Future Focused: Young People’s Aspirations Explored Through Drama

There is evidence to suggest a range of benefits for young people in taking part in arts-based initiatives, including resilience, relationship development, promotion of positive social behaviour, self-belief and self-efficacy and confidence. However, there is a paucity of research focussing on young people’s aspirations arising from this engagement. This project aimed to explore the impact of engagement in community drama on young people’s future aspirations. A one-day drama workshop was run with 19 young people, all members of a youth community theatre group. A follow up focus group was run with parents (n=14) to explore group’s ethos in supporting aspirations. The young people thought aspirations were associated with career goals, support from others and having role models, while understanding that reaching their goals involved hard work and commitment. Engagement in drama was reported as supporting the development of life skills, positive friendships and space to try and learn new things.