This initial edition of NJ for 2017 foregrounds the role of drama as critical, quality pedagogy across the educational continuum. This theme is of central importance at a time when drama educators are concerned about the reductive and narrow curriculum offerings undermining all sectors of education. Each article in this issue provides evidence and strong counter-arguments for rich and creative pedagogies that enable deep understanding, the exploration of complex ethical issues and opportunities for the development of empathy and compassion. The scope of this issue spans a broad range of educational contexts from early childhood settings to primary and secondary schooling to institutions of higher education. All of the articles provide concrete and practical models for drama educators who hope to extend and enhance their own professional practices. Early childhood educator Una McCabe writes of drama as a methodology used to engage vulnerable or at risk children in rich socio-dramatic play. In her study, she demonstrates that children will not always learn through playing alone, and therefore discusses the importance of the educator’s role in enabling children to access dramatic worlds in a deeper way. Carolyn Swanson gives an example of the use of ‘mantle of the expert’ as a support for exploring ethical tensions when learning in science. She discusses the effects of role, status and purpose of her primary participants’ understandings as they emerged and developed. They were able to appreciate the complexity of ethical dilemmas as they considered alternative points of view. Claire Coleman unpacks two contrasting interpretations of Cecily O’Neill’s renowned Seal Wife drama as they were applied in secondary language contexts. In particular, she demonstrates the facilitators’ challenges in providing access to meaning without dictating a particular interpretation. To partner this article we asked Cecily O’Neill to reflect on the original Seal Wife drama and she has kindly done so. Pleased that the drama still has currency, she was surprised to see its application in teaching languages. Hala Mreiwed draws on a study in tertiary teacher education contexts to explore the role drama education may play in fostering community amongst pre-service teachers. She proposes that ‘community as a relational experience’ raises questions about what might be considered normal or familiar modes of instruction in higher education. We are delighted to provide Barking Gecko’s Artistic Director Matt Edgerton’s inspiring keynote from Drama Australia’s New Ground Rising conference in Perth in February, 2017. He chose to discuss ‘the spirit of the new’ as ‘a vital part of what drives us as theatre artists’. Newly retired international drama leader and educator Stig Eriksson has kindly permitted us to reprint his 1995 article ‘The Violence Workshop’ which uses Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus to frame learning employing a wide range of drama conventions. Stig has also provided us with his reflections. When looking back on this 20-year old article he believes it is still relevant and stimulating for twenty-first century living. He hopes readers new to this text will feel inspired and welcomes their comments.

中文翻译：

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回顾与启发：不同教育背景下的戏剧

2017年的《新泽西州》初版将戏剧作为整个教育领域至关重要的优质教学法的角色。在戏剧教育工作者关注破坏教育所有领域的缩小和狭窄的课程设置时，这一主题至关重要。本期的每篇文章都为丰富而富有创造性的教学法提供了证据和有力的反驳，这些教学法使人们能够深入理解，探索复杂的道德问题以及发展同理心和同情心的机会。这个问题的范围涵盖了从幼儿期到小学和中学到高等教育机构的广泛教育背景。所有文章均为希望扩展和增强自己的专业实践的戏剧教育者提供了具体而实用的模型。幼儿教育者Una McCabe写道，戏剧是一种使弱势或处于危险中的儿童参与丰富的社会戏剧游戏的方法。在她的研究中，她证明了孩子们不会总是通过独自玩耍来学习，因此讨论了教育者在使孩子们更深入地进入戏剧世界中的作用的重要性。卡罗琳·斯旺森（Carolyn Swanson）举例说明了使用“专家的风衣”作为探索科学学习中的伦理张力的支持。她讨论了主要参与者的理解，作用和地位以及目标的产生和发展的影响。他们在考虑替代观点时能够理解道德困境的复杂性。克莱尔·科尔曼（Claire Coleman）将塞西莉·奥尼尔（Cecily O'Neill）著名的《封印妻子》（Seal Wife）戏剧的两种截然不同的解释应用于第二语言环境。她特别展示了调解人在提供获取含义的机会而没有要求特定解释的挑战。作为本文的合作伙伴，我们请塞西莉·奥尼尔（Cecily O'Neill）对原始的《海豹妻子》戏剧进行反思，她对此也很友好。她很高兴看到这部戏仍然流行，她惊讶地发现它在教学语言中的应用。Hala Mreiwed在高等师范教育背景下进行了一项研究，以探索戏剧教育在职前教师中促进社区发展的作用。她提出“社区作为一种关系经验”提出了关于在高等教育中什么是正常或熟悉的教学模式的问题。我们很高兴在2017年2月于珀斯举行的澳大利亚戏剧协会新地面崛起大会上提供Barking Gecko的艺术总监Matt Edgerton的鼓舞人心的主题演讲。他选择将“新精神”作为“驱动我们成为戏剧艺术家的重要组成部分”进行讨论'。新近退休的国际戏剧领袖和教育家斯蒂格·埃里克森（Stig Eriksson）诚挚地允许我们重印他1995年的文章“暴力研讨会”，该文章利用莎士比亚的泰特斯·安德鲁尼克斯（Titus Andronicus）来运用各种戏剧惯例来构架学习。斯蒂格也向我们提供了他的感想。在回顾这篇已有20年历史的文章时，他认为它仍然与21世纪的生活息息相关，并且令人振奋。他希望刚接触本文的读者能从中获得启发并欢迎他们的评论。