Theater as a pedagogical lever for the development of students’ communication skills: the case of Moroccan ISPITS students

Abstract

In Morocco, the Instituts Supérieurs des Professions Infirmières et Techniques de Santé (ISPITS) accept a large number of students with varied sociolinguistic and communication profiles. However, these students’ level of communication has become important for their professional success.In this context, this paper presents an exploratory study of theatre as an innovative educational tool for improving communication in Moroccan higher education. It presents a qualitative study conducted at the ISPITS in Tétouan to investigate how theatre influences essential communication skills, in particular oral expression, attentive listening, emotional management, and public speaking.This study concludes that theatre is perceived as a space for social simulation and symbolic mediation, which, in addition to stimulating student involvement, significantly improves students’ communication skills and actively contributes to changing teaching methods within the ISPITS, which is the subject of our study.This paper thus proposes concrete guidelines and recommendations for the institutional inclusion of theatre in ISPITS curricula and the provision of its opportunities for a promising pedagogical approach.