Centre for Drama Education
Drama pedagogy has long been a defining element of the professional and educational approach of Apor Vilmos Catholic College. The roots of this connection reach back to the institution’s predecessor, the Catholic Teacher Training College of Zsámbék, where Hungary’s first — and to this day unique — independent Department of Drama Pedagogy was established through the work of Katalin Gabnai and János Móka.
This historical legacy represents not only a professional tradition, but also a foundational perspective in which drama as a pedagogical tool is built on personal experience, community learning, and the complex understanding of human experience. For this reason, alongside specialised postgraduate programmes, drama education also appears as a subject in many of the College’s degree programmes.
The Centre for Drama Education builds upon this tradition, with the aim of developing it and responding through drama to the contemporary educational, social and cultural challenges. The Centre views drama pedagogy both as a well-established field with decades of practice and as one of the most important educational methods of the future.
The Centre’s work focuses on experiential learning, puppetry, storytelling, role-based dramatic processes, and the many forms of educational application of drama and theatre. Drama pedagogy is understood not as an isolated method, but as a complex approach that connects education, community development and cultural mediation.
The activities of the Centre for Drama Education are organised around four main areas:
- Research: theoretical and practical exploration of drama pedagogy methods, with particular attention to experiential learning, theatre in education and drama-based responses to contemporary pedagogical challenges.
- Training: courses, professional development programmes, workshops, and longer training opportunities for teachers, students and professionals.
- Development and Innovation: creation of new methodological models, curricula, programmes, and good practices in early childhood education, school-based learning and non-formal educational contexts.
- Professional and International Relations: participation in national and international projects, organisation of professional events, conferences and cooperation with educational, theatrical, and cultural organisations.
