1 APJAE, 14(3), 1-31 1 Asia-Pacific Journal for Arts Education Co-editors: Dr. Bo Wah LEUNG Dr. Cheung On TAM The Hong Kong Institute of Education http://www.ied.edu.hk/cca/apjae/apjae.htm ISSN 1683-6995 Volume 14 Number 3 April 2015 Internalizing the ephemeral – Impact of process dramas on teachers’ beliefs about drama education Adrian Wong Foo Aik adrianwong77@gmail.com Abstract This article draws on the findings of a case study that looked at the impact of an in-service professional development course conducted at the National Institute of Education (NIE) in Singapore on the beliefs of three teachers. Specifically, the case study investigated the change, if any, of teachers’ beliefs about teaching and about drama education. The study also analyzed aspects of the course that has the greatest impact on changing teachers’ beliefs. For this article, the discussion will focus on literature and findings surrounding the investigation of the course’s impact on teachers’ beliefs about drama education. Interview data from the three teachers were transcribed, coded and triangulated for emerging themes for each teacher and between the three teachers. The course aims to introduce teachers to and equip them with the conceptual and practical understanding of how to use drama effectively for delivery of curriculum. Findings included teachers reported that their beliefs about drama education had changed. They indicated that they began the course with a belief that drama is merely performance, a ‘product’. At the end, they believe in the potential of learning through the drama ‘process’. More notably, the teachers cited that the process dramas they experienced were significant aspects of the course. The analysis of the interview data suggested that their experiences of the process dramas had a comparatively greater impact on their change in beliefs about drama education compared to other aspects of the course. These experiences were critical incidences (Dhamotharan, 1992;