Thesis
We Make Art and It Makes Us: An A/r/tographic Exploration of Generalist Primary Teachers’ Creative Self-Belief
Southern Cross University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Southern Cross University
2022
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25918/thesis.370
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Abstract
With the Australian Curriculum explicitly demanding the development of critical and creative thinking skills through the General Capabilities, it is imperative that educators understand the nature of creativity and how it can be developed in the classroom. Further, due to contemporary curriculum narrowing, it is also important to understand the barriers to teaching marginalised subject areas such as the Arts, for whom creativity and creative and critical thinking are core business.
In Australia generalist primary teachers are tasked with teaching all curriculum areas and experience a lack of self-efficacy in the Visual Arts. The literature points to self-beliefs as a powerful source of motivation for action, and teachers with low creative self-beliefs are less likely to engage in high-quality Visual Arts lessons with their students. This study aims to gain greater insights into primary teachers’ creative self-beliefs and how these beliefs are affected by making Art. The visual abstract above portrays the overview of the conceptual framework this inquiry engaged to explore the impact that Art making has on generalist primary teachers. This inquiry was conducted with 20 generalist primary teachers, who engaged in Art making workshops over six weeks.
A significant methodological implication of this research includes the development of A/r/tography as a theoro-methodology guided by the ontological and epistemological principles outlined in the visual abstract. A/r/tography, through the lens of Whiteheadian process philosophy is both deeply theoretical and methodological. This inquiry experimented with a series of analytical propositions that contribute new ways of engaging the renderings of A/r/tography. These propositions offer researchers open-ended ways to explore A/r/tography that opens up generative yields.
This study found that Art making positively impacts teachers’ creative self-belief and expands their understandings of creativity. Art making as a collective created a safe and supportive culture for creative action, and when combined with the engagement of enabling constraints, increased creative self-efficacy and creative self-concepts were apparent across all co-inquirers, developing praxical creativity. This was demonstrated in ongoing self-reported changes to pedagogical approaches in the teachers’ classrooms as well as shifts in more positive attitudes and personal Art making praxis.
Details
- Title
- We Make Art and It Makes Us: An A/r/tographic Exploration of Generalist Primary Teachers’ Creative Self-Belief
- Creators
- Katie Hotko
- Contributors
- Alexandra Lasczik (Supervisor) - Southern Cross UniversitySue Margaret Hudson (Supervisor) - Southern Cross University
- Awarding Institution
- Southern Cross University; Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Theses
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Southern Cross University
- Publisher
- Southern Cross University
- Number of pages
- xvi, 378
- Identifiers
- 991013198713402368
- Copyright
- © Katie Hotko 2022
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Education
- Resource Type
- Thesis