Closer to the Heart: an Exploration of Caring and Creative Visual Arts Classrooms

University of Denver Digital Commons @ DU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 1-1-2010 Closer to the Heart: An Exploration of Caring and Creative Visual Arts Classrooms Juli B. Kramer University of Denver Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd Part of the Art Education Commons, Curriculum and Instruction Commons, and the Secondary Education Commons Recommended Citation Kramer, Juli B., "Closer to the Heart: An Exploration of Caring and Creative Visual Arts Classrooms" (2010). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 852. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/852 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact [email protected],[email protected]. CLOSER TO THE HEART: AN EXPLORATION OF CARING AND CREATIVE VISUAL ARTS CLASSROOMS __________ A Dissertation Presented to the Morgridge College of Education University of Denver __________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy __________ by Juli B. Kramer June 2010 Advisor: P. Bruce Uhrmacher, Ph.D. ©Copyright by Juli B. Kramer 2010 All Rights Reserved Author: Juli B. Kramer Title: CLOSER TO THE HEART: AN EXPLORATION OF CARING AND CREATIVE VISUAL ARTS CLASSROOMS Advisor: P. Bruce Uhrmacher, Ph.D. Degree Date: June 2010 Abstract This study demonstrates how caring and creative secondary level visual arts classes facilitate the development of learning environments that enliven and expect the best of students; help them develop as autonomous and creative learners; provide them opportunities to care for others and the world around them; and keep them connected to their schools and education. It highlights how the intentions and operations of teachers impact student learning, creative risk taking, and interpersonal relations within and beyond the classroom. It also uncovers novel ways of thinking about arts education as a means to enhance positive individual and social development and vividly illustrates the conceptual frameworks and pedagogical methods used to do so. Four questions initiated the study: 1) What are the intentions of visual arts teachers who state that they believe creative and caring environments are essential for arts instruction and students’ holistic development? 2) How are these intentions realized (or not realized) in their practice? 3) How does the enacted curriculum affect students’ willingness to take creative risks? and 4) How do the intentions and practices of the teacher impact student self-concepts? Six teachers in three Colorado and three Western Australian schools participated in the study, hosting classroom observations for between five and 10 days at each site. The teachers, as well as 25 students (three to five per teacher), participated in semi- structured interviews in addition to the observations. The students also completed photo essays that reflected what their visual arts experiences meant for them within and beyond ii the classroom. The use of educational criticism and connoisseurship and the photo essays yielded vivid descriptions. These in turn facilitated the development of interpretations, thematics, and evaluations that inform our understanding and enhance our ability to help students within visual arts and other content area classrooms. The theoretical and methodological choices guiding the study moved existing work in new directions. Theoretically the study drew heavily upon Nel Noddings’ care theory but explicitly expanded her ideas to include key elements of care theory for culturally diverse learners. The addition of photo essays was based on recent support for having participants utilize metaphor through photographic images to more effectively express their feelings, beliefs, and interpretations; the application of this method tremendously enhanced the findings. iii Acknowledgements I owe debts to many amazing people who helped me in the preparation of this dissertation. Some of the people on whom I’ve depended are the following: Bruce Uhrmacher, my advisor and mentor, who supported me every step of the way, from helping me frame my ideas and concepts to finessing the details of the final dissertation; Nel Noddings, whose care theory profoundly shapes my thinking about and understanding of caring teachers and whose willingness to share her vast knowledge and insights helped me attend to critical issues; Debra Austin who stirs my thinking about how best to reach others and effect change through the use of digital media and is always there to support my efforts; Nick Cutforth, whose passion for youth in all walks of life fuels my own and whose probing questions push me to expand my thinking; and Maria del Carmen Salazar who helped me understand the importance of attending to diversity in the classroom and is always there to answer my questions and shape my thinking. I must also acknowledge a huge debt to Diana Ariki who transcribed numerous interviews and without whom I would never have finished, let alone survived, writing my dissertation. I also wish to thank the wonderful teachers and students who participated in the study, as well as the administrators who welcomed me into their communities. As I wrote my dissertation, I was continually inspired by their actions, words, and photographs which revealed a wisdom about teaching, learning, and life that I would not have been able to capture without them. I am forever in their debt. My amazing journey into the world of visual arts would not have begun if not for my friend and business partner Fran Kutner. This dissertation and my passion for what iv caring and creative visual arts classes can do for students grew out of our own work using the visual arts as a means for holistic development. My work with Ellen Spangler and all of the fantastic master teachers at the Denver Art Museum profoundly shaped my understanding of creativity and influenced my work as well. To my husband Ken and my children Addison and Preston, I express my deepest gratitude for everything you did for me, whether making it possible to complete my doctoral coursework and dissertation, traveling half-way across the world to be with me in Australia, or putting up with my manic drive to finish in the final weeks of writing. I also wish to thank my parents, David and Cindy, and my in-laws, Jim and Bobbie, for all of their emotional support and endless faith in my abilities. Additionally I need to thank my own children, as well as all of my nieces and nephews, for inspiring me to continue my efforts to improve education and help others see the value of learning environments that nurture students’ holistic growth. v Table of Contents Chapter One: Introduction and Overview........................................................................... 1 Significance of the Study........................................................................................ 3 How to nurture creativity............................................................................ 3 How to nurture student holistic and positive self-concept development. ... 4 Theoretical and methodological choices that help us hear student voices.. 5 The importance of retaining caring and creative teachers. ......................... 6 Aims and Research Questions ................................................................................ 6 Overview of Methodology...................................................................................... 9 Chapter Two: Relevant Literature Review ....................................................................... 10 Overview............................................................................................................... 10 Creativity............................................................................................................... 10 Creativity can be nurtured......................................................................... 11 How do you study creativity? ................................................................... 19 Caring.................................................................................................................... 20 Nel Noddings’ themes of care................................................................... 20 Care for culturally diverse learners and within feminist literature. .......... 22 How do you study caring? ........................................................................ 25 Interaction Effect between Creativity and Caring ................................................ 26 Holistic Development and Positive Self-Concept................................................. 28 Chapter Three: Methodology............................................................................................ 31 Summary............................................................................................................... 31 Six Dimensions of Educational Experiences Guiding the Study.......................... 31 Why Conduct an International Study?.................................................................. 35 Educational Connoisseurship and Criticism ......................................................... 37 Four dimensions of educational criticism................................................. 38 Enhancing educational criticism – Visual images and developing technologies. ............................................................................................

Load more