Pedagogy of paradox: discovering the role of drama-facilitator in the secondary school classroom

Abstract

This article describes elements of research that were carried out in four secondary schools in Spain’s Basque Country—particularly concerning the role of facilitator in the study’s framework. This research studied the usefulness of theatre as a tool applied to promoting coexistence amongst secondary school students. As researcher, I designed and implemented a drama-based program in four secondary schools, and I facilitated the sessions. From my experiences, I have extracted relevant elements that may be considered by others assuming the role of facilitator: creating structure building organizational consistency, and spaces guaranteeing trust and freedom; context management and facilitator´s self-regulation strategies by drawing boundaries and developing certain doses of tolerance to uncertainty.