Pedagogy (DBP) from relevant literature and then presents a qualitative study conducted with 70 participants to examine how drama activates learning in closer detail. The analysis identifies a four-stage process of engagement through observation of participants’ external actions and internal actions. There is a specific emphasis on the emergence of a ‘flow state’ and how awareness develops through ‘progressive integration,’ and the thesis finally concludes with a conceptual comparison of the areas of integration engaged in a drama-based lesson compared to a conventional geography, mathematics or art lesson.

Thesis