Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemContained art experiences for young people, staff and an a/r/tographer in Nicaragua: implications for art education and wellbeing( 2017)Contained Art Experiences (CAE) was developed as an art practice in response to my work with Si a La Vida (SALV), a small Non-Governmental Organisation that supports young people and families who have experienced trauma through poverty, violence and neglect in Nicaragua, Central America. Within this cultural setting, I explored CAE as a new quality art practice with the aim of enriching participants’ capacities of awareness of self and other, to assist them in strengthening relationships that contribute to resilience and wellbeing and in responding more positively to their cultural reality. CAE was developed through my prior experience, blending three constructs: attachment theory and attuned relationships; art making and wellbeing; and culture, art practice and recovery from trauma. CAE invited participants to consider and express their experiences and feelings through their art making within an environment where they were valued and where they sensed the presence of an attuned relationship. My exploration of CAE was a qualitative investigation, guided by a/r/tography and case study methodologies that interacted together to create and inform a trans-methodological frame for the study. This frame allowed me to gather data through observations, artefacts and interviews resulting from the participation of 40 young people and two staff in CAE over a five-week period at SALV. Data gathered from reflection and artefacts during my time in Nicaragua recognised my participation in CAE as a/r/tographer. I analysed the data through a process of sifting and sorting that allowed a deeper and refined analysis, and brought a greater clarity to the emerging themes of participation, expression and new thinking. Weaving text and the creative work, The Altar, I responded to these themes. The Altar is an installation consisting of four elements set in a scene of a Catholic altar, with my choice of materials, techniques, and subjects informed by my interaction with the cultural context of Nicaragua. This text/creative response identified that participation in CAE allowed individual expression of experiences and feelings, and contributed to changed thinking and behaviour in young people, staff and a/r/tographer. Further, CAE contributed to their sense of value and the development of pro-social behaviours for young people. CAE informed teacher professional practice and their relationship with students, and provided a reflective practice for me, as a/r/tographer, that informed my relationship with participants and contributed to the process of implementing CAE. This is a small-scale study, however, I suggest that participation in CAE has implications for art and wellbeing as a new addition to quality art practices in a broader setting in education. CAE may provide a model of teacher professional learning and teacher reflective practice, and offer a relationship-centred student wellbeing approach that may support students who have experienced trauma.
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ItemExploring teacher perceptions of factors that impact on their relationships with students through the lens of mentalisation( 2013)The contribution of positive teacher-student relationships to student wellbeing and academic outcomes is widely accepted. These relationships are recognised as essential for developing students’ connectedness to school and engagement in learning. This study investigated the factors that teachers perceive as impacting on their relationships with students, and examined these factors through the lens of mentalisation. A qualitative investigation was undertaken in which eight participants were invited to reflect on their relationships with students. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, a focus group and researcher observation. Two key factors were identified: reflection on relationship experiences and the presence of a safe and supportive environment. Interwoven within each of these factors are the notions of reciprocity and resilience. The findings suggest that the capacity of teachers to develop healthy teacher-student relationships may be enhanced if they are provided with opportunities to make sense of their prior relationship experiences, and work within school cultures and structures that prioritise the value of relationships. This study suggests that teachers can assist students in developing their capacity to more fully participate in this model of relationship by providing students with a safe and supportive environment. The findings also highlight the reciprocal nature of the healthy teacher-student relationship as these relationships may in turn positively influence the teacher’s sense of wellbeing and increase their capacity to meet the challenges of the educational environment with resilience. Mentalisation theory, which incorporates and extends the notions of empathy and mindfulness, provided a valuable framework to examine and interpret the factors that impact on teacher-student relationships. This study has implications for pre-service training and teacher professional learning. Approaches that encourage reflection on the dynamics of relationships and the contribution of one’s own relationship experiences to one’s relationship with students may strengthen a teacher’s capacity to develop healthy relationships with students and may contribute to the teacher’s own sense of wellbeing.