Changing the Terms of Engagement - Reflecting on the Use of Image Theatre in Research with Secondary School Students

This paper presents reflections on the use of image theatre (Boal, 1995; 2002), in my research in European inner-city secondary school classrooms. I am exploring the use of creative and collaborative, body-based exercises to research the multitude of classroom experiences, and the possibilities of theatre based methods in changing the terms of engagement (Gallagher, 2008) amongst research participants. This is part of a longer research, looking at some ways in which a critical approach to shaping learning environments affects the production of inclusive learning spaces and facilitates young people’s (re-)engagements with learning. Throughout my classroom visits, I facilitated a series of image theatre exercises as research interventions, in order to create participatory spaces for reflection with students and their teachers on their spaces for learning.