Arts-based critical service-learning experiences as transformative pedagogy

Initial teacher education programs regularly engage students in servicelearning programs, providing an additional pathway to personal, professional and pedagogical transformation in their learning journey. One of those pathways is through service-learning placements in community arts projects. This paper reports on a study of arts-based service-learning programs at two universities. Eight initial teacher education (ITE) students were interviewed after their placements and a number of key themes emerged. These include the importance of productive discomfort as part of the service-learning experience and transformative pedagogy resulting from the art-based experience. This paper also explores some critiques of traditional service-learning models that have opened spaces for critical service-learning approaches. The analysis of ITE students’ narratives led to findings about the path of transformation from traditional to critical service-learning approaches through arts-based projects, an area which has been largely unexplored in previous research. The paper concludes with discussion of future avenues for related research that orientate service-learning in the arts towards social and creative justice

Women, Robots and a Sustainable Generation: Reading Artworks Envisioning Education in 2050 and Beyond

UNESCO’s Futures of Education initiative aims to rethink education and shape the future. As part of a broad open consultation, an independent international commission harnessed the imaginations of artists throughout the world with an open call to creatively respond to the question: What does education, learning and knowledge look like in 2050? This analysis represents the reading of 218 artworks submitted in response to the open call received between September 2019 and October 2020. The artworks were submitted to UNESCO via the online platform from all regions of the world – the majority of artists aged sixteen to thirty years old (62%) and identifying as female (60%). Through careful analyses of artwork submissions, the analysis points to defiant individual perspectives across key themes, echoing many of UNESCO’s key priorities. Artists have explored a set of themes across optimistic and pessimistic dimensions, many warning against a future driven by current leaders and with existing policies

Dance for Life: Expressive Arts for Cultural Wellbeing with Young People: Research and Evaluation Report

Developing strong mental health and wellbeing of young people is one of the most pressing issues Australian Society is currently facing. Anxiety and depressive disorders are increasing worldwide in adolescents with social, political, and environmental causes implicated. In Australia a post pandemic report on youth mental health and wellbeing found that 51% had difficulty completing daily tasks with 34% experiencing high or very high levels of distress (Headspace 2021). Worldwide public health policy has gradually shifted from a deterministic set of individualised ill-health factors to include a more holistic view of health and wellbeing (Mackay 2016). The World Health Organisation’s definition of health has come to include social determinants such as education, income and social protection, food and job security, housing, social inclusion, structural conflict and affordable and accessible health services. Current research indicates that social determinants “can be more important than health care or lifestyle choices in influencing health” (WHO 2021). What is still missing from this definition of wellbeing is the role of creative expression, arts and cultural values as imperative to cultural wellbeing (Mackay 2016). This research evaluation was commissioned by Kulture Break, a dance company with a focus on inclusion and wellbeing for young people. The aim of the research was to identify how their creative arts programs were able to influence young people’s wellbeing; specifically, in terms of social inclusion, confidence, sense of belonging and life aspirations. Further to this the research aimed to find out how dance as an expressive art can improve wellbeing and social cohesion within communities and better inform understandings of how wellbeing is experiences to inform nation wellbeing policy. This evaluative research project reviewed how dance programs at Kulture Break are implicated in the cultural wellbeing of young people that attend their classes

Understanding the Experience and Perceived Impact of the Ready Arrive Work Program

The Ready Arrive Work (RAW) program assists high school students from refugee backgrounds to explore vocational learning pathways in a supportive and positive environment. It aims to equip them with a better understanding of employment, workplaces, career planning and the pathways which can lead to a successful career after completing school. Designed by JobQuest and the NSW Department of Education the RAW program targets government high schools in metropolitan and regional NSW. It has been operating in NSW High schools since 2006. For students from refugee backgrounds, careers advice has been consistently identified in policy and research as a point of vulnerability and as an ideal opportunity for intervention. A recent Victorian inquiry into school-based career advising (Parliament of Victoria, 2018) identified numerous issues faced by refugee students including: unfamiliarity with systems of education and work, inadequate knowledge of career options and prerequisites, isolation, trauma, disruptions, lack of connections and mentors, parents’ limited knowledge and accompanying expectations. More than a decade after the RAW initiative and resources were developed, and after rapid expansion of the program beyond its original site, this research aimed to gather an understanding of the perceived impact, enablers and barriers of the RAW program. This qualitative research interviewed 58 stakeholders including school students, school staff, Job quest staff and Raw steering committee, industry and civic partners. Findings indicated that the Ready Arrive Work program was beneficial for students, schools, industry and civic partner organisations. All the ‘impacts’ reported by these stakeholders were positive. This indicates that participating RAW stakeholders hold the program in high regard and the continuation of the program should be prioritised by the NSW Department of Education. Specific impacts were reported by stakeholders for each of the participating groups

Writing in Secondary Academic Partners

Writing in Secondary (WiS) Academic Partners is a partnership between the New South Wales Department of Education and the Centre for Educational Research, School of Education, Western Sydney University (WSU). The WiS project was undertaken across secondary schools (n=20) within NSW in 2021 and 2022. The project focused on the improvement in academic writing for Stages 4 and 5 within History; Personal Development, Health and Physical Education; Science and Visual Arts. The impact of WiS on students' writing within these subjects and teachers' pedagogical changes in the teaching of writing are identified in this report

Aesthetic development in higher education : an interdisciplinary dialogue

Aesthetic literacy can be understood as a mode of cognition or a way of knowing. However, the concept of aesthetics is often absent from conversations about learning and curriculum, particularly in higher education settings. In this paper the nature of aesthetic education is discussed, as are the merits of its inclusion in a tertiary curriculum. The concept of aesthetic literacy is also discussed, along with the challenges associated with the inclusion of aesthetic learning in higher education settings. These issues are explored through the medium of a narrative inquiry study examining perspectives of lecturers who use aesthetic learning in their practices. In this study, all participants are teacher educators, lecturing in pre-service education disciplines. They discuss the aesthetic dimensions of their discipline areas, as well as the successes, challenges and limitations associated with introducing aesthetic learning strategies. The participants come from a range of subject disciplines and give us insight into the ways that aesthetic learning can be addressed in a range of tertiary settings

When do we do the Macarena? : exploring perceptions of the arts within primary education courses

Our contemporary understanding of arts education declares that it is an academic area of study that requires learners to use creative and complex thinking to engage in the creation, presentation and evaluation of the arts. However, pre-service teachers’ perceptions frequently misrepresent the area, often as a result of societal values or their own school experiences. In this paper arts education lecturers reflect on pre-service teachers’ perceptions of the arts, and the ways in which the facilitation of learning experiences may change those perceptions. The research also examines strategies used by participants to break down their preconceived ideas and stereotypes

Stories told and performed : a methodology for researching drama assessment in schools

Purpose: A methodology that combined ethnographies, including the ethnography of performance with narrative inquiry was used in a research project investigating the assessment of senior secondary Drama performance in Australia. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach: After a temporal change in the research approach, it was decided that the research method needed to capture the Drama performance assessment phenomenon as it was lived and experienced. Findings: As a result, methodological choices shifted from procedural documentation and document analysis to ethnographic observations that were able to capture the more nuanced aspects of the relationship between Drama performance and assessment, embracing tacit learning, agendas, cultures, experiences and understandings. Originality/value: This paper reflects on the methodological dilemmas and choices made when studying artistic and aesthetic texts in the classroom, and poses considerations for future researchers conducting inquiries in aesthetically rich learning environments

Habitus and perceptions : lecturers discuss dance in primary teacher education courses in Queensland, Australia

Dance is a compulsory component of the Arts Curriculum in the primary years in Australia. Today, we have a renewed understanding of dance education that utilises experimentation, guided discovery, exploration and enhanced creative thinking skills (Isbell & Raines, 2007). There is much research that attests to the benefits of creative approaches to dance education (Gersak, 2012), however, pre-service teachers’ perceptions of dance frequently misrepresent the area, often as a result of societal values, their own school experiences and the habitus that creates perceptions of dance in schools. This paper reports on a study that interviewed lecturers facilitating dance education units in teacher preparation courses in Queensland, Australia. They reflect upon the strategies they use to challenge preconceived ideas and stereotypes about dance and arts education. They also discuss opportunities for future developments in pre-service dance education and avenues of success they have experienced

Aesthetic development in higher education : an interdisciplinary dialogue

Aesthetic literacy can be understood as a mode of cognition or a way of knowing. However, the concept of aesthetics is often absent from conversations about learning and curriculum, particularly in higher education settings. In this paper the nature of aesthetic education is discussed, as are the merits of its inclusion in a tertiary curriculum. The concept of aesthetic literacy is also discussed, along with the challenges associated with the inclusion of aesthetic learning in higher education settings. These issues are explored through the medium of a narrative inquiry study examining perspectives of lecturers who use aesthetic learning in their practices. In this study, all participants are teacher educators, lecturing in pre-service education disciplines. They discuss the aesthetic dimensions of their discipline areas, as well as the successes, challenges and limitations associated with introducing aesthetic learning strategies. The participants come from a range of subject disciplines and give us insight into the ways that aesthetic learning can be addressed in a range of tertiary settings