Voices of Democracy

COURSE SESSIONS

Voices of Democracy: Drama-Based Methods for Student Voice and Civic Dialogue

Introduction

Give your students a voice—and the confidence to use it. This course empowers educators to foster democratic dialogue through drama, enabling learners to express opinions, engage in civic issues, and actively participate in shaping their communities.

Description

This is an experiential training course designed to equip educators with innovative pedagogical tools to promote active citizenship, democratic participation, and inclusive dialogue in educational settings. Grounded in drama pedagogy and participatory learning theories, the course explores how embodied, creative methods can support learners in expressing their perspectives, engaging with diverse viewpoints, and critically examining social and civic issues. Participants will engage in a range of practices including process drama, role-play, storytelling, and Theatre of the Oppressed-inspired techniques to facilitate meaningful dialogue and collaborative problem-solving. Emphasis is placed on creating safe, inclusive classroom environments where all voices are valued and respected. The course aligns with Erasmus+ priorities by fostering civic engagement, social inclusion, and learner agency across diverse educational contexts.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

Understand key concepts of student voice, agency, and democratic education
Explore drama-based methodologies for fostering participation and dialogue
Develop skills in facilitating inclusive, safe, and respectful classroom environments
Apply process drama, role-play, and participatory theatre techniques
Engage learners in critical reflection on civic and social issues
Strengthen competencies in dialogue, active listening, and perspective-taking
Design learning experiences that promote democratic engagement and collaboration
Integrate drama-based approaches into various curricular contexts
Support student-led initiatives and participatory practices in schools
Reflect on and adapt pedagogical approaches to diverse learner needs

Methodology and Assessment

The course follows an experiential, learner-centred approach grounded in drama pedagogy, collaborative learning, and reflective practice. Participants engage in hands-on workshops, group work, and micro-teaching sessions. Assessment is continuous and formative, based on active participation, peer feedback, reflective journals, and the design of practical classroom applications.

Materials, Digital Tools & Other Learning Resources

Participants will use a variety of creative and digital resources including drama toolkits, scenario cards, and reflective journals. Supplementary readings on drama pedagogy, democratic education, and participatory methods are provided.

Preparation

After registration participants will receive pre-course questionnaire which will be used by the trainer to learn about participants’ teaching backgrounds and to assess their exact needs. Before the beginning of the course a basic reading list will be suggested to participants to prepare for the training. Participants will also be asked to prepare a presentation about themselves, their professional context and their culture which will be presented during the course. Participants will receive information about the country they are going to visit in order to prepare them for their cultural experience.

Follow up

After the course participants will be asked to share what they have learned with the rest of the staff in their schools. Further books and articles to deepen the topic and contacts with some other practitioners all over Europe and in the world will be suggested by the trainer. The methods shared and explored and the bibliography given will allow the participants to complete and improve their educational path.

Certificate

Each participant will get a course attendance certificate and on request we will complete the Europass Mobility Document.

Accommodation

We do not directly offer accommodation and subsistence and participants are responsible for organizing it by themselves.

Paperwork

We also provide all the support with paperwork you might need for your Erasmus+ project documentation such as mobility agreement and registration letter.

Fee: 560 €

Cancelation policy

Free cancellation up to 30 days before the start. After that, the reservation is not refundable. Changes in name and profile of the participant are possible any time before the start of the course (replacement participants from the same school/org are accepted at any time). In case the school/org doesn't find a replacement, we will still offer a place at any of our confirmed courses later in the year without any additional costs but we can not guarantee that every course session will be confirmed and the school/org will only be offered to choose from already confirmed course sessions. In case it will not be possible for the participant to attend the course or for us to organize the course due to extraordinary circumstances (classified as such by the European Commission) which present themselves in the period of less than 30 days before the start of the course and we don’t manage to find an alternative solution, we will keep 50 % of the payment and refund the remaining balance of 50% to the payer’s bank account.

Draft Programme - 35 didactic hours

Day 1

Welcome and introduction
Outline of the programme
Cultural exchange
Warm ups and icebreakers
Course expectations and needs analysis, setting up a collaborative learning environment and creating an educational contract
Foundations of democratic education and student voice

Day 2

Introduction to drama pedagogy
Drama as a tool for democratic education and student voice
Exploring power relations in schools
Identiy maping through Role-on-the-wall

Day 3

Creating safe and inclusive spaces
Trust-building exercises
Strategies for inclusive participation
Introduction to process drama
Entering a fictional democratic scenario

Day 4

Teacher-in-role and co-creation
Active listening and dialogue skills
Empathy and respectful disagreement
Storytelling for civic awareness
Ethical and sensitive topics

Day 5

Structured drama for dialogue
Character interviews on civic issues
Simulating democratic processes
Facilitating student-led discussions

Day 6

Introduction to Theatre of the Oppressed
Exploring power and inequality
Image Theatre for exploring power and inequality
Forum Theatre for democratic dialogue
Spect-actors and intervention strategies
Reflection and pedagogical adaptation

Day 7

Design of personal plan for implementation of drama-based methods for student voice and civic dialogue
Presentation of outputs(personal implementation plans)
Group reflection, feedback and discussion
Dissemination strategy and european dimension
Validation of the learning outcomes
Evaluation of the course
Closing session