Theater Students' Perceptions of Creativity and Critical Thinking: A Phenomenological Study

Arts educators and theorists see education as a search for self and believe that imagination and critical thinking are skills needed in that search. The problem explored within this study was that high school students were not developing their creativity and their critical thinking skills because of the increased focus on standardized testing and the subsequently narrowed curriculum. This study examined if learning in the theater classroom helps students develop their creativity and critical thinking skills by interviewing 6 college students selected by criterion-purposive sampling who participated in a collaborative theater project with a professional theater company while in high school. A phenomenological hermeneutic method, using a long interview format, was used. The interviews were conducted using an interview protocol and transcribed afterward. The data were analyzed using Ricouer's hermeneutic arc and Standing's critical frameworks for verification of hermeneutic phenomenology. The study revealed that this process has encouraged transformation for the students, most notably in their perceptions about themselves as learners and as writers. The participants believed that their arts education made them more adaptable to new situations and open to change. This study will benefit the work of arts teachers in their efforts to illuminate the importance of the arts to help students use their imaginations to ask questions that will bring about social change. The results suggest that arts education is the best means of helping students to understand themselves as they progress to adulthood and future leadership opportunities.