Dramatizing Living-in-the-World: Affective Generalization in Drama-in-Education Workshop.

Area of Science:

• Education
• Psychology
• Cultural Studies

Background:

• Drama-in-Education (DiE) workshops are recognized for their potential in youth development.
• A deeper understanding of the complex dynamics within DiE workshops is needed.
• Conceptualizing drama as a hybrid cultural-aesthetic form offers insights into educational guidance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the theoretical background of DiE workshops using developmental cultural psychology.
• To frame DiE practice as a catalytic process for releasing and transforming developmental forces.
• To analyze the affective and cognitive generalizations within DiE through semiotic mediation.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing developmental cultural psychology to frame DiE practice.
• Applying hierarchical levels of semiotic mediation for analysis.
• Conducting a step-by-step analysis of a DiE practice with young Chinese immigrants.

Main Results:

• DiE workshops provide a liminoid space that scaffolds and facilitates youth development.
• Developmental cultural psychology offers a framework to understand DiE's catalytic processes.
• Semiotic mediation effectively captures affective and cognitive generalizations in participants' subjective experiences.

Conclusions:

• DiE workshops are effective in fostering development by balancing teacher structure and participant creativity.
• The theoretical framework enhances understanding of DiE's role in educational guidance.
• Micro-genetic analysis of subjective experiences in DiE is valuable for research.