Faculty of Education - Theses

Permanent URI for this collection

http://hdl.handle.net/11343/162

Filters

1998 1
Reset filters

Settings
Statistics
Citations
Type: Masters Research thesis × Subject: Social interaction in adolescence × Author: Shafer, Mina (1950-) ×

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Item
    Thumbnail Image
    Art and the art of coping
    Shafer, Mina (1950-) ( 1998)
    Consider the conscious not as a purely passive but as an independent active factor... artistic forms not as a facade but as an extremely important mechanism and technique... and include in its sphere of investigation the sum total of human life... Art is the social technique of emotion, a tool of society which brings the most intimate and personal aspects of our being into the circle of social life. (Vygotsky, 1971, p. 249). This thesis reports how young adolescents increased their awareness of themselves and their coping skills experientially through the arts in the context of a teacher/student relationship. Through a series of art sessions the students become aware of significant issues in their lives. The unfolding of meanings occurred in relationship with a teacher or in collaboration with peers. The relationship became a key to self-understanding: this key is called 'intersubjectivity'. Facilitating students' shift in awareness and uncovering the meaning made by the students of their experiences was grounded in the methodology and procedures of existential, experiential phenomenology. This thesis is a study of three case studies. In these case studies the students communicated metaphorically through the arts their feelings and thoughts about concerns and how they cope with these concerns. This communication occurred in the context of a relationship with a teacher and/or peers. The students explored their lived-experience, concerns and ways of coping with concerns through the arts, that is in drawing, painting, pottery, movement, dialogue and written form. Students explored their coping skills also by completing the Adolescent Coping Scale (Frydenberg & Lewis, 1993) and reflecting on their experiences of coping through the arts. The next level of the experience for the student involved them reviewing their art and text and describing themes and the essence(s) of their experiences, this was mostly a creative and reflective process in the arts. This study illuminates the processes that facilitate the development of awareness and coping skills. It marks arts expressions as modes of inquiry and validates the significance of the intersubjective relationship in developing young people's awareness of themselves and their coping skills. The intersubjective relationship in this study was empathic, didactic and encouraging; the teacher reflected student's expressions, and encouraged and taught skills, while maintaining a focus on coping.