ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how the arts, particularly drama and theatre, can promote human growth and wellbeing in schools. This chapter starts with a brief analysis of Norwegian education policies to identify how these policies conceptualise the role of the arts in terms of growth and wellbeing. Contributions from Norwegian drama pedagogues are then discussed in relation to the potential that drama/theatre could have for eudaimonic and creative wellbeing. A concrete example from the research project Mye på Spill conducted by Bjørn Rasmussen and Børge Kristoffersen in the period 2000–2004 is analysed to explore these connections in practice. It is argued that drama in education can play an important role in nurturing certain human capacities that are often underserved in other school subjects, such as the creative, spontaneous, imaginative, and emotional dimensions of all-round development and learning. These capacities may impact one’s sense of possibility and help nurture more playful and creative approaches to problems or restrictive patterns of behaviour. These new ways of approaching problematic situations may have implications for sustaining growth, wellbeing, and good mental health over time. It is hoped that this chapter serves as a reminder of the value and necessity of the arts in education.
