ABSTRACT
Drama has been a significant presence in English schools since the end of the Second World War. The acknowledgment of drama as an educational force in the 1940s echoed the spirit of the times. The 1944 Education Act, together with parallel health and welfare legislation, reflected a new confidence in the possibility of a fair and humane society. In many schools drama had long been accepted as an 'extracurricular' activity, most commonly in the form of the school play. For the advocates of curriculum drama, however, the emphasis was not to be on learning lines and performing but on creative self-expression. As part of a core subject, these aspects of drama have now a relatively secure position within the curriculum. Education in drama covers all these matters and should seek to replace the narrow concerns of drama-in-education with an altogether more eclectic curriculum of dramatic art.
