Winter course experience: Towards a wider understanding of a dramaturgy approach

Abstract

Background: Dramaturgy is a specific method of course design and conduct used in experiential education in the Czech Republic. However, little is known about how the application of dramaturgy affects participants in experiential education. This paper explores dramaturgy in a winter expeditionary course organized by Vacation School Lipnice and participants’ experience. Objective: Firstly, to explicate how the dramaturgy was used to design and conduct a winter expeditionary course by Vacation School Lipnice. Secondly, to explore the participants’ experience. Methods: Content analysis was employed, using data from twelve unstructured interviews made with the course participants. Results: Four main themes representing participants’ experience emerged from the interviews: a) inner self-experience, reflecting on life; b) relationships with others; c) nature; and d) embodiment and physical demands. These four underlying aspects have turned out to be relevant to the course dramaturgy in a number of ways. Considering the dramaturgy of the course, the main theme of the course was a pilgrimage not only to certain goal, but also to oneself. This theme was transformed into a practical programme of a long winter journey on snowshoes. Conclusions: The dramaturgy approach was found useful in the design of the experiential education course, positively contributing to the participants’ experience.