Dramatization of poetry as strategy in an angermanagement programme for adolescent girls

[摘要] Adolescence is a turbulent time and a critical transformational phase during whichmajor physical, emotional, cognitive and social shifts occur. The objective of thisstudy is to explore ways in which female adolescents can acquire angermanagement skills. The study proposes that emotional competency is cultivated as aresult of the neurological plasticity of the brain and by applying learning materialbased on the work of scholars in the fields of neuroscience and Applied Drama.Adolescence is an opportune time for girls to learn emotional competency skills asthe incomplete development of the prefrontal area of the brain makes them moreinclined to risk taking and less aware of logical thinking processes. The studyindicates that anger floods the body with secretions like cortisol and adrenaline,blocking logical thinking. Angry incidences can have destructive consequences forrelationships. The empirical study includes discussions of training levels for angermanagement, such as the identification of anger-related emotions and anger styles,understanding anger, and curbing angry expressions through assertivecommunication.As anger management is a practical aptitude, the empirical study applied selectedProcess Drama conventions (as modes of Applied Drama), specifically role play,tableaux, Mantle of the Expert and dramatized poetry. The benefit of theseconventions lies in the facility with which they can alternate between dual modes ofengagement and learning content. Process Drama launches the workshops'participants into a make-believe world in which they can identify with a situation fromthe inside out while simultaneously observing the situation from the outside in, aphenomenon called metaxis. The female adolescent, while protective of her socialrelationships, can safely enter a fictitious world and face the problems raised byanger without jeopardizing her privacy or dealing with real-life emotions. Theconvention of dramatized poetry enabled creative expression as the participantswrote their own poems to personalize their insight into their need for angermanagement. While the methodology was being practised, it was also assessed. Asthe outcomes of the learning objectives were the participants' responsibility, I could assess during the activities if they accommodated learning objectives in theirbiography. In this study the participants were, for example, not able to fully utilize theskill of assertive communication.The integrity of the methodology of Process Drama for girls was affirmed when it wassuccessfully combined with the principles of brain-based learning. The literaturereview and the outcomes of the empirical study confirmed that Process Dramaadheres to the principles of brain-based learning which is, inter alia, physiological,social and emotional, and occurs in tandem with the developmental phase of theparticipant. The research study is the culmination of various disciplines and anendeavour to present a multimodal anger management programme that incorporatesthe adolescent female on a cognitive, emotional and physical level, and in a soundcollaborative environment.

[发布机构] University of Pretoria