Artful Inquiry and the Unexpected Ethical Turn: Exploring Identity through Creative Engagement with Grades 9-12 Students in Guatemala and Canada

Authors

  • Mindy Carter Mcgill

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18432/R23P7F

Keywords:

Art Education, Indigenous Education, Curriculum Development, Artful Inquiry

Abstract

This paper presents a research project conducted with Grades 9-12 students in Canada and Guatemala where the visual arts were used to explore identity. Participants engaged in a short-term artful inquiry in which they were asked to create a piece of visual art that represented their cultural roots, self in present society and hopes for the future. Various modes of representation including drawing and collage were used. When considering the data, emergent themes and the overall project, unexpected reverberations about the ethical impact of doing arts based work emerged. These questions led to further questions about how creative engagement, individual and collective transformation within the classroom environment does/does not occur as a result of creative engagement.  

Author Biography

Mindy Carter, Mcgill

Mindy R. Carter, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University (Montreal, QC Canada). Her areas of interest include teacher identity, teacher education, drama and theatre education, outdoor education, arts based educational research and curriculum theory.  Her first book The teacher monologues: Exploring the identities and experiences of artist teachers was published by Sense in 2014 and her second book Drama, theatre and performance education: Classroom and community contexts (Coedited with Monica Prendergast and George Belliveau) came out in 2015.  Recently, Mindy received FRQSC funding (2015-2018) for her research integrating Indigenous content into her drama education class with pre-service teachers. She is also a Co-Applicant on SSHRC funded Partnership (2016-2023), Partnership Development (2015-2018) and Insight Grants (2016-2020).  She is currently the President of the ARTS special interest group for The Canadian Society for the Study of Education and the Secretary for the American Educational Research Association’s (AERA) Arts Based Educational Research SIG.

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Published

2017-03-22

How to Cite

Carter, M. (2017). Artful Inquiry and the Unexpected Ethical Turn: Exploring Identity through Creative Engagement with Grades 9-12 Students in Guatemala and Canada. Art/Research/International:/A/Transdisciplinary/Journal, 2(1), 5–19. https://doi.org/10.18432/R23P7F