Exploratory profiles of theatre arts teachers in Latvia based on their orientations toward educational goals

Abstract

The introduction of theatre arts as a subject within Latvia's competence-based education reform has increased the importance of understanding how theatre arts teachers interpret the educational goals of theatre pedagogy. This study aimed to identify profiles of theatre arts teachers in Latvia based on response patterns reflecting inferred orientations toward aesthetic, social, and personal/cultural educational goals. The study employed a quantitative survey design using a questionnaire specifically developed for theatre arts educators. Data were collected in 2023 from 63 theatre arts teachers working in general education schools across Latvia. Cluster analysis was conducted using TwoStep and hierarchical procedures to examine the number and structure of clusters, followed by K-means analysis to obtain the final profile membership. The primary categorized-score analysis yielded three exploratory teacher profiles. Profile 1 comprised educators with comparatively lower endorsement across the aesthetic, social, and personal and cultural development goal dimensions. Profile 2 included teachers with consistently higher endorsement across all three dimensions, particularly aesthetic and personal and cultural development goals. Profile 3 was characterized by comparatively stronger endorsement of social goals, while aesthetic and personal and cultural development goals received more moderate endorsement. Descriptive comparisons showed clear differences among the identified response profiles in aesthetic, personal and cultural development, and social goal dimensions, while awareness of official curriculum goals showed little differentiation. The findings suggest heterogeneity among theatre arts teachers in this exploratory sample, with distinct response patterns across the educational goal dimensions examined. The study contributes to theatre pedagogy research by proposing empirically grounded teacher profiles and highlights the importance of addressing pedagogical beliefs and educational aims within teacher education and professional development in theatre arts.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Frontiers in Education, 2026 · DOI ↗