ABSTRACT
This chapter reports on the findings of a joint study between two Australian universities into the ways in which applied drama and applied ethnodramatic theatre (also known as research-based theatre or research-informed theatre) can be powerful pedagogical strategies when teaching culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) students in a range of educational contexts. By way of example, the chapter contains an ethnodramatic dialogue between the two authors where they discuss the main findings of their study. For the purpose of this chapter, culture is defined as the value systems, spiritual elements, artefacts, beliefs, and traditions of groups of people that contribute to defining who we are and how we view the world. The investigation of two university-based enabling courses and the experiences of CALD students within them found that these learners benefitted from the affordances of drama-led activities, including observing and responding to an applied ethnodramatic performance based on contextual details and circumstances similar to their own. The authors argue that the educational strategies used in this study with university-based students can also be applied in other educational settings.
