Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemWorthy of the name: the teacher-writer in subject English( 2018)This research is an investigation of the writer identity in subject English as it pertains to the English teacher identity. A focus on English teachers’ writing practices, pedagogy and identities has been a research interest since the 1960s—usually predicated on claims that English teachers tend not to see themselves as writers, and tend not to be as confident in the teaching of writing as they are in the teaching of reading. The importance of investigating teachers’ literate identities, and their writing identities in particular, is justified on the grounds that the way in which English teachers see themselves will influence the ways that they view their students’ identities and practices, and the subject of English itself. Writing, with its inherent ties to creation and creativity, is a central aspect to the teaching of English, yet these notions of creativity are frequently problematised in modern outcomes-driven education. An investigation of the ‘teacher-writer’, therefore, is an investigation of the effect of identity in understanding subject English and its practices, as well as a contemplation of the affordances for creativity in the current educational climate. In order to answer the research question of ‘What does it mean to be a teacher-writer?’ this research project explored the sub-questions of ‘How do teacher-writers conceive of the writing identity?’ and ‘What are the relationships between teacher-writers’ identities and practices?’ The research was underpinned by a postmodern qualitative epistemology with an analytical framework influenced by Bourdieu’s theory of practice (1977) and his understandings of distinction and the field of cultural production (1984, 1996), as well as Gee’s (2000) tools for discourse analysis of identity. The methodological approach to this research comprised of a case study investigation of fifteen English teachers who are also writers, and involved a series of interviews and interactions with each participant. The findings from the analysis firstly demonstrated the complex ways that English teachers view the writing identity for themselves and for others. The analysis for these findings was discussed in terms of the ways in which they speak to the historical, philosophical and political shaping of subject English and the writer identity. The second set of findings explored the relationship between teacher-writers’ identities and practices, and were analysed thematically, covering such areas as entry to teaching and sustainment in the teaching profession, notions of creativity in teaching and writing, perceived connection between the two identities, and impact on pedagogy and student interactions. The research concluded by positing a range of common factors exhibited by the participants and argues that any English teacher who also aligns their identity with these practices should be considered ‘worthy of the name’ of being a teacher-writer.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableAn A/R/Tist in Wonderland: exploring identity, creativity and digital portfolios as A/R/Tographer( 2017)I seek to understand the role that personalised and rhizomatic learning plays in the development of artist identity and creative practice in secondary art education as a/r/tographer. Informed by theorists in critical, social and visual cultures in art education, I explore how learning in and through a personalised portfolio as both process and product, affects creativity and identity as artist through learning to see and notice the common threads in practice over time. I examine this through the lenses of a/r/tography, critical auto-ethnography and ethnographic video in a storied pedagogy, here on site. Situated within a/r/tographic inquiry and embodied research, this study addresses rhizomatic learning in art education and in arts based educational research and literature, specifically how important an understanding of creativity and creative practice are for students as art makers and responders to art, as makers, historians, theorists and critics. While art and art education are commonly discussed as creative, promoted as important aspects of cultural thinking, values collaboration, creativity and problem solving in schools, few studies have designed a personalised learning space to inform these practices and explore them from the artist-researcher-teacher viewpoint. I am an artist-researcher-teacher, I adopt this relational approach to this study, informed by a/r/tography, digital pedagogy, critical auto-ethnography and arts based educational research. This rhizomatic, reflective and relational methodology includes the researcher as participant, performing the research and designing learning through a personalised narrative. To include the artist voice as authoritative, digital ethnographic interviews are included as a/r/tefacts in the study design. As a/r/tographer art making, narrative and learning design are an important component of the meaning making process for pedagogy. Created as a bricolage of creativity, this study is rendered in the excess of art, research and teaching in the digital. It is a woven and intertwined personalised learning design, curated as a digital currere to invite creative affect through engagement with relational and rhizomatic learning and construct a new narrative for art education: A narrative of practice based pedagogies through a turn toward embodied praxis, a turn toward portfolio pedagogies, a turn toward a storied personalised curriculum and a turn to the digital for self discovery and creativity.
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ItemCreative practice, value, and the teaching of art and design in higher education( 2014)Despite the current emphasis on creativity in education, the teaching of art and design in universities is an underresearched area of higher education. Those who teach within university art and design disciplines are most often artists and designers with their own active and vibrant creative practices. Yet the connection between the teaching of art and design and the creative practices of the artists and designers who teach in those programs is not well understood. This thesis is an attempt to articulate this area. Contemporary higher education, a space currently experiencing much change due to the force of economics and policy in Australia and internationally, is the contextual background for this research. Within this context, the academic disciplines of art and design and those who teach within them are considered in light of their creative practices as artists and designers, and the value of this practice. I began with the premise that there is value in the teaching of art and design, and from the creative practices of artists and designers who teach in these disciplines; therefore, this thesis focuses on articulating the nature of this value rather than arguing for its existence. To research this topic, a qualitative methodology was used, with Australian art and design academics as participants. Qualitative methods involving two phases included semistructured interviews, class observations, visual data, participant journals, and field notes. Value theory was the main theoretical lens used for analysis, in addition to theories of embodied and tacit knowledge, and creativity. Analysis highlighted that participants model and draw from creative practice in teaching of art and design, conceptualise research in a variety of ways, struggle to balance their two professional worlds of creative practice and teaching, and seek the support of university leadership. Value, value disconnects, and tensions became apparent. In addition, research highlighted that dual values are at play: those of participants and those of universities. The research found the value that artist/designer-academics contribute from their creative practices to the teaching of art and design is primarily instrumental in nature because it is a means towards obtaining something else: enabling and assisting students to create works of art and design. I argue that this value encompasses three key areas in the teaching of art/design: the modelling of professional art/design practice, the ability to draw from various creative practices, and the mentoring of art/design students. In addition, artist/designer-academics contribute value in the form of their creative practice to the research agendas and outputs of universities. Each of these areas is contingent upon support and leadership within universities. Recommendations outlined suggest a way forward. This thesis is based in the experiences, views, and voices of its participants: those with active art and design practices who teach in university art and design programs. It also takes into account the realities of contemporary higher education, disciplinary cultures, creative practice, and notions of value in articulating the nature of the value contributed from the creative practices of artists and designers to the teaching of art and design.
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ItemLying on the floor: young peoples' approaches to creativity in the music classroom( 2012)In recent times, the importance of fostering creativity in music education has been at the forefront of discussion and writing about music curricula. By asking students to explore their creativity in the music classroom we allow them to investigate their originality and help them to become more expressive, self-assured, and independent individuals. However, adolescents are often inhibited in their quest for self-expression. Although there are studies looking at the processes involved in creative music activities for kindergarten, primary and tertiary students, less attention has been paid to fostering creativity in secondary students. And because the notion of creativity has many interpretations, this study includes a review of literature exploring perceptions of this concept. As my pedagogy is situated in student centered music education, it also traces the growth of this movement. The aim of the study is to explore the inhibiting factors that impinge on adolescents who are asked to produce creative musical responses. The setting is a unique rural school, with a mixed population of Australian and international students, that offers education leading to the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma. This action research involves semi-structured interviews, students’ reflections on these music activities as well as my participant observations. The analysis of the data is used to review current classroom practices and inform new teaching directions.
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ItemCreative catalysts: unlocking the potential power of visual art to inspire creative pedagogies across the primary school curriculum( 2008)In a contemporary primary school context, I see a vast discrepancy between policy emphasis and practical understandings in regards to developing student creativity. As a potential means of engaging and motivating students, the importance of creativity cannot be overestimated. Thus, this study arose out of a need for rich, teacher-relevant research into creativity nurture and transfer. To enable this, I examined three examples of the visual art classroom and curriculum, allegedly a key domain of student creativity. Specifically, I conducted a qualitative, arts-based inquiry which was ethnographically influenced. This comprised case studies of visual art teachers, incorporating observation and interviewing, Analysis involved semi-fixed grids and systems of coding which aimed to reveal creativity-related, overarching bridges of meaning or mutual constructs between cases. In doing so, the findings of this study are intended to support teachers in developing understandings about creativity as a step towards implementing creative pedagogies across the curriculum, In particular, the study revealed that visual art in the primary school can foster children's creative tool-kit development and that this is achieved through a range of environmental and participant behaviour factors. Furthermore, according to data, visual art in the primary school can be used to inspire creative pedagogies across all areas of the curriculum, however, this is arguably not effectively and consistently occurring in anything more than superficial ways. Finally, the study indicated that creativity can indeed be a tool for motivating and engaging children.