This study investigated the use of Augusto Boal's model of participatory theater to analyze complex social issues within the context of teacher education coursework. Augusto Boal was the originator of the Theatre of the Oppressed. The study examined the multicultural realities of school and evaluated students' use of Boal to discover further potential for using his theater. Students were introduced to Boal's theater for three reasons: to examine various solutions to societal questions found in schools; to develop critical thinking strategies for classroom dilemmas; and to articulate diversity in perspective taking. Students (1) kept reflective journals that responded to educational issues presented by readings, classroom discussions, and observations; (2) participated in various classroom activities that developed critical thinking strategies (e.g., simultaneous dramaturgy, image theater, and theater as discourse); and (3) used a constructivist model for working with Boal's theater in the classroom. The process allowed students to assess their choice of roles (either spectator or participant) in the multicultural drama found in the reality of school life. As a result of the participatory experience, authors and students could reflect within a safe environment about what makes the world a place to live and be happy in, rather than just a vast market in which people sell their goods. The authors concluded that encouraging the participatory theater process allows for the potential of endless reflection concerning perspective taking, posing questions, and examining solutions. (Contains 10 references.) (SM)