Why Theatre Education Matters

2024 Greater Good Magazine Favorite Books for Educators

Discover the cognitive, social, emotional, and other psychological benefits of learning how to act and perform.

Why Theatre Education Matters looks behind the curtain to see how thinking on stage happens in real secondary classrooms. Reporting on the first large scale systematic qualitative analyses of acting classes for adolescents, the author introduces the eight Acting Habits of Mind—thinking strategies to solve problems and creatively complete tasks. Each Habit is tied to current scientific research findings for related psychological constructs, including creativity, self-esteem, empathy, emotion regulation, and well-being. Connections are then made to individual student needs, future research, and the complexity of theatre education.

Based in the science of development and actual theatre education in a variety of settings and with a diversity of students, this book provides an answer to the question, “What, psychologically, is an acting class?” Every educator, administrator, and arts lover can use this book to not only better understand and advocate for their art forms, but also to demonstrate why theatre should be included in schools.

Book Features:

• A go-to text for any theatre educator challenged to justify the teaching of acting in schools—uses systematic empirical evidence to show the psychological foundations of acting classes and how students learn to think on stage.
• A reference text for graduate study—discusses the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral techniques underlying acting exercises and moments in teaching.
• A summary of current knowledge in the transfer effects of theatre—offers a full exploration of the psychological underpinnings of acting classrooms across contexts, student type, and community.
• Exercises and techniques from acting classes across a variety of contexts—showing how they are tied to research-based psychosocial constructs, skills, and abilities.
• A foundation from which future tests of the effects of theatre education can be built—includes studies relevant to constructing policy and practice of arts education and developing interventions that use techniques and theories from theatre education.

Thalia R. Goldstein is an associate professor and director of the Applied Developmental Psychology Program at George Mason University.

“This book is a gift to theatre educators. . . . While strong theatre educators may already be teaching in the ways described in this book, they will now have a framework to describe the outcomes their methods can achieve.”
—From the Foreword by Ellen Winner, professor emerita, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston College, senior research associate, Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education

“Brilliant! In Why Theater Education Matters, author, actor, and scientist Thalia Goldstein leaps from pages in a book into high school drama classes. She compellingly illustrates why theater is central and not peripheral to a 21st-century education. At last, a deep dive, research-based treatise explains how acting supports students as they learn a suite of skills that crosscut academic domains: collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creative innovation, among others. An easy read and a helpful tool, this book deserves a standing ovation.”
—Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, professor of psychology, Temple University

“Why Theatre Education Matters is an essential resource for theatre educators and advocates. Through rigorous analysis of data from field research in actual acting classes, Goldstein illuminates the essential and intrinsic value of theatre education, offering a strong case for its inclusion in curricula nationwide.”
—Matt Omasta, professor and chair, Department of Theatre, Miami University

“What if there were one activity that develops traits such as mindfulness, emotion regulation, and social understanding? In this landmark work, psychologist Thalia Goldstein shows that theatre education does that, and much more. The book is simultaneously eye-opening, inspirational, accessible, and pragmatic. It offers researchers and theatre practitioners alike an evidence-based analysis of the psychological foundation of acting, and an invaluable conceptual framework for the mental orientations that grow from acting classes, the ‘Acting Habits of Mind.’ As well as being of immense importance to those who advocate for theatre’s value in education and society, it is a fascinating read for anyone who has ever wondered ‘what do actors do?’”
—Richard J. Kemp, professor and head of acting and directing, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, author of Embodied Acting: What Neuroscience Tells Us About Performance.

“Why Theatre Education Matters brings rigorous, psychological research to the pedagogical study of how theatre training benefits young people. This timely, accessible book offers a comprehensive rationale for, and introduction to, Goldstein’s groundbreaking framework, the Acting Habits of Mind. Her rich bridging of psychological theory, acting exercises, and case study examples offers a roadmap and invitation for theatre educators to teach for more effective learning. I’m certain this book will have a significant impact in the field of theatre education, research, and practice for years to come.”
—Kathryn M. Dawson, associate professor of theatre, The University of Texas at Austin