Pedagogical research can use a participatory approach, such as action research, to analyze several aspects of the educational relationship between children and researchers (Stringer 2007). Furthermore, it is also important to use different languages, including visual techniques, in order to construct and share individual and collective narratives. Internationally, the term arts-based research indicates the systematic use of an artistic process, and the realization of artistic expressions in all its different forms, as a primary way of understanding and analyzing the experience of both the researcher and the people who are implicated in the studies (McNiff 1998). Starting from these assumptions, we developed various artistic workshops in an Italian kindergarten and some Kenyan primary schools (s.y. 2018–2019) to implement the reflection on the use of images and imagery with children. To enhance the key points of the research, we adapted and used photo-elicitation, a qualitative method developed in the field of anthropology and visual sociology (Harper 2002), to collect and produce different kinds of information, thanks to the use of meaningful images. The research group focused on five items: the exploration of materials (colors and tools); shared workspaces and materials; the cooperative dynamics which happen in the workshops; encroachments experienced with the use of paint; informal exhibitions held at the end of the workshops. This path has allowed researchers to highlight some useful aspects for the design and management of educational experiences and, at the same time, has allowed us to deal with multiple languages and to share different nuances and perspectives of a participative experience of art and education.
Spaces, Times, and Languages of Educational Action-research. The Visual TICASS Workshop Experience
R. Deluigi
2022-01-01
Abstract
Pedagogical research can use a participatory approach, such as action research, to analyze several aspects of the educational relationship between children and researchers (Stringer 2007). Furthermore, it is also important to use different languages, including visual techniques, in order to construct and share individual and collective narratives. Internationally, the term arts-based research indicates the systematic use of an artistic process, and the realization of artistic expressions in all its different forms, as a primary way of understanding and analyzing the experience of both the researcher and the people who are implicated in the studies (McNiff 1998). Starting from these assumptions, we developed various artistic workshops in an Italian kindergarten and some Kenyan primary schools (s.y. 2018–2019) to implement the reflection on the use of images and imagery with children. To enhance the key points of the research, we adapted and used photo-elicitation, a qualitative method developed in the field of anthropology and visual sociology (Harper 2002), to collect and produce different kinds of information, thanks to the use of meaningful images. The research group focused on five items: the exploration of materials (colors and tools); shared workspaces and materials; the cooperative dynamics which happen in the workshops; encroachments experienced with the use of paint; informal exhibitions held at the end of the workshops. This path has allowed researchers to highlight some useful aspects for the design and management of educational experiences and, at the same time, has allowed us to deal with multiple languages and to share different nuances and perspectives of a participative experience of art and education.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
