Exploration 2: Arts-Based Research

The field of research from the perspective of an artist is different from most. In her 2011 article Arts-Based Research as Social Justice Activism: Insight, Inquiry, Imagination, Embodiement, Relationality professor Karen Keifer-Boyd explains that it’s foundation lies in the visual, tactile, and

kinesthetic nature of art itself (p. 5).  This means that when we conduct research through the arts we do so through all of our senses. With this idea comes the understanding that research is not just the end product of an experience but also the experience itself. This concept is illustrated in the study done by the dance teacher Amy Chavasse in 2015. She identifies the challenge of adapting her teaching strategies to meet the needs of her students. As a teacher-researcher, she looks to answer the question of how she can foster creative agency in her students. In her study she utilizes the methods of constructivism by sharing the problem with her class and making them become active participants in the search for the answer alongside their teacher. As she teaches the dancers traditional technique, she gathers data by watching, listening, and questioning with her students. She states that, “ Bounding back and forth between the field’s ancestors and its radical newcomers keeps me full of questions and tension— qualities I value in my classroom.” (p. 148) 

  In the article Creativity for Whom? Art Education in the Age of Creative Agency, Decreased Resources, and Unequal Art Achievement Outcomes Jennifer Katz-Buonincontro uses quantitative methods to demonstrate the gap between white and asian/pacific Islander students from black and hispanic students. This research looks at what is missing from the art room and its consequences. Her argument suggests that if we were to use social justice as the lens to look at our education system, it would show us that creative agency is not just a skill to learn but a human right. Creative agency and teaching creativity shows students that they have their own power. My interest lies in looking at the social structure of my school and how that influences the students learning experience. Who is the authority? Who makes the choices? Who has the power to make a change? Some of our students grow up thinking that they were born with that power. Katz-Buonincontro (2018) conducted a survey that suggested that white and Asian students succeeded not only academically beyond African American and Hispanic students, but they also surpassed them in their creativity. Why? Because the students lived in an area where there were enough funds to support the arts. 

      Katz-Buonincontro, J. (2018). Creativity for whom? art education in the age of creative

agency,decreased resources, and unequal art achievement outcomes.Art
 Education,71(6),34-37. Retrieved from

http://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/docview/2171142608?accountid=13158

Kraehe, A. M. (2018). CREATIVE AGENCY: Empowerment in art and design education. Art Education, 71(6), 4-8. Retrieved from http://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/docview/2171135645?accountid=13158

Chavasse, Amy. “Fostering Agency and Artistry in Dancers.” Arts Education Policy Review, vol.
 116, no. 3, July 2015, pp. 147–154. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/10632913.2015.1047003

Draft Problem Statement:

In my fourth year of teaching I have found that my students struggle to be able to make decisions on their own. I also observe that during the school day, students actively push back on the decisions made for them by teachers. This has lead my to wonder how agency is being taught to by our teachers and practiced by our students. In my study I plan on surveying a class of students thoughts, feelings and understanding of what agency is. I will then teach a choice based art lesson using constructivist methods where the process and product are all determined by the students. After which, I will complete a post survey to compare the thoughts, feelings and understanding. Through this research I hope to determine if providing students with more or less agency would benefit their decision making skills.