Too much information? : Drama teachers’ perceptions of the value of subject knowledge

This paper reports on research into what drama teachers consider they really need to know as drama specialists. In the first instance the very concept of knowledge is discussed as it pertains to education in the arts as is the current situation in England regarding the extent to which new drama teachers’ subject specialist knowledge has been formally accredited and what the implications of this may be to an evolving curriculum. The research itself initially involved using a questionnaire to investigate the way in which drama teachers prioritised different aspects of professional knowledge. Results of this survey were deemed surprising enough to warrant further investigation through the use of interviews and a multiple-sorting exercise which revealed why the participants prioritised in the way they did. Informed by the work of Bourdieu, Foucault and Kelly, a model is proposed which may help explain the tensions experienced by drama teachers as they try to balance and prioritise different aspects of professional knowledge.

Resilience or resistance? The value of subject knowledge for drama teachers

This paper reports on research undertaken by the author into what secondary school drama teachers think they need to possess in terms of subject knowledge in order to operate effectively as subject specialists. ‘Subject knowledge’ is regarded as being multi faceted and the paper reports on how drama teachers prioritise its different aspects. A discussion of what ‘subject knowledge’ may be seen to encompass reveals interesting tensions between aspects of professional knowledge that are prescribed by statutory dictate and local context, and those that are valued by individual teachers and are manifest in their construction of a professional identity. The paper proposes that making judgements that associate propositional and substantive knowledge with traditionally held academic values as ‘bad’ or ‘irrelevant’ to drama education, and what Foucault has coined as ‘subjugated knowledge’ (i.e. local, vernacular, enactive knowledge that eludes inscription) as ‘good’ and more apposite to the work of all those involved in drama education, fails to reflect the complex matrices of values that specialists appear to hold. While the reported research focused on secondary school drama teachers in England, Bourdieu’s conception of field and habitus is invoked to suggest a model which recognises how drama educators more generally may construct a professional identity that necessarily balances personal interests and beliefs with externally imposed demands.

Training drama teachers: a perspective from England

In England, drama is embedded into the National Curriculum as a part of the programmes of study for the subject of English. This means that all children aged between 5 - 16 in state funded schools have an entitlement to be taught some aspects of the subject. While the manifestation of drama in primary schools is diverse, in a great many schools for students aged between 11 – 19, drama and theatre art is taught as a discrete subject in the same way that the visual arts and music are. Students may opt for public examination courses in the subject at ages 16 and 18. In order to satisfy the specifications laid down for such examinations many schools recognise the need for specialist teachers and indeed specialist teaching rooms and equipment. This chapter outlines how drama is taught in secondary schools in England (there being subtle variations in the education systems in the other countries that make up the United Kingdom) and the theories that underpin drama’s place in the curriculum as a subject in its own right and as a vehicle for delivering other aspects of the prescribed curriculum are discussed. The paper goes on to review the way in which drama is taught articulates with the requirements and current initiatives laid down by the government. Given this context, the chapter moves on to explore what specialist subject and pedagogical knowledge secondary school drama teachers need. Furthermore, consideration is made of the tensions that may be seen to exist between the way drama teachers perceive their own identity as subject specialists and the restrictions and demands placed upon them by the education system within which they work. An insight into the backgrounds of those who become drama teachers in England is provided and the reasons for choosing such a career and the expectations and concerns that underpin their training are identified and analysed.

Effect of method of application of a fibrolytic enzyme product on digestive processes and milk production in Holstein-Friesian cows

Four multiparous cows with cannulas in the rumen and proximal duodenum were used in early lactation in a 4 x 4 Latin square experiment to investigate the effect of method of application of a fibrolytic enzyme product on digestive processes and milk production. The cows were given ad libitum a total mixed ration (TMR) composed of 57% (dry matter basis) forage (3:1 corn silage:grass silage) and 43% concentrates. The TMR contained (g/kg dry matter): 274 neutral detergent fiber, 295 starch, 180 crude protein. Treatments were TMR alone or TMR with the enzyme product added (2 kg/1000 kg TMR dry matter) either sprayed on the TMR 1 h before the morning feed (TMR-E), sprayed only on the concentrate the day before feeding (Concs-E), or infused into the rumen for 14 h/d (Rumen-E). There Was no significant effect on either feed intake or milk yield but both were highest on TMR-E. Rumen digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, and starch was unaffected by the enzyme. Digestibility of NDF was lowest on TMR-E in the rumen but highest postruminally. Total Tract digestibility was highest on TMR-E for dry matter, organic matter, and starch but treatment differences were nonsignificant for neutral detergent fiber: Corn silage stover retention time in the rumen was reduced by all enzyme treatments but postruminal transit time vas increased so the decline in total tract retention. time with enzymes was not significant. It is suggested that the tendency for enzymes to reduce particle retention time in the rumen may, by reducing the time available for fibrolysis to occur, at least partly explain the variability in the reported responses to enzyme treatment.

Pre-pubertal measurements of the somatotrophic axis as predictors of milk production in Holstein-Friesian dairy cows

This study investigated possible relationships between measurements of the somatotrophic axis in pre-pubertal dairy calves and subsequent milk yields. Endogenous growth hormone (GH) release was measured through a fed and fasted period in fifty 6-month-old Holstein-Friesian heifers and they were then challenged with growth hormone-releasing factor (GRF) to assess their GH release pattern. Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), insulin and glucose concentrations were measured in relation to time of feeding. Cows were subsequently monitored through their first three lactations to record peak and 305-day milk yields. In the first lactation, milk energy output for the first 120 days of lactation was also calculated. The mean 305-day milk yield increased from 7417 +/- 191 kg in the first lactation (n = 37) to 8749 +/- 252 kg in the third (n = 25). There were no significant relationships between any measures of GH secretion and peak or 305-day yield in any lactation. A highly significant positive relationship was established between the GH peak measured 10 min post-GRF challenge and 120-day milk energy values in the first lactation. This relationship was, however, only present in the subpopulation of 12 cows culled after one or two lactations and was absent in the 25 animals remaining for the third lactation. There were no significant relationships between pre-pubertal IGF-I and fed or fasted insulin or glucose concentrations and any subsequent measurement of yield. The usefulness of GH secretagogue challenges in calves as a predictive test for future milk production is thus limited but may have some bearing on nutrient partitioning and longevity. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The role of drama in the teaching of speaking and listening as the basis for social capital

This paper explores how the concept of 'social capital' relates to the teaching of speaking and listening. The argument draws on Bourdieu's notion that a common language is an illusion but posits that an understanding of the grammar of speech can be productive in the development of both an understanding of what constitutes effective speech and the development of competence in speaking. It is argued that applying structuralist notions of written grammar is an inadequate approach to understanding speech acts or enhancing the creative use of speech. An analysis is made of how typical features of speech relate to dramatic dialogue and how the meaning of what is said is contingent upon aural and visual signifiers. On this basis a competent speaker is seen as being one who produces expressions appropriate for a range of situations by intentionally employing such signifiers. The paper draws on research into the way drama teachers make explicit reference to and use of semiotics and dramatic effectiveness in order to improve students' performance and by so doing empower them to increase their social capital. Ultimately, it is concluded that helping students identify, analyse and employ the aural, visual and verbal grammar of spoken English is not an adjunct to the subject of drama, but an intrinsic part of understanding the art form. What is called for is a re-appraisal by drama teachers of their own understanding of concepts relating to speech acts in order to enhance this area of their work.