Browsing by Author "Koivu, Anni-Kaisa Eveliina"

Objectives. As a special education teacher, I consider the welfare of the students in school to be important. Forming the class into a group of students that can work well together and have positive atmosphere to support learning. Research has shown that emphasizing courage has improved the social relationships between students and it is assumed to also support the group processes in the class. The research question of the study is to see how can courage as a character strength support the group processes in the class. The objective of the study is to figure out how the students experience courage and how courage appears during group work in drama lesson. Methods. The study was qualitative case study. The target group of the case study was a third grade special education class of ten students. The empirical evidence of the study was gathered from three different source materials: sociometric measurements done at three different points during the research period, student interviews, and drama lessons in small groups. The analysis was based on group theories of social psychology, positive psychological definitions of courage and the fields of learning in drama education. Results and Conclusions. The students of the special education class that were observed in the study proved to be brave and compassionate. They showed a growth mindset towards the idea of increasing and developing their courage. These qualities supported the interaction among the students in the class. Drama as a cooperative learning method supported the development of student interaction, a positive atmosphere, and proved to be effective for teaching and improving character strengths.