Arts-Based+Inquiry

= Finley, S. (2005). Arts-based inquiry: Performing revolutionary pedagogy, (pp. 681-594). In N. K. Denzin and Y. Lincoln, //The Sage handbook of qualitative research// (3rd ed.). Thousands Oaks: Sage Publications. =

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I have chosen to look at the article by Gall, Gall and Borg (2005) on Action Research, alongside Finley (2005) on Arts-Based Research. I found a number of similarities between them, but also considerable differences as well.

I have summarised each article on a concept map, which you can view here (Gall et al.,2005) and here (Finley 2005).

I have put these similarities on to a 'double bubble' chart using Webspiration (the online version of Inspiration). media type="custom" key="6846093" width="210" height="210"

Reading these articles also raised a number of questions for me.

The first relates to the politics of the research. Finley (2005), more so than Gall et al. (2005) emphasises that some of the key goals of Arts-Based Research are to challenge existing power structures and global capitalism, to liberate the oppressed and bring about social justice.

My question is, does this mean Arts-Based Research is the sole domain of the political left? Is ABR intrinsically neo-Marxist, as Finley (2005) seems to suggest, or is it neutral in itself, and could potentially be used by someone, or a community, of quite a different political persuasion?

I was surprised to see in the example given in Finley (2005) that the teacher taught the children to redirect their anger from themselves and their parents to 'the system'. As a teacher myself I am always careful not to impart particular political views to my students. Is this my role? Teaching is inherently value-laden, but should we engage in this overt politicisation of young people? Where do we draw the line between empowering the students in their lives, and indoctrinating them with particular views about why the world is the way it is?

Another observation is that Action Research seems to focus much more on developing professional practice, whereas ABR seeks a deeper level of social change. Can ABR be used to develop one's practice, or does it take a much more global view? ABR is an emerging form of research, being relatively new as a concept. I was wondering if political cartoons could be seen as a form of ABR - particularly in the role they play in challenging the powerbrokers.

Action Research also seems to have a stronger relationship with 'conventional' research, often seen as bridging the gap between research and practitioners, making research more relevant in specific contexts. ABR seems not to have this relationship with 'conventional' research, and is largely critical of it, questioning its epistemological roots and the prevailing hegemony that has historically come from it. Does ABR value a role for formal research?

The question for me is how this relates to my chosen research area, which is that of adolescent disclosure of personal information on social networking sites. I can see real potential in using Action Research in a classroom setting, especially as it relates to developing students' concepts of digital citizenship. I am finding a lot of research that suggests that the best way to prepare students to use social networking wisely and safely is not to impart a sense of fear about extreme worst-case scenarios, but rather to develop their self-efficacy (for example, Wirth, Rifon, LaRose & Lewis, 2009). I think there could be a strong role for Action Research on how I as a teacher model and develop this self-efficacy in my students as they use social networking tools. This relates to the emphasis found in Gall et al.(2005) on using the AR process to empower members of the community and improve practice. This process of reflection-practice would help the children to see themselves as in control of their online identities and develop protective behaviours so they can enjoy the many benefits the social web offers, while minimising the risks posed by predators, peers and profit-seekers.

So these are some initial thoughts and questions. I would love to hear what others think about these issues.

 Finley, S. (2005). Arts-based inquiry: Performing revolutionary pedagogy, (pp. 681-594). In N. K. Denzin and Y. Lincoln, // The Sage handbook of qualitative research // (3rd ed.). Thousands Oaks: Sage Publications.

 Gall, J. P., Gall, M. D., & Borg, W. R. (2005). Chapter 15 Action Research. In J. P. Gall, M. D. Gall, & W. R. Borg (2005) // Applying educatonal research. A practical guide. // (5th ed.), 487-521. Boston, MA: Pearson. ISBN020538076.

 Wirth, C.B., Rifon, N.J., LaRose, R., & Lewis, M. (2009). Promoting Teenage Online Safety with an i-Safety Intervention: Enhancing Self-efficacy and Protective Behaviours. [] (Accessed May 20, 2010).

 Feedback and Dialogue
(my responses highlighted blue)

 **Tania**  Hi Craig,   I have some responses to your questions. or is it neutral in itself, and could potentially be used by someone, or a community, of quite a different political persuasion? I think the methodology itself is politically neutral however the types of researchers drawn to using ABR tend to be morally/socially/politically motivated. I was surprised to see in the example given in Finley (2005) that the teacher taught the children to redirect their anger from themselves and their parents to 'the system'. As a teacher myself I am always careful not to impart particular political views to my students. Is this my role? Teaching is inherently value-laden, but should we engage in this overt politicisation of young people? Where do we draw the line between empowering the students in their lives, and indoctrinating them with particular views about why the world is the way it is? I think as long as we represent a balanced view of both sides of a 'political' problem and are aware of our own views the ability to harm is removed. Children are i nherently very black and white in their view points and I feel it is our role to point out the shades of grey. In the example of Finley I felt that the teacher redirected the anger to an area they could influence and change as opposed to focusing on the area they could not (where they were living).

**Craig**

Hi Tania, Thanks for your feedback and thoughts. I agree that ABR, going by the literature, is more likely to draw folk from a particular persuasion. I wonder if advertising, done well, could be a form of ABR? Ad campaigns are usually based on research, and can be very artistic in the way they use that research to reach their goals, but are designed to generate profit rather than social justice. Is social change/social justice a defining characteristic of ABR, or an optional add-on? **Tania** Hi Craig, Is social change/social justice a defining characteristic of ABR, or an optional add-on? I was just looking at Elaine's notes from Sunday and she mentioned that all emergent research has a social justice component: **Firstly I want to remind you (and expand on) of some of the points we have made so far about:** … the political nature of all research and the notion the emergent methodologies all have a strong social justice element. BUT I wonder if the researcher beings the social change/justice part to the methodology? I took part in a action research that had a political agenda to influence Ministry of Ed to create a resource that would make money. There was no social change or social justice aspect to it. However I was left with the feeling of what was the point? Is that my social justice bias raising its head? Or should research have some sort of benefit for society for it to be valid?