The Importance of Theater Pedagogy from a Student's Perspective. An Empirical Study in a German-Speaking Elementary School in Romania

Could school and theater be seen as a symbiosis? The roots of the school theater go back to the 15th century. Early on, the educators recognized the importance of drama for the development of the students. But what do the students think about the theatrical education for their own development? This paper presents the results of a qualitative research designed to explore the role of education through theater for the personal, social skills and aesthetic development of the students. For this purpose, a semi-structured interview was used. In our qualitative study we examined the effects of theatre education from the perspective of the students. We interviewed 20 primary school students of the German-speaking school in Cluj-Napoca, who had theater pedagogy as optional courses for four years about their personal experience with theatre. Results demonstrate the development of personal, social and aesthetic skills. The data obtained show that students themselves recognize the significant and positive impact of the education through theatre regarding the emotional, social and aesthetic development (as components of personal development), and the relationship between them.